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Relays and Walks Bring Japan World Youth Championships Medals

by Brett Larner

 Despite several close calls, Japan went empty-handed for the first three days of the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine.  Not until the July 13 race walks did its fortunes turn around.  In the women's 5000 m race walk, far behind Russian winner Olga Shargina's world-leading 22:13.91, Momoko Mizota narrowly held off Noemi Stella (Italy) for silver in a PB 22:42.77.

Less than an hour later, Toshikazu Yamanishi turned in Japan's only gold medal of the championships with a PB 41:53.80 in the men's 10000 m race walk, ten seconds ahead of silver medalist Maksim Krasnov (Russia) and bronze medalist Diego Garcia (Spain).  Just behind in 4th, Yuga Yamashita clocked a PB 42:07.94 but could not match Krasnov and Garcia on the final lap.

On the final day of competition, both the women's and men's medley relay teams picked up bronze, the women behind the U.S.A. and, by a step, British Virgin Islands, and the men behind Jamaica and the U.S.A.

8th IAAF World Youth Championships - Summary of Japanese Medalists
Donetsk, Ukraine, July 10-14, 2013
click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m Race Walk - July 13
1. Toshikazu Yamanishi (Japan) - 41:53.80 - PB
2. Maksim Krasnov (Russia) - 42:03.10 - PB
3. Diego Garcia (Spain) - 42:03.32 - PB
4. Yuga Yamashita (Japan) - 42:07.94 - PB
5. Nathan Brill (Australia) - 42:54.70

Women's 5000 m Race Walk - July 13
1. Olga Shargina (Russia) - 22:13.91 - PB
2. Momoko Mizota (Japan) - 22:42.77 - PB
3. Noemi Stella (Italy) - 22:48.95
4. Wenli Zhao (China) - 22:58.56 - PB
5. Klavdiia Afanasieva (Russia) - 23:33.24

Men's Medley Relay Final - July 14
1. Jamaica - 1:49.23
2. U.S.A. - 1:50.14
3. Japan - 1:50.52
4. Qatar - 1:52.55
5. Bahamas - 1:52.97
6. Poland - 1:53.36
7. Nigeria - 1:53.61
8. Hungary - 1:54.38

Women's Medley Relay Final - July 14
1. U.S.A. - 2:05.15
2. British Virgin Islands - 2:07.40
3. Japan - 2:07.61
4. Czech Republic - 2:08.55
5. Canada - 2:08.59
6. Hungary - 2:09.32
7. Italy - 2:10.64
DQ - China

(c) 2013 Brett Larner
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