japan running news

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/p-sp-tp0-20100731-660194.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/p-sp-tp0-20100731-660197.html translated and edited by Brett Larner At the 2010 National High School Track and Field Championships at Okinawa Prefectural Sports Park on the island of Amami, Kojokan High School's Mahiro Akamatsu (3rd yr.) won the girls' 1500 m, holding up her right hand in victory as she crossed the line. The pace was quick right from the start, but Akamatsu remained calm and composed. "It was windy and hot," she said after the race, "but I was moving well and I was sure I could do it." With one lap to go Akamatsu dropped the rest of the leaders with an aggressive spurt which carried her to the win by a margin of nearly three seconds, clocking 4:19.80. Akamatsu came to the championships confident from her gold medal in the 3000 m at last month's Asian Junior Games in Vietnam. Kojokan H.S. head coach Yoshiji Mo...

JRNPremium has returned from summer vacation with issue five. July and August are the peak of the gashuku season, the intensive summer training camps which are one of the hallmarks of Japanese distance training for both its university and corporate athletes. In this issue we bring you an interview with Eiji Kobayashi , a former Josai University runner who talks about gashuku, injury, and not realizing the dream of making the Hakone Ekiden. Kobayashi talks in detail about the kind of training top Hakone runners put themselves through complete with detailed daily training menus from his time on Josai's ekiden team, about the mental and physical toll on those trying for the Pyrrhic victory of a spot on their school's Hakone squad, and about the injuries that cost him his dream. For all that you hear from those who succeed sometimes there is more to be learned from those give it everything they have and fail. Nowhere is this more true than among those trying to become one of the lu...

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=20000 The July/August print issue of Running Times magazine features an article I wrote about the history, development and future of Japan's university and corporate running system. The link above will take you to an online version.

An article I wrote for Running Times magazine about acupuncture for runners is now up on the RT website. Click the photo to read. For the article I interviewed three prominent acupuncturists: Jiro Konno , the head of Tokyo's Idaten clinic where many of the country's top pros and university runners go for treatment, Hiroshi Kawaguchi , another Tokyo-based practitioner who has worked with Joan Benoit-Samuelson, and Russ Stram , a New York acupuncturist who worked on Arata Fujiwara the day after Fujiwara's course-record win at May's Ottawa Marathon. The article includes photos, such as the one above, of Stram's session with Fujiwara.

by Brett Larner for photos click here or here Half marathon national record holder and 2010 double 5000 and 10000 m national champion Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) quietly returned to the half marathon distance without fanfare after a three and a half year absence with a win at the 24th Shibetsu Half Marathon on July 25 in Shibetsu, Hokkaido. Fukushi ran the race together in a pack of three with defending champion and 2010 World Half Marathon team member Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) and marathoner Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren). Akaba fell behind after 15 km while Miyauchi managed to hang on until the final 2 km when Fukushi pulled away to the win in 1:12:25, her slowest time ever over the distance and no doubt a minimum-effort victory. Miyauchi, who was 4th behind Fukushi and Akaba in the Nationals 10000 m last month, was 2nd. Akaba, 3rd at Nationals, was again 3rd. Both women joined Fukushi in going under 1:13 on the hot and sunny race day which saw temperatures of 25 degrees at th...

http://www.iaaf.org/WJC10/news/kind=100/newsid=57786.html Note: Men's steeplechase winner Jonathan Ndiku of Kenya and 5th place finisher Desta Alemu of Ethiopia are both based in Japan where they run on the jitsugyodan corporate circuit. 2010 World Junior Championships - Top Finishers click here for complete results Men's 3000 mSC Final 1. Jonathan Ndiku (KEN) - 8:23.48 2. Albert Yator (KEN) - 8:33.55 - PB 3. Jacob Araptany (UGA) - 8:37.02 ----- 5. Desta Alemu (ETH) - 8:44.07 12. Kosei Yamaguchi (JPN) - 9:00.87 Men's 110 mH Final 1. Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (FRA) - 13.52 2. Vladimir Vukicevic (NOR) - 13.59 3. Jack Meredith (GBR) - 13.59 ----- 7. Wataru Yazawa (JPN) - 13.88 Men's 4 x 400 m Relay Final 1. U.S.A. - 3:04.76 2. Nigeria - 3:06.36 - NJR 3. Great Britain - 3:06.49 ----- 5. Japan - 3:07.94

