by Brett Larner
National record holder Daichi Sawano (Team Fujitsu) was the lone Japanese athlete in action in a final on Day Four of athletics competition at the Rio de Janeiro, waiting out heavy rain before getting started in the men's pole vault. Sawano easily cleared 5.50 m on his first attempt but struggled at 5.65 m, seeming to clear it on his third attempt but brushing the bar just enough to be eliminated. His 7th-place overall finish in the final checks only the second box in the JAAF's modest goal of one medal and five top eight placings in Rio, a goal that at this point looks tough to achieve despite widespread Japanese success in a variety of other sports.
National champion Keisuke Nozawa (Mizuno) blasted a 48.62 PB to win Heat 4 of the men's 400 m hurdles, frontrunning the entire race to make the semifinals. Teammate Yuki Matsushita (Mizuno) was the first non-qualifier in 49.60. In one of two men's 110 m hurdles heats run as heavy rain set in, national champion Wataru Yazawa (Descente) underperformed, running only 13.89 (+1 m/s). After the rains let up and the other heats were run, however, Yazawa was one of eight athletes called back to be given a second chance to qualify on time due to the difference in conditions between the first two heats and the rest. 13.66 was the mark to beat, but despite having won June's National Championships in 13.48 he could only manage 13.88 (-0.1 m/s) for 3rd. Deuce Carter (Jamaica) was the only athlete to move on from the supplementary heat, winning it in 13.51.
Having scratched in the 100 m due to lingering concerns over an injury she suffered between Nationals and Rio, 200 m national record holder Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tech AC) ran 23.21 (+0.5 m/s) for 5th in her opening round heat and failed to advance. Four other Japanese athletes were likewise cut off in the heats in their events. Most noteworthy among them, 19-year-old Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo University), added to the Rio team in the men's 3000 m SC on Aug. 3 after being offered one of the IAAF invitation spots, outran his last-place ranking in his heat by beating four faster competitors to take 11th in 8:40.98. His track season having ended with his 8:31.89 PB run on July 7, Shiojiri, a Juntendo second-year, had already moved into heavy mileage summer training for the fall's ekiden season. Immediately post-race one of the TV presenters asked him about the future, seeming to be leading him to talk about Tokyo 2020. On live TV at the Olympics, Shiojiri answered, "Well, there's the steeple, yeah, but the Hakone Ekiden is coming up so I have to work hard."
Rio de Janeiro Olympics
Aug. 15, 2016
click here for complete results
Men's Pole Vault Final
1. Thiago Braz Da Silva (Brazil) - 6.03 m - OR
2. Renaud Lavillenie (France) - 5.98 m
3. Sam Kendricks (U.S.A.) - 5.85 m
-----
7. Daichi Sawano (Japan) - 5.50 m
Women's 200 m Heat Seven +0.5 m/s
1. Ivet Lalova-Collio (Bulgaria) - 22.61 - Q
2. Ella Nelson (Australia) - 22.66 - Q
3. Jodie Williams (Great Britain) - 22.69 - q
-----
5. Chisato Fukushima (Japan) - 23.21
Men's 110 m Hurdles Heat One +0.1 m/s
1. Omar McLeod (Jamaica) - 13.27 - Q
2. Jeff Porter (U.S.A.) - 13.50 - Q
3. Jeffrey Julmis (Haita) - 13.66 - Q
-----
6. Wataru Yazawa (Japan) - 13.89
Men's 110 m Hurdles Supplementary Heat -0.1 m/s
1. Deuce Carter (Jamaica) - 13.51 - q
2. Yeison Rivas (Colombia) - 13.87
3. Wataru Yazawa (Japan) - 13.88
Women's 400 m Hurdles Heat Six
1. Eilidh Doyle (Great Britain) - 55.46 - Q
2. Sage Watson (Canada) - 55.93 - Q
3. Olena Kolesnychenko (Ukraine) - 56.61 - Q
-----
5. Satomi Kubokura (Japan) - 57.34
Men's 400 m Hurdles Heat One
1. Abdelmalik Lahoulou (Algeria) - 48.62 - Q, NR
2. Boniface Mucheru Tumuti (Kenya) - 48.91 - Q
3. Kerron Clement (U.S.A.) - 49.17 - Q
-----
4. Yuki Matsushita (Japan) - 49.60
Men's 400 m Hurdles Heat Four
1. Keisuke Nozawa (Japan) - 48.62 - Q, PB
2. Thomas Barr (Ireland) - 48.93 - Q
3. Eric Cray (Phillipines) - 49.05 - Q
Men's 3000 m Steeplechase Heat One
1. Hillary Bor (U.S.A.) - 8:25.01 - Q
2. Soufiane Elbakkali (Morocco) - 8:25.17 - Q
3. Ezekiel Kemboi (Kenya) - 8:25.51 - Q
-----
11. Kazuya Shiojiri (Japan) - 8:40.98
Men's Triple Jump Qualifying Group A
1. Bin Dong (China) - 17.10 m -0.1 m/s
2. Will Claye (U.S.A.) - 17.05 m +0.4 m/s
3. Shuo Cao (China) - 16.97 m +0.3 m/s
-----
15. Daigo Hasegawa (Japan) - 16.17 m +0.3 m/s
Men's Triple Jump Qualifying Group B
1. Christian Taylor (U.S.A.) - 17.24 m +0.2 m/s
2. Nelson Evora (Portugal) - 16.99 m -0.3 m/s
3. Karol Hoffman (Poland) - 16.79 m +0.2 m/s
-----
18. Kohei Yamashita (Japan) - 15.71 m +0.3 m/s
© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
National record holder Daichi Sawano (Team Fujitsu) was the lone Japanese athlete in action in a final on Day Four of athletics competition at the Rio de Janeiro, waiting out heavy rain before getting started in the men's pole vault. Sawano easily cleared 5.50 m on his first attempt but struggled at 5.65 m, seeming to clear it on his third attempt but brushing the bar just enough to be eliminated. His 7th-place overall finish in the final checks only the second box in the JAAF's modest goal of one medal and five top eight placings in Rio, a goal that at this point looks tough to achieve despite widespread Japanese success in a variety of other sports.
