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100th Japanese National Track and Field Championships Entry List Highlights

by Brett Larner

Next weekend marks the 100th edition of the Japanese National Track and Field Championships, all the more important in their role as the primary trials event for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic team.  The JAAF's standards and Olympic qualification protocol are byzantine and labyrinthine, requiring four pages of detailed explanation, but at the risk of oversimplifying to the point fans can more or less follow it they basically boil down to the following:

  • Anyone who has hit the JAAF's standards by the end of the National Championships and is the top athlete with the JAAF standard in the top 8 in their event at Nationals is on the Rio team.
  • Anyone who has hit the Rio Olympics standards by the end of Nationals and wins their event is on the Rio team.
  • Anyone who has hit the JAAF's standards by the end of Nationals and makes the top 8 will get first consideration for whatever spots remain.
  • Anyone who has hit the Rio Olympic standards by the end of the National Championships and makes the top 3 in their event there is next in line.
  • Anyone who has the Rio standards by the end of Nationals and was the top Japanese finisher in one of the spring's designated Grand Prix events is next as long as they make the top eight at Nationals.
  • Anyone with the Rio standards by the end of Nationals who doesn't fit the above but the JAAF likes is next.
  • Top-placing athletes can chase standards after Nationals in most events except the 5000 m and 10000 m.

12 athletes in 9 events distributed pretty evenly across everything except middle distance have the magic JAAF standards and as a result a bit of breathing room:

  • Men's 100 m (10.01) - Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) - 10.01
  • Men's 200 m (20.28) - Kenji Fujimitsu (Zenrin) - 20.13, Kei Takase (Fujitsu) - 20.14
  • Men's 10000 m (27:31.43) - Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 27:29.69, Tetusya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 27:29.74
  • Women's 10000 m (31:23.17) - Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 31:18.16
  • Men's 400 mH (48.74) - Keisuke Nozawa (Mizuno) - 48.67
  • Men's Pole Vault (5.70 m) - Seito Yamamoto (Toyota) - 5.77 m, Hiroki Ogita (Mizuno) - 5.70 m
  • Women's Long Jump (6.84 m) - Konomi Kai (Volver) - 6.84 m
  • Men's Javelin Throw (84.32 m) - Ryohei Arai (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 84.66 m
  • Women's Javelin Throw (63.34 m) - Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 63.80 m

51 more athletes in 15 events go into Nationals with Rio qualifying marks in hand, 8 in sprints, 35 in distance events, 4 in hurdles and 4 in jumps.  The women's 10000 m looks set to be this year's big battle royale, with 19 women with the Rio standard on the entry list led by Ayuko Suzuki's JAAF standard-worthy 31:18.16.  The men's 10000 m is also big, with 10 men entered with the Rio standard including teammates and joint national record breakers Kota Murayama and Tetsuya Yoroizaka under the JAAF standard.  The men's 100 m and 200 m and both the men's and women's 5000 m all have the potential to see full three-athlete rosters sent to Rio, both the men's 100 m and the women's 5000 m with more Rio-qualified athletes entered than spots available.  The men's pole vault could also see a team of three if national record holder Daichi Sawano is able to get back on top of his game.

JRN will be on-site to cover the National Track and Field Championships live.  Check back closer to race date for more previews and details on coverage.

100th National Track and Field Championships
doubling as Rio de Janeiro Olympic Trials
Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Nagoya, June 24-26, 2016
click here for complete entry lists
times listed are best within qualifying period except where noted

Sprints

Men's 100 m
JAAF standard: 10.01
Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) - 10.01
Rio standard: 10.16
Ryota Yamagata (Seiko) - 10.06
Kei Takase (Fujitsu) - 10.09
Asuka Cambridge (Dome) - 10.10
Not qualified
Takuya Nagata (Hosei Univ.) - 10.19
Kazuma Oseto (Hosei Univ.) - 10.19

Women's 100 m
Rio standard: 11.32
Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido HiTec AC) - 11.23
Not qualified
Yuki Tomizawa (Toyama Univ.) - 11.56
Anna Doi (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 11.56
Nodoka Seko (Crane) - 11.60
Saori Kitakaze (Hokkaido HiTec AC) - 11.60

Men's 200 m
JAAF standard: 20.28
Kenji Fujimitsu (Zenrin) - 20.13
Kei Takase (Fujitsu) - 20.14
Rio standard: 20.50
Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) - 20.38
Not qualified
Kazuma Oseto (Hosei Univ.) - 20.55
Takuya Nagata (Hosei Univ.) - 20.57
Yuichi Kobayashi (Mizuno) - 20.65
Shota Hara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 20.65
Yuki Koike (Keio Univ.) - 20.69
Kotaro Taniguchi (Chuo Univ.) - 20.69