http://mainichi.jp/area/yamanashi/news/20100724ddlk19040123000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner With 4686 runners making up its largest-ever field, the 63rd annual Fuji Mountain Race took place July 23. With last year's race having been cut off at Mt. Fuji's 5th Stage due to fog and rain at the mountain's summit, this year under dazzling summer skies the event returned to its usual format with runners competing in either the 21 km, 3000 m climb Summit division or the 15 km, 1460 m climb 5th Stage division. In the men's Summit race, Shinya Takahashi , 35, of Iwate Prefecture, took his first win in 2:53:00. Yoshimi Hoshino , 44, of Shizuoka Prefecture, the course record holder and two-time winner in the 5th Stage division, took her fifth Summit win eight years after her last Summit victory. 5th Stage men's winner Satoshi Kato was only 38 seconds off the course record, running 1:19:57, while women's winner Mina Ogawa was only a minute and a half off Ho...

http://www.iaaf.org/WJC10/news/kind=100/newsid=57749.html Note: The article above incorrectly states that women's 400 m hurdler Shiori Miki set a Japanese national record at the World Junior Championships. Miki's time of 57.35 broke her own junior national record but was nearly two seconds short of the Japanese national record. 2010 World Junior Championships - Top Results click here for complete results Men's 5000 m Final 1. David Kiprotich Bett (KEN) - 13:23.76 2. John Kipkoech (KEN) - 13:26.02 - PB 3. Aziz Lahbabi (MAR) - 13:28.92 - NJR ----- 7. Kazuto Nishiike (JPN) - 13:54.33 - PB (ranked 11th pre-race) 8. Akinobu Murasawa (JPN) - 13:59.66 (ranked 5th pre-race) Women's 400 mH Final 1. Katsiaryna Artsiukh (BLR) - 56.16 2. Vera Rudakova (RUS) - 57.16 - PB 3. Evonne Britton (USA) - 57.32 - PB ----- 4. Shiori Miki (JPN) - 57.35 - PB, NJR Men's 110 mH Semi-Final Heat One 1. Wataru Yazawa (JPN) - 13.57 - PB 2. Caleb Cross (USA) - 13.72 3. Mitchell Tysoe (AUS) - 13....

by Brett Larner click here for photos of Iizuka winning gold In May Japan Running News introduced the world to Chuo University freshman Shota Iizuka with a video of his stunning anchor run in the Kanto Regionals 4 x 100 m relay . Now he's holding Japan's first-ever World Junior Championships gold medal, taking the men's 200 m in 20.67 by a margin of 0.22 after winning both the heats and semi-finals. Iizuka also delivered another solid 4 x 100 m anchor leg earlier in the afternoon to move the Japanese team on to the final with a win in its heat. Whether he can single-handedly carry the relay team to another gold medal is questionable, but his 200 m gold secures his place as the man to watch in Japanese sprinting. Overall it was the best day of World Juniors so far for the Japanese team. Men's 400 m hurdler Takatoshi Abe brought his best, running a PB 49.46 for silver after leading the heats and semi-finals with season-best times. Abe missed gold by only 0.16 behind Trin...

