japan running news

In a Summer Marathon, Even World-Class Athletes' Lives Are at Risk from Heat Stroke In order to prevent incidences of heat stroke among athletes and spectators alike at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, work is progressing at a fevered pitch to develop countermeasures against the heat in the stadium environs and along the marathon course. Local municipal governments are focusing their efforts on increasing the number of large trees along the course to improve shade, and on implementing road surface materials with heat shielding properties. In past Olympics and World Championships there have been cases of athletes suffering from dehydration and heat stroke, and the issue represents a major challenge for the Tokyo Games. Late July on Sotobori Avenue in Tokyo's Kanda neighborhood. Under the peak strength of the summer sun helmeted workers hoisted by cranes cut back the branches and leaves of trees lining the street by hand. It looks like ordinary pruning work, but...

In front of an almost sellout crowd packing the stadium to see the breakthrough Taiwanese men's sprinters in action, Japan wrapped the final day of athletics competition at the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade with a pair of 4x100 m relay medals that assured it the top spot on the overall medal table. The women's 4x100 m team, comprised of Ichiko Iki , Miyu Maeyama , Mizuki Nakamura and Sayaka Takeuchi , were well off lead pair Kazakhstan and Switzerland through the race, lagging a relatively short distance behind bronze medal position Poland. Japan crossed the finish line in 4th in 44.56, breaking a collegiate national record that had stood for almost 11 years but short of the medals. That changed on review, though, when winners and defending gold medalists Kazakhstan were disqualified for a lane violation. The DQ bumped Japan up to an unexpected bronze medal. The atmosphere in the stadium was raucous for the men's 4x100 m featuring Taiwan's very own 100 m gold m...

For the second Universiade in a row Japan pulled off a near-sweep of the half marathon medals, taking all three men's individual medals, women's gold and bronze and both team golds. Komazawa University's Kei Katanishi and Naoki Kudo went 1-2, leaving national university half marathon champion Kengo Suzuki over 30 seconds behind to hold off Uganda's John Kateregga for bronze. Wataru Tochigi took 6th to make it 4 Japanese men in the top 6, the only misstep coming from Takato Suzuki of national champion Aoyama Gakuin University who finished only 12th after scratching in the 10000 m. Not so for women's gold medalist Yuki Munehisa . Munehisa had led most of the women's 10000 m only to get dropped in the last kilometer and wind up outside the medals in 4th. In the half marathon she was bound and determined not to end up the same way again, doing all the heavy lifting to drop Turkey's Esma Aydemir with teammate Saki Fukui in a supporting role. Munehisa ...

Akinobu Murasawa (Nissin Shokuhin) and Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) became the first athletes to qualify for the new MGC Race 2020 Olympic trials event , clearing the JAAF's hoops with PB runs in heat to win the 2017 Hokkaido Marathon. One of the most popular runners to come out of the current boom in university men's ekiden running, Murasawa had an unsuccessful marathon debut at Lake Biwa in March, up front until late but fading to 28th in 2:17:51. This time he stayed in the front pack through the slow opening going, ignoring a move by Shingo Igarahi (Josai Univ. Coaching Staff) and Kenichi Jiromaru (Raffine Coaching Staff) around the halfway point that put them over 30 seconds ahead. Part of a group of five who set off in pursuit at 30 km, Murasawa moved into the top spot just before 40 km and held it all the way to the finish to win in 2:14:48. As the first race at which Japanese men could qualify for the JAAF's new single-trial 2020 Olympic selection event Hokkaido...

Toshikazu Yamanishi delivered Japan its first gold medal of the Taipei 2017 Summer  Universiade, covering the men's 20 km race walk in 1:27:30 to win by 50 seconds over Mexico's Julio Salazar Enriquez . Fumitaka Oikaw a took bronze in 1:30:11 to follow up on Japan's silver and bronze pair at the London World Championships and further establish Japan's position among the leaders of the sport. Third Japanese man Tomohiro Noda was 7th, bettering Mexico on team scoring. Japan's other finalists of the day couldn't match the walkers' performances, Jun Yamashita taking 8th in the men's 200 m final and Kenji Ogura 9th in the men's javelin throw final. Both men in the 110 m hurdles made it to the semifinals, however, Taio Kanai winning Heat Three and Shusei Nomoto 2nd in Heat Two. Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade Day Four Japanese Results Taipei, Taiwan, 8/26/17 click here for complete results Men's 200 m Final   (-3.8 m/s) 1. Jeffrey John...