Women's 200 m
Rio standard: 23.20
Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido HiTec AC) - 23.11
Not qualified
Kana Ichikawa (Mizuno) - 23.60
Seika Aoyama (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 23.68
Sayaka Fujisawa (Cerespo) - 23.81
Ami Saito (Kurashiki Chuo H.S.) - 23.96

Men's 400 m
Rio standard: 45.40
Yuzo Kanemaru (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 45.22
Not qualified
Takeshi Fujiwara (Yumeomirai) - 45.44
Takamasa Kitagawa (Juntendo Univ.) - 45.52
Kentaro Sato (Josai Univ.) - 45.58
Julian Walsh (Toyo Univ.) - 45.64

Women's 400 m (Rio standard: 52.20)
Not qualified
Sayaka Aoki (Toho Ginko) - 53.05
Seika Aoyama (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 53.07
Sayaka Fujisawa (Cerespo) - 53.14
Haruko Ishizuka (Higashi Osaka Univ.) - 53.22
Konomi Takeishi (Toho Ginko) - 53.58

Middle Distance

Men's 800 m (Rio standard: 1:46.00)
Not qualified
Sho Kawamoto (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:46.52
Masato Yokota (Fujitsu) - 1:46.54
Tomonori Tanaka (AGF) - 1:48.25
Naoto Arayasu (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:48.32
Daisuke Sakurai (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) - 1:48.48

Women's 800 m (Rio standard: 2:01.50)
Not qualified
Yume Kitamura (Nittai Univ.) - 2:04.57
Ran Urabe (Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 2:04.86
Monami Mashita (Cerespo) - 2:05.99
Hana Yamada (Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 2:06.21
Ryoko Hirano (Tsukuba Univ.) - 2:06.37

Men's 1500 m (Rio standard: 3:36.20)
Not qualified
Masaki Toda (Nissin Shokuhin) - 3:39.67
Daiki Hirose (Osaka Gas) - 3:42.15
Tatsuhiko Hori (Toyo Univ.) - 3:42.51
Toshihiro Kenmotsu (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 3:42.69
Tatsuro Okazaki (Osaka Gas) - 3:42.84

Women's 1500 m (Rio standard: 4:07.00)
Not qualified
Nozomi Tanaka (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 4:15.55
Ayako Jinnouchi (Kyudenko) - 4:15.63
Chihiro Sunaga (Shiseido) - 4:15.69
Risa Shibuya (Yamada Denki) - 4:16.72
Maya Iino (Daiichi Seimei) - 4:17.28

Long Distance

Men's 5000 m
Rio standard: 13:25.00
Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) - 13:08.40
Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 13:12.63
Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 13:19.62
Not qualified
Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei) - 13:28.61
Takanori Ichikawa (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 13:28.91
Naohiro Domoto (JR Higashi Nihon) - 13:32.72
Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA) - 13:34.02
Hazuma Hattori (Toyo Univ.) - 13:34.64
Yuta Shitara (Honda) - 13:34.68
Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 13:35.19

Women's 5000 m
Rio standard: 15:24.00
Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 15:08.29
Yuka Miyazaki (Kyudenko) - 15:16.43
Misaki Onishi (Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:16.82
Azusa Sumi (Universal Entertainment) - 15:17.62
Kasumi Nishihara (Yamada Denki) - 15:20.20
Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei) - 15:21.40
Not qualified
Riko Matsuzaki (Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:25.54
Natsuki Omori (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 15:28.32
Hanami Sekine (Japan Post) - 15:28.88
Yuka Mukai (Sera H.S.) - 15:31.92

Men's 10000 m
JAAF standard: 27:31.43
Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 27:29.69
Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 27:29.74
Rio standard: 28:00.00
Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 27:39.95
Yuta Shitara (Honda) - 27:42.71
Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) - 27:45.24
Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei) - 27:46.55
Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Konica Minolta) - 27:55.02
Hiroyuki Yamamoto (Konica Minolta) - 27:55.40
Hiroyuki Ono (Nissin Shokuhin) - 27:57.85
Ken Yokote (Fujitsu) - 27:58.40