Just another Thursday night.....

http://www.iaaf.org/WJC10/news/kind=100/newsid=57607.html Click here for complete results from Day Four . A summary of Japanese results: Japan's best chance for a gold medal in the Championships, sprinter Shota Iizuka , easily won his heat and semi-final in the men's 200 m. Click here for a photo of Iizuka in action . Jun Kimura made it through the heats but could not join Iizuka in the final. Kana Ichikawa advanced through the heats and semi-final in the women's 200 m to make the final rouond. Teammate Narumi Tashiro was eliminated in the heats. Takatoshi Abe won the second semi-final heat of the men's 400 m hurdles in 50.45. As in the heats his time was a season best and the fastest in the field. Shiori Miki won the third semi-final heat of the women's 400 m hurdles in 58.45, the second-fastest overall among the three heats. Genki Dean advanced through the men's javelin qualification round in 3rd, well ahead of his pre-competition ranking of 6th. Kenji M...

http://www.iaaf.org/WJC10/news/kind=112/newsid=57566.html 2010 World Junior Championships - Top Results click here for complete results Women's 5000 m 1. Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) - 15:08.06 2. Mercy Cherono (KEN) - 15:09.19 3. Alice Aprot Nawowuna (KEN) - 15:17.39 - PB ----- 5. Ayuko Suzuki (JPN) - 15:47.36 - PB (ranked 10th pre-race) 8. Nanaka Izawa (JPN) - 15:59.29 (ranked 6th pre-race) In other results: Gold medal favorite Kumiko Okada scored Japan's first medal of the games, a bronze in the women's 10000 m race walk. Okada was just off her PB, clocking 45:56.15, but was outdone by over a minute and a half by Russians Elena Lashmanova and Anna Lukyanova , both of whom were competing in their first track 10000 m. Japan's Chiaki Asada took 6th in 46:39.93, a PB by 7 seconds. Takatoshi Abe won the 4th heat of the men's 400 mH in 50.53, a season best. He was the only runner in all seven heats to go under 51. Takumi Kuki and Ryo Onabuta were eliminated in the men...

http://www.iaaf.org/WJC10/news/kind=108/newsid=57503.html 2010 World Junior Championships - Top Results click here for complete results Men's 10000 m 1. Dennis Chepkongin Masai (KEN) - 27:53.88 - PB 2. Gebretsadik Abraha (ETH) - 28:03.45 - PB 3. Paul Kipchumba Lonyangata (KEN) - 28:14.55 - PB ----- 8. Suguru Osako (JPN) - 29:40.14 (ranked 3rd pre-race) 9. Fuminori Shikata (JPN) - 29:47.87 (ranked 5th pre-race) In other results from the second day of competition: Manami Mashita made the second round in the women's 800 m while teammate Ayaka Yokose missed the cutoff. Although Junki Yanagisawa recorded a season best, both he and Keitaro Sato failed to move past the first round in the men's 400 m. Miho Shingu was more successful, making the next round in the women's 400 m. Both Takumi Kuki and Ryo Onabuta advanced through the first round of the men's 100 m. Nodoka Seka likewise advanced in the women's 100 m, but teammate Akane Ishida was a DNS. Women's ...

http://www.iaaf.org/WJC10/news/kind=100/newsid=57463.html 2010 World Junior Championships Top Results click here for complete results Women's 3000 m 1. Mercy Cherono (KEN) - 8:55.07 2. Emebet Anteneh (ETH) - 8:55.24 - PB 3. Layes Abdullayeva (AZE) - 8:55.33 ----- 12. Haruka Kyuma (JPN) - 9:22.13 18. Kanako Fujishi (JPN) - 9:28.04 Both Japanese runners significantly unperformed, Kyuma being ranked 7th and Fujishi 9th going into the competition.