National champion Keisuke Nozawa (Mizuno) blasted a 48.62 PB to win Heat 4 of the men's 400 m hurdles, frontrunning the entire race to make the semifinals. Teammate Yuki Matsushita (Mizuno) was the first non-qualifier in 49.60. In one of two men's 110 m hurdles heats run as heavy rain set in, national champion Wataru Yazawa (Descente) underperformed, running only 13.89 (+1 m/s). After the rains let up and the other heats were run, however, Yazawa was one of eight athletes called back to be given a second chance to qualify on time due to the difference in conditions between the first two heats and the rest. 13.66 was the mark to beat, but despite having won June's National Championships in 13.48 he could only manage 13.88 (-0.1 m/s) for 3rd. Deuce Carter (Jamaica) was the only athlete to move on from the supplementary heat, winning it in 13.51.
Having scratched in the 100 m due to lingering concerns over an injury she suffered between Nationals and Rio, 200 m national record holder Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tech AC) ran 23.21 (+0.5 m/s) for 5th in her opening round heat and failed to advance. Four other Japanese athletes were likewise cut off in the heats in their events. Most noteworthy among them, 19-year-old Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo University), added to the Rio team in the men's 3000 m SC on Aug. 3 after being offered one of the IAAF invitation spots, outran his last-place ranking in his heat by beating four faster competitors to take 11th in 8:40.98. His track season having ended with his 8:31.89 PB run on July 7, Shiojiri, a Juntendo second-year, had already moved into heavy mileage summer training for the fall's ekiden season. Immediately post-race one of the TV presenters asked him about the future, seeming to be leading him to talk about Tokyo 2020. On live TV at the Olympics, Shiojiri answered, "Well, there's the steeple, yeah, but the Hakone Ekiden is coming up so I have to work hard."
Rio de Janeiro Olympics
Aug. 15, 2016
click here for complete results
Men's Pole Vault Final
1. Thiago Braz Da Silva (Brazil) - 6.03 m - OR
2. Renaud Lavillenie (France) - 5.98 m
3. Sam Kendricks (U.S.A.) - 5.85 m
-----
7. Daichi Sawano (Japan) - 5.50 m
Women's 200 m Heat Seven +0.5 m/s
1. Ivet Lalova-Collio (Bulgaria) - 22.61 - Q
2. Ella Nelson (Australia) - 22.66 - Q
3. Jodie Williams (Great Britain) - 22.69 - q
-----
5. Chisato Fukushima (Japan) - 23.21
Men's 110 m Hurdles Heat One +0.1 m/s
1. Omar McLeod (Jamaica) - 13.27 - Q
2. Jeff Porter (U.S.A.) - 13.50 - Q
3. Jeffrey Julmis (Haita) - 13.66 - Q
-----
6. Wataru Yazawa (Japan) - 13.89
Men's 110 m Hurdles Supplementary Heat -0.1 m/s
1. Deuce Carter (Jamaica) - 13.51 - q
2. Yeison Rivas (Colombia) - 13.87
3. Wataru Yazawa (Japan) - 13.88
Women's 400 m Hurdles Heat Six
1. Eilidh Doyle (Great Britain) - 55.46 - Q
2. Sage Watson (Canada) - 55.93 - Q
3. Olena Kolesnychenko (Ukraine) - 56.61 - Q
-----
5. Satomi Kubokura (Japan) - 57.34
Men's 400 m Hurdles Heat One
1. Abdelmalik Lahoulou (Algeria) - 48.62 - Q, NR
2. Boniface Mucheru Tumuti (Kenya) - 48.91 - Q
3. Kerron Clement (U.S.A.) - 49.17 - Q
-----
4. Yuki Matsushita (Japan) - 49.60
Men's 400 m Hurdles Heat Four
1. Keisuke Nozawa (Japan) - 48.62 - Q, PB
2. Thomas Barr (Ireland) - 48.93 - Q
3. Eric Cray (Phillipines) - 49.05 - Q
Men's 3000 m Steeplechase Heat One
1. Hillary Bor (U.S.A.) - 8:25.01 - Q
2. Soufiane Elbakkali (Morocco) - 8:25.17 - Q
3. Ezekiel Kemboi (Kenya) - 8:25.51 - Q
-----
11. Kazuya Shiojiri (Japan) - 8:40.98
Men's Triple Jump Qualifying Group A
1. Bin Dong (China) - 17.10 m -0.1 m/s
2. Will Claye (U.S.A.) - 17.05 m +0.4 m/s
3. Shuo Cao (China) - 16.97 m +0.3 m/s
-----
15. Daigo Hasegawa (Japan) - 16.17 m +0.3 m/s
Men's Triple Jump Qualifying Group B
1. Christian Taylor (U.S.A.) - 17.24 m +0.2 m/s
2. Nelson Evora (Portugal) - 16.99 m -0.3 m/s
3. Karol Hoffman (Poland) - 16.79 m +0.2 m/s
-----
18. Kohei Yamashita (Japan) - 15.71 m +0.3 m/s
© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
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