Women's 10000 m
JAAF standard: 31:23.17
Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 31:18.16
Rio standard: 32:15.00
Yuka Takashima (Hofu T&F Assoc.) - 31:37.32
Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei) - 31:38.80
Mao Kiyota (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 31:44.79
Riko Matsuzaki (Sekisui Kagaku) - 31:44.86
Ayumi Hagiwara (Uniqlo) - 31:46.58
Rei Ohara (Tenmaya) - 31:48.31
Hanami Sekine (Japan Post)  31:48.90
Yuki Mitsunobu (Denso) - 31:56.92
Michi Numata (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:03.95
Kasumi Nishihara (Yamada Denki) - 32:06.48
Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 32:07.37
Yuki Hidaka (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 32:10.76
Rina Yamazaki (Panasonic) - 32:11.40
Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) - 32:12.25
Reia Iwade (Noritz) - 32:13.21
Risa Yokoe (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:13.30
Akane Yabushita (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:13.55
Sayaka Kuwahara (Sekisui Kagaku) - 32:14.43

Hurdles

Men's 110 mH
Rio standard: 13.47
Wataru Yazawa (Descente) - 13.47
Not qualified
Hideki Omuro (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 13.54
Genta Masuno (Monteroza) - 13.64
Masahiro Kagimoto (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 13.72
Yuta Notoya (Kokushikan Univ.) - 13.74

Women's 100 mH (Rio standard: 13.00)
Not qualified
Ayako Kimura (Edion) - 13.22
Hitomi Shimura (Toho Ginko) - 13.24
Masumi Aoki (Int'l Pacific Univ.) - 13.28
Anri Tanaka (Konan Univ.) - 13.30
Airi Ito (Sumitomo Denko) - 13.34

Men's 400 mH
JAAF standard: 48.74
Keisuke Nozawa (Mizuno) - 48.67
Rio standard: 49.40
Yuki Matsushita (Mizuno) - 49.10
Takayuki Kishimoto (Fujitsu) - 49.17
Not qualified
Yuta Konishi (Sumitomo Denko) - 49.58
Naoya Nakano (Waseda Univ.) - 49.60

Women's 400 mH
Rio standard: 56.20
Satomi Kubokura (Niigata Albirex RC) - 56.14
Not qualified
Haruko Ishizuka (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 56.75
Aimi Yoshinara (Art Home) - 56.94
Miku Fujihara (Sumitomo Denko) - 57.71
Satsuki Umehara (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 58.02

Men's 3000 mSC (Rio standard: 8:30.00)
Not qualified
Hironori Tsuetaki (Fujitsu) - 8:32.89
Aoi Matsumoto (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 8:33.69
Jun Shinoto (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 8:34.81
Minato Yamashita (NTN) - 8:36.61
Kosei Yamaguchi (Aisan Kogyo) - 8:36.78
Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.) - 8:37.84

Women's 3000 mSC (Rio standard: 9:45.00)
Not qualified
Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) - 9:53.72
Chikako Mori (Sekisui Kagaku) - 9:58.74
Soyoka Segawa (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 9:58.81
Chika Mukai (Meijo Univ.) - 10:00.40
Misaki Mishima (Matsuyama Univ.) - 10:05.94

Jumps

Men's High Jump
Rio standard: 2.29 m
Naoto Tobe (Ando Zaidan) - 2.29 m
Not qualified
Takashi Eto (AGF) - 2.28 m
Yuji Hiramatsu (Tsukuba Univ.) - 2.28 m
Hiromi Takahari (Hitachi ICT)  2.28 m
Ryoichi Akamatsu (Gifu Univ.) - 2.25 m

Women's High Jump (Rio standard: 1.93 m)
Not qualified
Yuki Watanabe (Mirai Techno) - 1.84 m
Sumire Hata (Mukogawa Joshi Univ.) - 1.82 m
Miyuki Fukumoto (Konan Gakuen AC) - 1.81 m
Yuka Aiba (Tokamachi T&F Assoc.) - 1.81 m
Julia Tsuda (Higashi Osaka Univ.) - 1.81 m

Men's Pole Vault
JAAF/Rio standard: 5.70 m
Seito Yamamoto (Toyota) - 5.77 m
Hiroki Ogita (Mizuno) - 5.70 m
Not qualified
Daichi Sawano (Fujitsu) - 5.62 m
Hiroki Sasase (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 5.51 m
Akira Onodera (Sanuma PVC) - 5.43 m

Women's Pole Vault (Rio standard: 4.50 m)
Not qualified
Tomomi Abiko (Shiga Lake Stars) - 4.33 m
Miho Imano (Toelle) - 4.20 m
Megumi Hamana (Bell Japan AC) - 4.20 m
Megumi Nakada (Mitoshin AC) - 4.20 m
Kanae Tatsuta (Monteroza) - 4.15 m

Men's Long Jump
Rio standard: 8.15 m
Yohei Sugai (Mizuno) - 8.18 m
Not qualified
Shinichiro Shimono (Kyudenko) - 8.11 m
Tomoya Takamasa (Juntendo Univ.) - 8.03 m
Kota Minemura (Monteroza) - 7.95 m
Shotaro Shiroyama (Tokai Univ. Hokkaido) - 7.95 m