by Brett Larner The highlight of the first Tokyo Nighter track and field meet, held July 18 at Tokyo's National Stadium, proved to be a 5000 m matchup between 2009 World Championships women's marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) and 10000 m junior national record holder Megumi Kinukawa (Team Mizuno). In her first race since being named captain of Japan's team for October's World Half Marathon Championships Ozaki had little trouble dispatching the long-suffering Kinukawa, winning in a perfunctory 16:51.09 to Kinukawa's 16:57.59. For complete results from the Nighter meet, click here . (c) 2010 Brett Larner all rights reserved

by Brett Larner After being named to this year's World Half Marathon team on the strength of her runner-up finish at last month's National Track and Field Championships, Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) closed off this year's Hokuren Distance Challenge with a bang. Kizaki won the HDC's Abashiri meet 10000 m in 31:38.71, a PB by over 45 seconds and a time which missed putting her in the top 10 worldwide so far this year by only 1 second. Second place finisher Kayo Sugihara (Team Denso) was nearly a minute behind in 32:33.37. Sugihara was the only runner in the top 5 not to run a PB. Kizaki is now ranked 3rd among Japanese women for 10000 m in 2010. Combined with her rankings of 6th for 5000 m, 7th for half marathon and 5th for marathon she is the frontrunner to be named Japanese women's distance runner of the year. Kenyan ace Edward Waweru (Team NTN) took the men's 5000 m in a quick 13:18.54, while 5th-placer Seung-Ho Baek (S. Korea), a university student and thi...

by Brett Larner The 2010 World Junior Championships in athletics begin tomorrow, July 19, in Moncton, Canada and Japan is sending a solid team with more realistic medal chances than its senior teams typically have at the World Championships level. Japan's best chance for a gold medal may be in the women's 10000 m race walk, where Kumiko Okada 's PB of 45:23.83 is well over a minute better than her closest rival Chiaki Asada . Be this as it may, the lion's share of the attention is likely to be on Japan's other legitimate gold medal contender, sprinter Shota Iizuka in the men's 200 m. Iizuka, a first-year at Chuo University, gained international attention in May thanks to a Youtube video of his stunning anchor leg for Chuo in the men's 4 x 100 m relay at the Kanto Regional University Championships. In that world-class performance Iizuka singlehandedly gave Chuo a one-second margin of victory and the national collegiate record of 38.54. Iizuka went on to win ...

by Brett Larner National record holders Minori Hayakari (Kyoto Koka AC) and Masato Yokota (Team Fujitsu) led the performances by the Japanese contingent at the July 15 Lappeenranta Games in Finland with wins in the women's 3000 m steeplechase and men's 800 m. The veteran Hayakari led start to finish after setting the race off at national record pace. For Yokota it was his second European win in less than a week, both wins clocking just off his national record. 2010 Lappeenranta Games - Top Results click here for complete results Men's 3000 m 1. Geoffrey Kipsang (Kenya) - 7:59.57 2. Matti Rasanen (Finland) - 8:02.18 3. Jukka Keskisalo (Finland) - 8:02.23 ----- 6. Satoru Kitamura (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 8:14.92 Women's 3000 mSC 1. Minori Hayakari (Kyoto Koka AC) - 9:52.10 2. Livia Toth (Hungary) - 9:54.16 3. Valeria Mara (Ukraine) - 9:54.98 Men's 1500 m 1. Kiprono Menjo (Kenya) - 3:38.40 2. Niclas Sandells (Germany) - 3:41.62 3. Mikael Bergdahl (Germany) - 3:42.5...

by Brett Larner All but invisible to the eyes of the world, the penultimate meet in the 2010 Hokuren Distance Challenge, a six-meet series designed to provide racing and sharpening opporunities for the hundreds of corporate, university and high school student athletes who spend the summer training in Hokkaido to escape the heat of Japan's mainland, took place July 14 in Kitami, Hokkaido. At the Kitami meet a host of familiar faces took the top spots at distances from 800 m to 10000 m. 5000 m and 30 km national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) took another step in his comeback from two years of setbacks with a 10000 m win in 28:08.16. 5000 m national champion Yuki Matsuoka (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) ran a slim PB to finish a safe 2nd ahead of Matsumiya's Kenyan teammate Samuel Kariuki (Team Konica Minolta). 2010 Tokyo Marathon winner Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) continued his gradual post-Tokyo rebuild with a solid 28:40.06. Fujiwara plans to target a 2:06...

