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Berlin World Championships - Day Two

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by Brett Larner

Japan made little impact on the second day of competition at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin as its sprinters came up flat. Click event in summaries below for complete results.

-Beijing Olympics men's 4x100m relay bronze medalist Naoki Tsukahara had vowed to become the first Japanese sprinter to break 10.0 seconds in the open men's 100 m and to make the final at the World Championships. Despite making the semi final comfortably, Tsukahara had an off run as he finished last in his semi final heat in only 10.25.

-Women's 100 m national record holder Chisato Fukushima became the first Japanese woman to advance to the quarter final in a world-level championships 100 m but just missed out on making the semi final by 0.03 seconds. 2009 national champion Momoko Takahashi did not advance past the first round of heats.

-Men's 3000 mSC national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu missed out on making the final after finishing 9th in the third heat in 8:39.03. Running in the same heat, Japan-based Ethiopian Yacob Jarso of Team Honda advanced after finishing 3rd in 8:20.91.

-Men's 400 m hurdler Kazuaki Yoshida, who made the semi-final with a surprise PB performance in the first round, finished last in the semi in a disappointing 50.34.

-Women's 20 km race walkers Masumi Fuchise and Kumi Otoshi were 7th and 12th in 1:31:15 and 1:33:05 respectively. Team ace Mayumi Kawasaki was among the seven athletes disqualified for lifting their feet.

-Women's javelin thrower Yuki Ebihara failed to advance past the first round.

(c) 2009 Brett Larner
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