Runner-up at June's National Championships, Marina Saito broke through with a women's javelin collegiate national record 62.37 m throw on her last attempt to take silver at the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade. On her second throw Saito marked 61.06 m, the only woman to clear 61 m under Poland's Marcelina Witek threw a PB of 63.31 m on her fifth attempt. Needing a massive throw to retake the top spot, Saito cleared the Japanese university national record by a meter with a PB of 62.37 m and moved up to all-time Japanese #2 but had to settle for silver. The woman whose record she broke, Haruka Kitaguchi , struggled on her first three throws and failed to advance to the top eight, her best throw only 56.30 m. Another medal came in the men's triple jump. Ranked #1 in the qualifying rounds, Ryoma Yamamoto led off with a jump of 16.80 m (+1.7 m/s) that put him into 2nd behind Azerbaijan's Nazim Babeyev . Unable to improve on that, Yamamoto looked set for silver unti...

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/08/24/national/tokyo-summer-temperatures-raise-heatstroke-risk-2020-olympic-marathon-experts-say/#.WZ9cb609w_U

Following up on Ai Hosod a's bronze medal in the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade women's 10000 m yesterday, Rio Olympian Kazuya Shiojiri capped the second day of athletics competition with 10000 m bronze of his own. Always near the front, Shiojiri helped shape the lead quartet that included defending silver medalist Nicolae Soare (Romania) and Ugandans Sadic Bahati and John Kateregga . All four took turns leading at a steady pace between 2:53 and 2:54/km before Kateregga fell off in the second half. Shiojiri lost a few meters to a short surge by Soare near 7000 m and, although he didn't lose ground, couldn't quite regain his footing. By the time the last duel between Bahati and Soare started Shiojiri was out of range, settling for bronze. Both of the lead pair clocked new PBs despite the humid conditions, Bahati scoring gold in 29:08.68 and Soare silver again in 29:12.76. Shiojiri rolled in 8 seconds back in 29:20.96 to take Japan's second medal of the Games...

Ai Hosoda became the first Japanese medalist of the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade, winning bronze in the women's 10000 m to wrap the first day of athletics competition. 【 #台北ユニバーシアード 】 女子10000m 細田あいが銅メダル🥉 （写真：奥井隆史） #陸上 #ユニバーシアード pic.twitter.com/tq9XLAU99r — スポーツナビ・陸上編集部 (@sn_gorin) August 24, 2017 Leading the field with a sub-32 best, 19-year-old Yuki Munehisa led the first 9000 m on the race before being overtaken by Daria Maslova (Kyrgyszstan),   Sanjivani Jadhav (India) and Hosoda. On the last lap Maslova kicked away to gold in 33:19.27 less than 3 seconds ahead of Jadhav, with Hosoda 6 seconds behind for bronze. Munehisa fell to 4th, with third team member Natsuki Sekiya , a favorite to medal in the 5000 m, off her game at 12th in 35:21.19. 【 #ユニバーシアード 】 多田修平(関西学院大) 3組1着 0.0 10.29 スタートから1位をキープし、安定したレース展開でした！ 準決勝進出です！！ #青春に駆けろ pic.twitter.com/I5UBAidmIE — 日本学生陸上競技連合 (@iuauj) August 23, 2017 With the rest of the day devoted to qualifying rounds Ho...

2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee sports division executive  Koji Murofushi announced plans on Aug. 22 for the Olympic marathon course to start and finish at the New National Stadium and follow the same basic course as February's Tokyo Marathon. IAAF representatives will attend the next Tokyo Marathon to observe and are expected to give formal approval in March. The Tokyo Marathon starts in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government offices, passing many famed landmarks including Tokyo Tower, Ginza, Kaminarimon and Tomioka Hachiman Shrine before finishing between the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station. The 2020 Olympic course will move the start and finish point inside the New National Stadium. Regarding the reasons behind the plan Murofushi commented, "Because there is already an established base of experience it will be easier to work with relevant domestic parties. It's a well-balanced course that shows off many symbols of Japan and of Tok...