by Brett Larner Three-time 1500 m national champion Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) had an excellent day at the July 11 Brasschaat meet in Belgium, breaking her four year-old 5000 m PB by 11 seconds to win the women's 5000 m in 15:28.44. Steepler Hiroyoshi Umegae (Team NTN) also had a good day as he won the men's 3000 m in 8:02.09. All told, five Japanese athletes won their events at the meet. A summary of results: 2010 Brasschaat Meet - Top Results click here for complete results Women's 5000 m 1. Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) - 15:28.44 - PB 2. Freya Murray (GBR) - 15:31.17 3. Allison Grace (USA) - 15:50.00 Men's 3000 m 1. Hiroyoshi Umegae (Team NTN) - 8:02.09 2. Jordan Horn (USA) - 8:03.73 3. Steffen Iliczka (Germany) - 8:09.88 Men's 1500 m 1. Jeff See (USA) - 3:40.94 2. Wouter De Boer (Netherlands) - 3:41.12 3. Andrew Jesien (USA) - 3:41.23 ----- 8. Fumikazu Kobayashi (Team Fujitsu) - 3:41.89 Men's 1500 m B-heat 1. Hiroshi Ino (Team NTN) - 3:45.70 2. ...

by Brett Larner Men's 800 m national record holder Masato Yokota (Team Fujitsu) had the best result of the day for the Japanese contingent at this year's KBC Nacht meet in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium on July 10. Less than half a second off his national record of 1:46:16, Yokota won the 800 m in 1:46.63 by the narrowest of margins over South African Jonas Windy . Among the other Japanese participants in the meet, Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) was perhaps the most disappointing as he fell well short in his attempt on the Japanese 5000 m national record, running only 13:27.36 for 9th. A summary of results is included below. 2010 KBC Nacht - Top Results click here for complete results Men's 800 m 1. Masato Yokota (Team Fujitsu) - 1:46.63 2. Jonas Windy (South Africa) - 1:46.64 3. Ludolph Siren (Germany) - 1:47.29 Men's 1500 m B-heat 1. Mthobisi Baloyi (South Africa) - 3:41.58 2. Gregory Beugnet (France) - 3:31.99 3. Niels Verwer (Netherlands) - 3:42.75 ----- 4. Yasunor...

by Brett Larner Top results from part four of this year's Hokuren Distance Challenge series, held July 10 in Kushiro, Hokkaido. 2010 Hokuren Distance Challenge Kushiro Meet Results click here for complete results Men's 10000 m 1. Shunsuke Nomura (Team Osaka Gas) - 29:27.53 2. Jee Young-Joon (S. Korea) - 29:33.97 3. Kim Min (S. Korea) - 29:36.21 Women's 5000 m 1. Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) - 16:20.25 2. Tomo Morimoto (Team Tenmaya) - 16:36.82 3. Naoko Sakamoto (Team Tenmaya) - 16:55.89 Men's 5000 m 1. Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:28.69 2. Alex Mwangi (Kenya/Team YKK) - 13:52.65 3. Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) - 13:55.82 4. Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 13:57.78 5. Daisuke Shimizu (Team Kanebo) - 14:00.99 6. Tomoyuki Morita (Team Kanebo) - 14:03.66 7. Masato Kihara (Team Kanebo) - 14:04.13 8. Samuel Kariuki (Kenya/Team Konica Minolta) - 14:04.74 9. Yuki Iwai (Team Asahi Kasei) - 14:06.51 10. Noriaki Takahashi (Team S&B) - 14:09...

JRN will be on location this weekend at Ironman Korea in Cheju, South Korea. Apologies in advance for any interruptions to regularly-scheduled service. In the meantime, keep on eye on tomorrow's KBC Nacht meet in Heusden, Belgium where Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) will be going for Takayuki Matsumiya's 5000 m national record of 13:13.20, set three years ago at the same meet. Click here for complete start lists.

