Japanese Olympic Long Distance Event Rankings

by Brett Larner

Entry lists for track and field events at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics were publicly released yesterday on the IAAF website. Start lists are due to be released later this week and are bound to include scratches. Based on the current entry lists, below are Japanese long distance athletes' ranking in their events by best time within the Olympic qualifying window. Rankings will be revised based on updated start lists.

Ranked 5th in the women's marathon field of 160, Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) looks like Japan's best chance at a distance medal, with 8th-ranked Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei) an outside contender. Ranked 9th in the women's 10000 m, Ayuko Suzuki (Team Japan Post) is the only other Japanese athlete in the top 10 in their event. Beating her ranking would give her the best Japanese women's 10000 m Olympic placing in 20 years. Three other athletes, Hanami Sekine (Team Japan Post) in the women's 10000 m, Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) in the women's marathon and Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) in the men's marathon, are ranked in the top 12 and could have chances of top 8 finishes.

National record holder Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) is ranked 17th in the men's 5000 m with Suzuki ranked 18th in the women's 5000 m. The challenge for both of them will to become just the second Japanese man and woman post-war to make an Olympic 5000 m final. For young collegiate steeplers Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.), ranked 53rd of 55 in the women's 3000 mSC, and Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.), 43rd of 45 in the men's race, the challenge will be to finish as far ahead of their rankings as they can.

Women's 10000 m - Aug. 12 - 42 entrants
9. Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 31:18.16
11. Hanami Sekine (Japan Post) - 31:22.92
17. Yuka Takashima (Shiseido) - 31:35.76

Men's 10000 m - Aug. 13 - 34 entrants
14. Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 27:29.69
19. Yuta Shitara (Honda) - 27:42.71
23. Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) - 27:45.24

Women's 3000 mSC - Heats: Aug. 13 / Final: Aug. 15 - 55 entrants
53. Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama University) - 9:44.22

Women's Marathon - Aug. 14 - 160 entrants
5. Kayoko Fukushi (Wacoal) - 2:22:17
8. Tomomi Tanaka (Daiichi Seimei) - 2:23:19
12. Mai Ito (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:24:42

Men's 3000 mSC - Heats: Aug. 15 / Final: Aug. 17 - 45 entrants
43. Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo University) - 8:31.89

Women's 5000 m - Heats: Aug. 16 / Final: Aug. 19 - 37 entrants
18. Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 15:08.29
27. Misaki Onishi (Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:16.82
32. Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei) - 15:21.40

Men's 5000 m - Heats: Aug. 17 / Final: Aug. 20 - 51 entrants
17. Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) - 13:08.40
34. Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 13:19.62

Men's Marathon - Aug. 21 - 159 entrants
12. Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) - 2:08:56
14. Hisanori Kitajima (Yasukawa Denki) - 2:09:16
17. Suehiro Ishikawa (Honda) - 2:09:25

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

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