Skip to main content

Summary of Japanese Medalists at Asian Athletics Championships

With a roster somewhat depleted of top-level talent Japan took no gold but managed to pick up five silver and nine bronze medals at the July 6-9 Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, India. Japanese women scored the majority of the medals, taking three silver and eight bronze medals to the men's count of two silver, one bronze.

Women's 10000 m national champion Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) and men's 110 m hurdles national champ Shunya Takayama (Zenrin) were the only athletes already named to Japan's London World Championships team to participate. Matsuda took the bronze medal in the 10000 m behind Daria Maslova (Kyrghizstan) and national championships 5th-placer Yuka Hori (Japan), while Takayama missed out on bronze by 0.04 seconds as he took 4th in 13.65 (-0.6 m/s).

With none of the Japanese medalists clearing London standards at the Asian Athletics Championships there were no additions beyond Matsuda and Takayama to the London team from among those who competed in Bhubaneswar. Among those who opted to stay home, women's javelin national champion Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) threw 61.95 m at Sunday's Nambu Memorial Meet in Hokkaido to clear the London standard and position herself as an addition to the Worlds team. Likewise for men's 400 m hurdles runner-up Yusuke Ishida (Waseda Univ.) who hit the London standard dead on to win the Nambu 400 mH in 49.35 for a probable place in London.

A breakdown of Japanese medalists at the Asian Athletics Championships:

22nd Asian Athletics Championships

Bhubaneswar, India, July 6-9, 2017
click here for complete results

Women's 800 m Final
1. Nimali Waliwarsha Konda Liy (Sri Lanka) - 2:05.23
2. Gayanthika Thushari (Sri Lanka) - 2:05.27
3. Fumika Omori (Japan) - 2:06.50

Women's 1500 m Final
1. Chitra Pu (India) - 4:17.92
2. Geng Min (China) - 4:19.15
3. Ayako Jinnouchi (Japan) - 4:19.90

Women's 10000 m
1. Daria Maslova (Kyrghizstan) - 32:21.21
2. Yuka Hori (Japan) - 32:23.26
3. Mizuki Matsuda (Japan) - 32:46.61

Women's 100 m Hurdles Final -0.1 m/s
1. Jung Hyelim (South Korea) - 13.16
2. Ayako Kimura (Japan) - 13.30
3. Wang Dou (China) - 13.36

Women's 400 m Hurdles Final
1. Nguyen Thi (Vietnam) - 56.14
2. Anu R. (India) - 57.22
3. Sayaka Aoki (Japan) - 58.18

Women's 3000 m Steeplechase
1. Sudha Singh (India) - 9:59.47
2. Hyo Gyong (North Korea) - 10:13.94
3. Nana Sato (Japan) - 10:18.11

Men's Pole Vault Final
1. Ding Bangchao (China) - 5.65 m
2. Masaki Ejima (Japan) - 5.65 m
3. Ernest John Obiena (Phillippines) - 5.50 m

Men's Long Jump Final
1. Huang Changzhou (China) - 8.09 m -1.3 m/s
2. Chan Ming Tai (Hong Kong) - 8.03 m -1.0 m/s
3. Shotaro Shiroyama (Japan) - 7.97 m +1.5 m/s

Women's Shot Put
1. Manpreet Kaur (India) - 18.28 m
2. Guo Tianqian (China) - 17.91 m
3. Aya Ota (Japan) - 15.45 m

Women's Hammer Throw
1. Luo Na (China) - 69.92 m
2. Liu Tingting (China) - 69.45 m
3. Hitomi Katsuyama (Japan) - 60.22 m

Women's 4x400 m Relay
1. India - 3:31.34
2. Vietnam - 3:33.22
3. Japan - 3:37.74

Men's Decathlon
1. Suttisak Singkon (Thailand) - 7732
2. Kazuya Kawasaki (Japan) - 7584
3. Guo Qi (China) - 7495

Women's Heptathlon
1. Swapna Barman (India) - 5942
2. Meg Hemphill (Japan) - 5883
3. Purnima Hembram (India) - 5798

© 2017 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Keita Sato Joins Swoosh TC

After appearing at a Nike event on Apr. 3, U20 1500 m NR and indoor 3000 m and 5000 m NR holder Keita Sato , 22, updated his Instagram profile to announce that he is joining Nike's Swoosh TC . At the Nike event Sato said that he plans to run the 1500 m at the Apr. 11 Kanaguri Memorial Meet, then will move to the U.S. "To be successful at the global level I need to train and grow alongside world-class athletes," he said. "I have to take every day seriously in order to achieve that dream of being internationally competitive." Swoosh TC was founded last year. Its coach Mike Smith has guided many athletes to international championships, including prior to Swoosh TC's launch, with some earning medals and podium finishes under his leadership. photo © 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved source article: https://www.rikujyokyogi.co.jp/archives/204241/2 translated by Brett Larner

Updates on Transfers

April 1 is the start of Japan's new academic and fiscal year, and there's always a wave of transfer announcements to go with it. Some notable ones yesterday: 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo skipped university to go straight to 2023 Queens Ekiden national champion Sekisui Kagaku after her graduation from Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. Multiple NR holder Nozomi Tanaka rejoined the Toyota Jidoshokki women's team after having left it to pursue a solo pro career as a New Balance athlete. Already on the team for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games in the 10000 m, Ririka Hironaka announced a switch from her longtime home at Japan Post to the Uniqlo women's team. Collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda joined the 2026 national champion GMO corporate team after graduating from 2026 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University last week. Hakone Ekdien First Stage CR holder Rui Aoki joins the Sumitomo Denko corporate team after running his final race for 2025 Izumo Ekiden w...

Weekend Track Roundup

There were 2 decently competitive meets in the Tokyo area this weekend. Saturday saw the new year's first edition of the Setagaya Time Trials meet. Takuma Akiyoshi took the men's 3000 m A-heat over his MABP Maverick teammate Festus Kiprono Cheruiyot with a 7:58.32 PB. Cheruiyot just held off 3rd-placer Nao Kurihara 7:59.92 to 8:00.02, with MABP runners taking the top 5 spots. The top 7 in the men's 5000 m A-heat all cleared 14 minutes. Still a 6-way race with 400 m to go, Tatsuya Maruyama of Komori Corp. came out on top in 13:48.49, with 5th-placer Kazuki Ishii of Yakult just over a second behind in 13:49.63. Lacking the gear to stay with them, new American marathon sensation Ethan Shuley fell back to 6th in 13:57.12 in his first-ever track 5000 m, holding off 7th-placer Daiki Nomimura of NTT Nishi Nihon who came up from behind to finish in 13:58.30. Sunday was the 59th edition of the Tokyo Big 6 meet between Waseda University , Meiji University , Hosei Univers...