Skip to main content

Morioka To Become Head Coach of Team Noritz

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/0001686000.shtml

translated by Brett Larner

Following the retirement of head coach Takahiro Ueno in December, Team Noritz has announced that former Team Sega Sammy head coach Yoshihiko Morioka (50) will take over effective Mar. 16. "My goal is to make my runners competitve at the world level," said Morioka. "It will require our complete spirits and bodies."

Morioka is a native of Kawasaki. A notable runner while at Daito Bunka University, he later served as head coach for Team NTN and the now-defunct Team Nihon Seimei and Team Sega Sammy. While with Sega Sammy he coached Yasuko Hashimoto, who ran on the national team in the 2007 Osaka World Championships women's marathon. Both Morioka and Hashimoto left when Sega Sammy ended its support of the team in March last year.

Team Noritz contains six members who will return in the 2009-2010 season, including 2005 and 2007 World Championships marathoner Mari Ozaki. In April three new members will join, namely Misato Horie (Mukogawa Women's Univ.), Hiromi Tani (Kobe Gakuin Univ.) and Rino Hakushi (Bukkyo Univ.), bringing the team's numbers up to nine athletes. 2001 Edmonton World Championships runner and longtime team member Haruko Okamoto is not returning next season.

Comments

Anonymous said…
How come ozaki didn't run Nagoya. Is she trying to make the 10000 meters instead? She has virtually no chance on the track. She was only 7th in the qualifying race last year. Is she pregnant? I thought she's going to retire because she skipped Osaka.
Brett Larner said…
I haven't heard anything.

Most-Read This Week

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

  Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...