Skip to main content

Japanese Olympic Track Results - Aug. 17

by Brett Larner

Men's 10000 m
Waseda University senior Kensuke Takezawa was a surprise start in the men's 10000 m after being out of competition from January to June with severe injuries and scratching in the Japanese National Track and Field Championships 10000 m in June. Takezawa, who set a PB of 27:45.59 at last year's Cardinal Invitational, was clearly still far off his peak form, never making any attempt to go with competitors of comparable ability but running steadily and finishing 28th in 28:23.28, a creditable 28.5 seconds faster than his time from last summer's Osaka World Track and Field Championships when he was in excellent condition. Takezawa afterwards described the Olympic race as "a learning experience."

5000 m national record and 30 km world record holder Takayuki Matsumiya had a dismal run. Despite having coming close to the national record in this year's Cardinal Invitational, where he ran 27:41.75, winning the National Championships 10000 m in 27:41.27, and predicting that he would finish in the top 10 at the Olympics, Matsumiya began the 10000 m in last place and spent much of the race close to that position. He briefly moved up to run with Takezawa but again faded, ultimately finishing 31st of 35 finishers in 28:39.77.

Both Takezawa and Matsumiya are entered in the 5000 m.

Women's 400 m Hurdles
National record holder Satomi Kubokura had a strong showing in the first heat of the women's 400 m hurdles, running a season best 55.82 to finish 3rd and advance to the semifinals.

(c) 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
3 comments
Read more

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Training for 1:00:44

Hi, I'm Ayumu Kobayashi . Today I'm going to write about this year's National Corporate Half Marathon and the training I did for it. I hope other runners will find it even a little bit helpful. At the Corporate Half on Feb. 13 I was 10th in 1:00:44. My goal had been to run 61 minutes, so I hit that target. My Training Menu In January I ran a total of 681 km. Key workouts: Jan. 11: 1000 m x 5 at 2:50/km Jan. 12: 22.5 km Jan. 15: 9 km variable pace Jan. 17: 25 km Jan. 24: 1000 m x 8 at 2:52/km Jan. 27: 1 km + 4 km + 2 km Jan. 30: 16 km at 3:18/km avg. In January I was tired from the New Year Ekiden and had some knee pain after it, so I just jogged for 10 days until I started doing workouts again on the 11th. That's why I only ran 681 km for the month. But even on the jog days I was aware that I had the Corporate Half coming up, so I was doing around 30 km. It's pretty meat and potatoes, but I think it was really important. February (training for the 10 days before...
2 comments
Read more