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20100706k0000m050081000c.html translated by Brett Larner On July 5 Rikuren announed the names of the five men and five women who will make up the Japanese national team for this year's World Half Marathon Championships, to be held Oct. 16 in Nanning, China. In selecting the team federation officials considered results from this year's National Jitsugyodan Half Marathon, Sendai International Half Marathon, Sapporo Half Marathon, and, in a new develoment, the National Track and Field Championships 10000 m. 2009 World Championship marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) was included on the women's team. Team members: Men Akihiko Tsumurai (Team Mazda) - 5th, Jitsugyodan Half, PB: 1:01:58 (2010) Osamu Ibata (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 5th, Sendai Half, PB: 1:02:08 (2008) Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 10th, Sapporo Half, PB: 1:02:37 (2005) Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 5th, Nat'l 10000 m, PB: 1:02:51 (...

by Brett Larner A summary of Japanese results from the final day of the Asian Junior Athletics Championship 2010 in Hanoi, Vietnam: Seiya Kato won the gold medal in the boys' 400 m hurdles in 50.83, with teammate Yuichi Nagano scoring bronze in 51.21. Mahiro Akamatsu likewise won gold in the girls' 3000 m, running 9:36.47, while teammate Naoko Koizumi was only 5th. Ikuto Yufu and Ikki Takeuchi took silver and bronze in the boys' 5000 m, Yufu losing by less than one second to Kenyan-born Bahraini Edwin Chebii Kimurer . Manabu Aoki took the silver medal in the boys' 10000 m race walk in 45:01.73. Taishi Nakayama won bronze in the boys' 200 m in 21.05 after winning his semi-final. Winner Chimdee Suppachai of Thailand set a new Games record of 20.80. Naohiro Yokoyama was eliminated at the semi-final stage. The boys' 4x400 m relay team won silver in 3:12.14, while the boys' 4x100 m relay team won bronze in 40.64. Sho Kawamoto was 5th in the boys' 8...

by Brett Larner Unstoppably talented in university, Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) has had an off-and-on career since joining the corporate world last year. Last year he ran 3 seconds off the Japanese national record for 10000 m to become the all-time #3 Japanese man at that distance, but then went on to miss out on qualifying for the Berlin World Championships. On July 3rd this year he pulled off one of his best accomplishments so far, running 7:44.63 for 3000 m at the Memorial Leon Buyle meet in Belgium. Sato finished 3rd behind Kenyans John Kemboi Cheruiyot and Yusef Biwott , the top two 3000 m runners thus far in 2010. His time, a PB by 9 seconds, was less than 3 seconds off Toshinari Takaoka 's 11 year-old national record of 7:41.87 and shows that he is in excellent form as he kicks off a summer stint on the European circuit. A similar improvement over 5000 m would put Sato 1 second off the relatively weak Japanese national record of 13:13.20, a mark which may well fall w...

http://www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au/default.asp?PageID=20457 Led by Kaori Yoshida 's 2:31:33 victory, Japanese women took four of the top five places in the marathon while Japanese men took seven of the top ten places in the half marathon. Australian Jeff Hunt , whose memorable marathon debut at February's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon made that race newsworthy, won the half marathon in 1:03:18, three seconds ahead of countryman Martin Dent . For complete results click here .

by Brett Larner With a new 1:30 p.m. start time due no doubt to the exigencies of live television broadcast, sunny, humid and windy conditions with temperatures of 29 degrees greeted runners at the start of the 53rd Sapporo International Half Marathon on July 4. 2006 men's champion Cyrus Njui (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) and 2008 women's winner Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) came out on top again, winning over the likes of 2009 World Championships marathon gold medalist Abel Kirui (Kenya), 2:05 marathoner Vincent Kipruto (Kenya) and course record holder Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) in Njui's case and defending champion Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) in Kano's. Njui ran a race both controlled and aggressive, at the head of the pack from start to finish but gradually building his win. A conservative 14:28 split over the downhill first 5 km gave way to a 14:22 on the flat from 5 to 10 km. Njui remained at the head of the pack as the group whittled down to four Kenyans...

