Skip to main content

Rio de Janeiro Olympics Athletics Day Seven Japanese Results

by Brett Larner

Japan's top two decathletes, Suzuki Hamamatsu AC teammates Keisuke Ushiro and Akihiko Nakamura, wrapped up their Rio Olympics with good second day performances to move up through the rankings.  24th and 25th after the first day of competition, Ushiro advanced to 20th, just shy of the 8000 point mark.  Nakamura won his 1500 m heat by over 10 seconds in 4:18.37 to pick up 823 points and move up to 22nd.

But the bigger news was in the men's 4x100 m heats, where the young Japanese team of Ryota Yamagata (Seiko), Shota Iizuka (Mizuno), Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) and Asuka Cambridge (Dome) lopped 0.35 seconds off the Japanese national record and 0.14 off China's minutes-old Asian record to win its heat in 37.68 over a Bolt-and Blake-less Jamaican squad.  With the U.S.A. and Canada also not running some of their A-listers Japan's time ranked it 2nd going into the final just 0.03 behind the U.S. team. Anticipation is high for Japan's first sprint relay Olympic medal since Beijing.

Rio de Janeiro Olympics
Aug. 18, 2016
click here for complete results

Decathlon Final Standings
1. Ashton Eaton (U.S.A.) - 8893 - OR
2. Kevin Mayer (France) - 8834 - NR
3. Damian Warner (Canada) - 8666
-----
20. Keisuke Ushiro (Japan) - 7952
22. Akihiko Nakamura (Japan) - 7612

Men's 4x100 m Relay Heat Two
1. Japan - 37.68 - Q, AR
2. Jamaica - 37.94 - Q
3. Trinidad and Tobago - 37.96 - Q

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Matsumoto Marathon Canceled After Fraudulently Hiding Past Financial Losses

On Apr. 23 the city government of Matsumoto, Nagano announced that it was canceling this fall's Matsumoto Marathon after discovering accounting fraud in the event's operation. "We are going to conduct a review of how the race has been conducted up to now," a statement from the city read. Mayor Yoshinao Gaun apologized at a press conference, saying, "We sincerely apologize for letting down everyone involved in putting the event together." The Matsumoto Marathon is run by an executive committee made up of representatives from the city, the Matsumoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Shinano Mainichi Newspaper, and the relevant track and field associations. According to city officials, financial records for the November, 2023 edition of the race were fraudulently manipulated. Income from participants' entry fees was lower than expected, and although the city managed to get the Shinano Mainichi, to which it had outsourced overall event management, to r...

Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon

On Apr. 9 the Kinki Region Bureau of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Division arrested Matthew Inglis Fox , 38, an Australian business owner of no known fixed address, on charges of violating the importation regulations of the Narcotics Control Act by smuggling tablets containing marijuana elements from the United States. The suspect had entered Japan in February to run in the Osaka Marathon . The suspect was arrested on suspicion of smuggling approximately 12 pills containing marijuana by sending them from a U.S. airport to Osaka's Kansai Airport using an international courier service on Feb. 19. The Osaka branch of the Customs Service discovered the tablets in arriving cargo and suspected them to be narcotics. Customs contacted the Narcotics Control Division, which then began its investigation of the case. According to the Narcotics Control Division, the suspect denies the charges.  Translator's note: Fox, who received a lifetime ban from the Ageo City Half Mara...

Nyiva and Wolde Win Gifu Seiryu Half

Two good races happened Sunday at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon . The women's race was a head-to-head race between 2022 marathon world champion Gotytom Gebreslase and debuting Japan-based Janet Nyiva . Side-by-side through 15 km, Nyiva shattered Gebreslase with a massive surge over the last 5 km that ultimately put 52 second between them, Nyiva wining in 1:07:37 and Gebreslase next in 1:08:29. 2023 Asian marathon champion Eunice Chebichii Chumba held off the up-and-coming Kana Kobayashi , a member of Japan's marathon team for September's Tokyo World Championships, with a 1:09:07 for 3rd. Kobayashi's 1:09:09 for 4th was a PB by almost 5 minutes and the fastest time ever on the rolling Gifu course by a Japanese woman. Yumi Yoshikawa was 5th in 1:10:51. Five men went out front on mid-59 pace. Dawit Wolde , debuting Kiprono Sitonik , Vincent Yegon and veteran Bedan Karoki all took turns leading, with only Richard Kimunyan tucking in and declining to share the load. ...