Kawamoto, Sawano and Yamashita Added to Japanese Olympic Team

by Brett Larner

On July 13 the JAAF announced three additions to its team for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Men's 800 m national record holder Sho Kawamoto (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and men's pole vault national record holder Daichi Sawano (Team Fujitsu) were added after clearing their respective Rio standards last weekend. Despite fouling out at last month's National Championships, Kohei Yamashita (Tsukuba Univ.) was added in the men's triple jump after clearing the Rio standard earlier this season with a 16.85 m meet record to win the Kanto Region University Championships.

The official announcement noted that the JAAF has not yet received word from the IAAF concerning relays, where the men's 4x400 m is currently ranked 16th excluding the suspended Russia, and that relay teams would be announced at a later date. The men's 4x100 m, made up of sprinters on the Rio team as individuals, is already qualified after finishing 5th at the IAAF World Relays. The announcement also noted that further additions to the team are still possible pending notification from the IAAF of invitational slots in events with fewer qualified athletes than allocated for.

The Japanese Rio Olympic team as it currently stands. Times listed are the athletes' best within the Rio qualifying window.

Women - 14 athletes

Sprints
Chisako Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tech AC) - 100 m: 11.23     200 m: 22.88 - NR

Long Distance
Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 5000 m: 15:08.29 10000 m: 31:18.16
Misaki Onishi (Sekisui Kagaku) - 5000 m: 15:16.82
Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei) - 5000 m: 15:21.40
Hanami Sekine (Japan Post) - 10000 m: 31:22.92
Yuka Takashima (Shiseido) - 10000 m: 31:35.76
Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) - 3000 mSC: 9:44.22

Hurdles
Satomi Kubokura (Niigata Albirex RC) - 400 mH: 56.14

Jumps
Konomi Kai (Volver) - Long Jump: 6.84 m

Throws
Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - Javelin Throw: 63.80 m

Marathon
Kayoko Fukushi (Wacoal) - 2:22:17
Tomomi Tanaka (Daiichi Seimei) - 2:23:19
Mai Ito (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:24:42

Race Walks
Kumiko Okada (Bic Camera) - 20 kmRW - 1:29:40

Men - 33 athletes

Sprints
Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) - 100 m: 10.01
Ryota Yamagata (Seiko) - 100 m: 10.06
Asuka Cambridge (Dome) - 100 m: 10.10
Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) - 200 m: 20.11
Kenji Fujimitsu (Zenrin) - 200 m: 20.13
Kei Takase (Fujitsu) - 200 m: 20.14
Yuzo Kanemaru (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 400 m: 45.22
Julian Walsh (Toyo Univ.) - 400 m: 45.35

Middle Distance
Sho Kawamoto (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 800 m: 1:45.97

Long Distance
Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) - 5000 m: 13:08.40 - NR     10000 m: 27:45.24
Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 5000 m: 13:19.62     10000 m: 27:29.69 - NR
Yuta Shitara (Honda) - 10000 m: 27:42.71

Hurdles
Wataru Yazawa (Descente) - 110 mH: 13.47
Keisuke Nozawa (Mizuno) - 400 mH: 48.67
Yuki Matsushita (Mizuno) - 400 mH: 49.10

Jumps
Daigo Hasegawa (Hitachi ICT) - Triple Jump: 16.88 m
Kohei Yamashita (Tsukuba Univ.) - Triple Jump: 16.85 m
Takashi Eto (AGF) - High Jump: 2.29 m
Seito Yamashita (Toyota) - Pole Vault: 5.77 m
Daichi Sawano (Fujitsu) - Pole Vault: 5.75 m
Hiroki Ogita (Mizuno) - Pole Vault: 5.70 m

Throws
Ryohei Arai (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 84.66 m

Decathlon
Akihiko Nakamura (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 8180
Keisuke Ushiro (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 8160

Marathon
Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) - 2:08:56
Hisanori Kitajima (Yasukawa Denki) - 2:09:16
Suehiro Ishikawa (Honda) - 2:09:25

Race Walks
Eiki Takahashi (Fujitsu) - 20 kmRW: 1:18:03
Isamu Fujisawa (Alsok) - 20 kmRW: 1:18:45
Daisuke Matsunaga (Toyo Univ.) - 20 kmRW: 1:18:53
Hirooki Arai (SDF Academy) - 50 kmRW: 3:40:20
Takayuki Tanii (SDF Academy) - 50 kmRW: 3:42:01
Koichiro Morioka (Fujitsu) - 50 kmRW: 3:44:27

World Marathon Majors Japanese Entries

We're back from a short summer break. A week and a half out from the first race of the season's four World Marathon Majors races, here's a look at Japanese athletes scheduled to run. Everything right now is about qualifying for the MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to be held in the fall of 2027 in Nagoya. The JAAF makes no mistake about wanting to keep its top people racing domestically where it can get a share of revenue from the TV broadcast and race operations, so anyone who decides to race overseas has to do it in a WA platinum label race and hit either 2:06:30 or 2:23:30, regardless of place, course or weather if they want to make the trials. At the same time concessions are make for domestic races, like for example the late-August Hokkaido Marathon where up to 3 men and 3 women can qualify if they go 2:12:00 or 2:32:00. As a result, you get things like last year where amateur runner Yudai Fukuda made the trials by finishing 3rd Jap...

Nakajima Breaks 100 mH NR Twice, Kitaguchi Returns - August Track Roundup

Catching up on what's been happening in track and field this month during our summer break: Men's 3000 m NR holder Nagiya Mori was just off his 5000 m PB at the IFAM Oordegem meet in Belgium on Aug. 1, taking 16th in 13:15.01. Shota Nakano was 26th of 28 in 13:35.02. This year's national champion Ryoma Aoki ran the 3000 mSC but didn't finish. Naoto Hasegawa was the only Japanese athlete at Mutaz Essa Barshim 's What Gravity Tour stop at the Monaco Athletics Festival meet on Aug. 5. Having cleared 2.30 m for the first time earlier this year Hasegawa only managed 2.18 m in Monaco, taking 7th of 10. There were a lot of good performances at the Fuji Hokuriku World Trial meet in Fujiyoshida on Aug. 9, but the one that got the headlines was a 12.62 (-0.2) NR in the women's 100 mH by Hitomi Nakajima . Nakajima actually did it twice, running 12.62 (+2.0) in the heats before repeating in the final. Masumi Aoki also ran big in the heats, with a 12.68 (+2.0) for al...

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...

japan running news

Search This Blog