by Brett Larner Japanese results from the third day of the Asian Junior Athletics Championship 2010 in Hanoi, Vietnam: Haruka Shibata scored the gold medal in the girls' 400 m hurdles, running 1:00.20. Ryota Matono was the silver medalist in the boys' 1500 m in 3:58.28, with Komazawa University standout first year Ikuto Yufu 4th in 4:02.60. Chikako Mori took the bronze medal in the girls' 1500 m in 4:35.26 with Saki Komiya 4th in 4:37.13. Boys' 100 m bronze medalist Kazuki Baba came 4th in the 110 m hurdles final. Yuichi Nagano and Seiya Kato both won their heats in the boys' 400 m hurdles to advance to the final. Mizuki Ito advanced to the final in the girls' 200 m after finishing 2nd in her heat in 25.36. Taishi Nakayama and Naohiro Yokoyama likewise advanced to the final in the boys' 200 m as they finished 1st and 2nd in their heats in 21.67 and 22.06. Yuko Enomoto took silver in the girls' pole vault, clearing 3 m 65. Miya Itoman finishe...

by Brett Larner Japanese results from the second day of the Asian Junior Athletics Championship 2010 in Hanoi, Vietnam: Keita Shitara and Shingo Hayashi went 2-3 in the boys' 10000 m but fell well short of challenging gold medalist Suresh Kumar of India. Hiroi Maeda won the silver medal in the girls' 10000 m walk, 14 seconds behind winner Lingling Tong of China in 49:25.87. Yakako Kaga was 4th in 51:07.62. Yuka Sato took a surprise bronze in the girls' javelin throw with a throw of 48 m 46. Both Kengo Yamasaki and Suguru Ito finished out of the medals in the boys' 400 m. Sho Kawamoto advanced to the final in the boys' 800 m, 3rd in his heat in 1:55.88. Boys' 100 m bronze medalist Kazuki Baba advanced to the final in the boys' 110 m hurdles, 3rd in his heat in 14.47. For complete results from the second day of competition, click here . (c) 2010 Brett Larner all rights reserved

by Brett Larner The 53rd Sapporo International Half Marathon takes place this Sunday, July 4. Defending champions Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) and Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) return to take on 2008 winners Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) and Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC), and foreign competition including 2009 World Championships marathon gold medalist Abel Kirui (Kenya), 2:05 marathoner Vincent Kipruto (Kenya), #1-ranked British woman Mara Yamauchi , and young American Antonio Vega . For domestic runners a spot on the national team for this year's World Half Marathon Championships is on the line, meaning many of the current top Japanese runners including Yu Mitsuya (Team Toyota Kyushu), Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) and Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) will be in the field. The Sapporo International Half Marathon will be broadcast live nationwide on Nihon TV at 1:30 p.m. on July 4. Overseas viewers should be able to watch live online for free through Keyhole TV, ...

by Brett Larner Ahead of this month's IAAF World Junior Championships, the 14th Asian Junior Athletics Championships got underway July 1 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Among the Japanese results on the meet's first day: Hiroaki Koike won the boys' 3000 m steeplechase in 9:10.66, beating Kenyan-born Bahraini runner-up Isaac Kemboi Chelimo by over 20 seconds. Katsuki Suga was 2nd in the girls' 5000 m in 16:31.22, less than 10 seconds behind Ethiopian-born Bahraini winner Tejitu Daba Chalchissa . Eri Tayama finished 5th. Kazuki Baba and Farouq Ishimoto went 3-4 in the boys' 100 m, clocking 10.86 and 10.91. Mizuki Ito finished last in the girls' 100 m final, running 12.64. Both Japanese runners in the boys' 400 m qualified for the final, Kengo Yamasaki winning Heat 1 in 48.11 and Suguru Ito coming in 2nd in Heat 2 in 49.00. For complete results from the first day of competition, click here . (c) 2010 Brett Larner all rights reserved