Skip to main content

A Step Backward From Eugene - Final Japanese Tally From World U20 Championships

by Brett Larner



Japan's final score at the Bydgoszcz World U20 Championships was relatively modest, one silver medal, one bronze and fourteen other top eight placings, down significantly from the 2014 Eugene World Junior Championships where Japanese athletes earned one gold, three silver and two bronze medals along with fifteen other top eight finishes.  Both medals this year came with new Asian Junior Records attached, Takumu Furuya running 13.31 for bronze in the men's 110 m hurdles and the men's 4x100 m relay coming just shy of the U.S.A. in 39.01 for silver.  Five of the other top eight placers set new PBs, but by and large they were at the bottom end of their finals; apart from the medalists only two of the fourteen top eight placers made the top five in their events, Tatsuhiro Yamamoto with a 5th place in the men's 400 m hurdles and a 4th-place finish by the men's 4x400 m relay.

There were several close calls with a number of unlucky 9th-place finishes, but by and large results were so far off those from just two years ago that questions have to be asked.  But at the same time, the JAAF has set a goal for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics of just one medal and five top eight placings.    With the leadership having such low expectations it's hard to be critical of the World U20 team.  And with the bar that low, if the Rio team performs even close to as well as the Japanese team in Bydgoszcz it would be viewed as a rousing success.

2016 World U20 Championships Top Japanese Results
Bydgoszcz, Poland, July 19-24, 2016
click here for complete results

Men's 200 m
8. Jun Yamashita - 20.94

Men's 400 m
7. Kazuki Matsukiyo - 46.69 - PB
8. Naoki Kitadani - 47.15

Women's 3000 m
8. Nozomi Tanaka - 9:01.16 - PB

Women's 5000 m
8. Rika Kaseda - 15:39.66 - PB

Men's 110 m Hurdles
3. Takumu Furuya - 13.31 +0.2 m/s - Asian Jr. Record

Men's 400 m Hurdles
5. Tatsuhiro Yamamoto - 50.99
7. Yoshiro Watanabe - 51.09

Women's 10000 m Race Walk
8. Yukiho Mizoguchi - 46:19.49 - PB

Men's 4x100 m Relay
2. Japan - 39.01 - Asian Jr. Record

Men's 4x400 m Relay
4. Japan - 3:07.02

Men's Pole Vault
6. Masaki Ejima - 5.35 m

Men's High Jump
6. Yuji Hiramatsu - 2.21 m

Women's Javelin Throw
6. Mikako Yamashita - 54.89 m
8. Haruka Kitaguchi - 52.15 m

Men's Discus Throw
8. Shinichi Yukinaga - 58.50 - PB

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

TokyoRacer said…
Wow, good relay by the Japanese.
July 26, 2016 at 8:53 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

3 Athletes Provisionally Suspended After Positive Drug Tests at Asian Games (updated)

The International Testing Agency announced on Oct. 2 that provisional suspensions have been imposed on two athletes, Kazakhstan's Aiana Bolatbekkyzy in track and field, and Tajikistan's Issamjon Sharifov in tennis, after they tested positive for prohibited substances at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Aichi. Bolatbekkyzy, 19, tested positive for the steroid drostanolone in a sample collected during an in-competition test at the Games. A diuretic drug was found in the sample collected from Sharifov, 23. Update:  On Oct. 3 a third athlete, kurash wrestler Yash Kumar Chauhan  of India, was provisionally suspended after an in-competition test detected the steroid metandienone, the metabolic modulator GW1516, and the stimulant mephentermine in his system. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/article/20261002-X4FJLT5MMZKFND6WXPOESAKETQ/ translated by Brett Larner
Post a Comment
Read more

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...
Post a Comment
Read more