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Japanese Federation Announces 2014 Asian Games Team

by Brett Larner

On June 9 the Japanese Federation released the 54 athlete lineup for its national team at the Sept. 27 - Oct. 3 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.  Where in the past it has allowed top talent to blow the Asian Games off, with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics hanging in the distance this time the Federation is taking a serious and long view, fielding an A-squad of national record holders, collegiate national record holders and junior national record holders in fifteen events, at least a half dozen more in the all-time Japanese top three in their events, and incorporating high-potential high school and university athletes with an eye toward their development pre-2020.

Major names on the men's list of 31 include teen sprint star Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.), 2010 World Junior 200 m gold medalist Shota Iizuka (Mizuno), Berlin World Championships javelin bronze medalist Yukifumi Murakami (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC), the Alberto Salazar-coached Suguru Osako (Team Nissin Shokuhin), 2006 World Junior 20 km race walk bronze medalist Yusuke Suzuki (Team Fujitsu), at 2:08:09 2014's fastest Japanese marathoner Kohei Matsumura (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) and, in his ninth of at least twelve marathons planned for his year, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't).

The women's list of 23 features high school Olympian Anna Doi (Daito Bunka Univ.), double 100 m and 200 m national record holder Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tec AC), Moscow World Championships marathon 4th-placer Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) and idiosyncratic triathlon-training marathoner Eri Hayakawa (Team Toto).  For both men and women on the team, medalling at the Asian Games will represent a shortcut to making the 2015 World Championships team, extra incentive for them to bring their best to an overlooked international championship event.

2014 Asian Games - Japanese National Team
Incheon, South Korea, Sept. 27-Oct. 3, 2014
click here for official team annoucement

Men

Sprints
Kenji Fujimitsu (Team Zenrin) - 10.40 / 20.38
Shota Hara (Jobu Univ.) - 10.39 / 20.41
Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) - 10.22 / 20.21
Yuzo Kanemaru (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 45.16
Nobuya Kato (Waseda Univ.) - 45.69
Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) - 10.01 / 20.41
Kei Takase (Team Fujitsu) - 10.13 / 20.34
Kazuya Watanabe (Mizuno) - 45.71
Ryota Yamagata (Keio Univ.) - 10.07 / 20.41

Men's Middle Distance
Sho Kawamoto (Nihon Univ.) - 1:45.75 - NR

 Men's Long Distance
Kota Murayama (Josai Univ.) - 13:38.87 / 28:45.66
Suguru Osako (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:20.80 / 27:38.31
Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:13.60 / 27:38.25

Men's Hurdles
Takayuki Kishimoto (Team Fujitsu) - 48.41
Genta Masuno (Kokusai Budo Univ.) - 13.58
Jun Shinoto (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 8:32.89

Men's Jumps
Takashi Eto (Tsukuba Univ.) - 2.28 m (HJ)
Daichi Sawano (Team Fujitsu) - 5.83 m (PV) - NR
Naoto Tobe (Chiba T&F Assoc.) - 2.31 m (HJ)
Ryoma Yamamoto (Juntendo Univ.) - 16.10 m (TJ)
Seito Yamamoto (Team Toyota) - 5.75 m (PV) - Univ. NR

 Men's Throws
Ryohei Arai (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 85.48 (Javelin)
Yukifumi Murakami (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 85.96 m (Javelin)

Men's Decathlon
Akihiko Nakamura (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 8035
Keisuke Ushiro (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 8308 - NR
Men's Marathon
Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 2:08:14
Kohei Matsumura (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) - 2:08:09

Men's Walks
Yusuke Suzuki (Team Fujitsu) - 1:18:17 - NR
Eiki Takahashi (Iwate Univ.) - 1:18:41 - Univ. NR
Takayuki Tanii (SDF Academy) - 1:20:39 / 3:43:56
Yuki Yamazaki (SDF Academy) - 1:20:38 / 3:40:12 - NR

Women

 Sprints
Seika Aoyama (Matsue Shogyo H.S.) - 23.78 / 53.40
Asami Chiba (Team Toho Ginko) - 51.75 - NR
Anna Doi (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 11.43 - Jr. NR / 23.63
Anna Fujimori (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 11.68
Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tec AC) - 11.21 - NR / 22.89 - NR
Kana Ichikawa (Mizuno) - 11.43 / 23.63
Nanako Matsumoto (Hamamatsu Municipal H.S.) - 53.67

Women's Long Distance
Ayumi Hagiwara (Team Uniqlo) - 15:49.19 / 31:45.29
Riko Matsuzaki (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:22.67
Kasumi Nishihara (Team Yamada Denki) - 15:23.80 / 31:53.69
Misaki Onishi (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:21.73

Women's Hurdles
Masumi Aoki (International Pacific Univ.) - 13.36
Ayako Kimura (Team Edion) - 13.03
Satomi Kubokura (Niigata Albirex RC) - 55.34 - NR
Mayuko Nakamura (Tsukuba Univ.) - 9:53.87 - Univ. NR
Misaki Sango (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 9:49.85

Women's Jumps
Tomomi Abiko (Shiga Lake Masters) - 4.40 m (PV) - NR
Miyuki Fukumoto (Konan Gakuen AC) - 1.92 m (HJ)

Women's Throws
Masumi Aya (Team Maruzen Kogyo) - 67.26 (HT)
Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 62.83 - NR (Javelin)

Women's Marathon
Eri Hayakawa (Team Toto) - 2:25:31
Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) - 2:23:34

Women's Walks
Rei Inoue (Team Tenmaya) - 1:31:48

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
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