Women's Long Jump
JAAF standard: 6.84 m
Konomi Kai (Volver) - 6.84 m
Not qualified (Rio standard: 6.70 m)
Yurina Hiraka (Atsugi T&F Assoc.) - 6.43 m
Hitomi Nakano (Ibaraki T&F Assoc.) - 6.28 m
Hitomi Kawamura (Shunan City Hall) - 6.18 m
Yu Yamada (Tsukuba Univ.) - 6.15 m

Men's Triple Jump
Rio standard: 16.85 m
Daigo Hasegawa (Hitchi ICT) - 16.88 m
Kohei Yamashita (Tsukuba Univ.) - 16.85 m
Not qualified
Kazuyoshi Ishikawa (Nagano Yoshida AC) - 16.77 m
Ryoma Yamamoto (Juntendo Univ.) - 16.68 m
Yuma Okabe (Kyudenko) - 16.41 m

Women's Triple Jump (Rio standard: 14.15 m)
Not qualified
Kaede Miyasaka (Nippatsu) - 13.27 m
Waka Maeda (Super Hotel) - 13.18 m
Eri Sakamoto (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) - 13.05 m
Mayu Kogin (Ayumu Athletics) - 13.03 m
Chikako Masumi (Kyudenko) - 12.96 m

Throws

Men's Shot Put (Rio standard: 20.50 m)
Not qualified
Satoshi Hatase (Alsok) - 18.78 m
Taichi Nakamura (Mizuno) - 17.90 m
Hayato Yamamoto (Fukubi Giken) - 17.85 m
Ikuhiro Miyauchi (Nichidai Sakuramon AC) - 17.76 m
Takahisa Suzuki (Okuwa) - 17.22 m

Women's Shot Put (Rio standard: 17.75 m)
Not qualified
Nanaka Kori (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 16.19 m
Aya Ota (Fukuoka Univ.) - 15.72 m
Chiaki Yoshino (Saitama T&F Assoc.) - 15.39 m
Shoko Matsuda (Niigata Albirex RC) - 15.14 m
Hitomi Naganuma (Kokushikan Univ.) - 14.99 m

Men's Discus Throw (Rio standard: 65.00 m)
Not qualified
Yuji Tsutsumi (Alsok) - 58.71 m
Go Chinen (Zenrin) - 56.14 m
Kengo Anbo (Ehime T&F Assoc.) - 55.68
Shigeo Hatakeyama (Zenrin) - 55.43 m
Masateru Yugami (Toyota) - 54.81 m

Women's Discus Throw (Rio standard: 61.00 m)
Not qualified
Ayumi Takahashi (S.T.T.) - 54.22 m
Natsumi Fujimori (Juntendo Univ.) - 52.97 m
Nanaka Kori (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 52.14 m
Eriko Nakata (Shikoku Univ.) - 51.07 m
Ai Shikimoto (Niigata Albirex RC) - 50.98

Men's Hammer Throw (Rio standard: 77.00 m)
Not qualified
Yushiro Hosaka (Alsok) - 70.46 m
Ryota Kashimura (Monteroza) - 68.97 m
Toru Tanaka (Mizuno) - 68.80 m
Hiroaki Doi (Ryutsu Keizai Univ.) - 67.64 m
Koji Murofushi (Mizuno) - no mark

Women's Hammer Throw (Rio standard: 71.00 m)
Not qualified
Akane Watanabe (Maruwa Unyukikan) - 66.79 m
Masumi Aya (Maruzen Kogyo) - 66.38 m
Hiromi Katsuyama (Tsukuba Univ.) - 62.96 m
Wakana Sato (Toho Ginko) - 59.90 m
Misaki Fukushima (Ehime T&F Assoc.) - 59.89 m

Men's Javelin Throw
JAAF standard: 84.32 m
Ryohei Arai (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 84.66 m
Not qualified (Rio standard: 83.00 m)
Yukifumi Murakami (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 79.93 m
Roderick Genki Dean (Mizuno) - 79.59 m
Kohei Hasegawa (Fukui T&F Assoc.) - 78.66 m
Taisei Aibara (Nihon Univ.) - 77.40 m

Women's Javelin Throw
JAAF standard: 63.34 m
Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 63.80 m
Not qualified (Rio standard: 62.00 m)
Haruka Kitaguchi (Nihon Univ.) - 61.38 m
Risa Miyashita (Osaka Taiiku Univ.) - 59.10 m
Ai Yamanouchi (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 58.76 m
Mikako Yamashita (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 58.59 m

© 2016 Brett Larner
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