Following protests outside the main stadium that interrupted its opening ceremonies Saturday night , the athletics component of the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade is set to start Wedenesday. As always Japan is sending a solid crew of its A-list collegiate talent to the World University Games, with a team of 24 men and 14 women set to compete over the six day run of athletics. Getting things off to a quick start, London World Championships men's 4x100 m bronze medallist Shuhei Tada (Kwansei Gakuin University) is set to run the first men's 100 m on the first day on competition. Takamasa Kitagawa (Juntendo University), Ryo Kajiki (Josai University), Ryoma Yamamoto (Juntendo Univ.) and Marina Saito (Kokushikan University) will also double back from representing Japan in London to compete in Taipei, Kitagawa in the men's 400 m, Kajiki in the men's 400 m hurdles, Yamamoto in the men's triple jump and Saito in the women's javelin throw. London men's 20 km...

A World Championships marathoner was arrested for shoplifting . On Aug. 17 The Tochigi Prefectural Police Ashikaga Department arrested temp worker Yumiko Hara , 35, on suspicion of stealing skin lotion and other items from a convenience store. Yoshio Koide , Hara's former coach at the Universal Entertainment corporate team and head of the Saku Athlete Club, was surprised by the events. "She trained harder than anybody," Koide said. "She never missed training, and she was really f*cking serious. I think there must have been a reason for her to commit shoplifting, but she was always a normal kind of girl who would say, "Yes!" when you told her to do something. When she retired she said, 'I've done what I could but I just can't run the way I want to.' I haven't spoken to her since she quit, but it's very unfortunate news and I can't understand it." source article:   https://www.nikkansports.com/general/nikkan/news/1873808...

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Former World Championships marathoner Yumiko Hara , 35, was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting cosmetics and other goods. A resident of Ashikaga, Tochigi, Hara is suspected of shoplifting eight items including cosmetics and soft drinks with a total value of 2700 yen [~$25 USD] from a local convenience store on July 30. According to police, a clerk performing a store inventory found that the item totals did not match. When police reviewed security camera footage they identified Hara as a suspect. Hara represented Japan at two World Championships, finishing 6th in the marathon at the 2005 Helsinki World Championships. During her interrogation Hara admitted her guilt in the charges, saying that there was "no mistake." Translator's note: Along with the 2005 Helsinki World Championships and 2007 Osaka World Championships, Hara represented Japan at the 2003 Vilamoura World Half Marathon Championships. She was the winner of both the 2007 Osaka International Women...

The World Championships in athletics were first held in Helsinki, Finland in 1983. Up until the 1991 Tokyo World Championships they were held once every four years, but beginning with the 1993 Stuttgart World Championships they switched to an every other year format. London this year was the 16th edition. To date 68 men with Hakone Ekiden experience have competed in the World Championships, with three of them winning medals in the marathon. In Tokyo in 1991 Hiromi Taniguchi became the first Japanese World Championships gold medalist, raising the excitement level at the games.  As a student at Nittai University Taniguchi had won the Hakone Ekiden's downhill Sixth Stage three years in a row from 1981 to 1983. As a fourth-year in 1983 he set a new stage record of 57:47. Course changes have rendered his record an historical artifact, but Taniguchi is still considered Hakone's greatest downhill runner. At the 1999 Seville World Championships and 2005 Helsinki World Championsh...

an editorial by Koji Ito   men's 100 m national record holder JAAF Development Committee Chair In London Japan won the men's 4x100 m relay bronze, its first-ever World Championships 4x100 m medal. I'm glad that they were able to win a medal. My honest impression was that they have done well to come this far. Before the race started sprint coach Shunji Karube was saying, "They're totally going to medal," but a key part of Japan's strength is in fact the rich experience he and Coach Hiroyasu Tsuchie bring to the picture. I think their tactics are amazing. During the heats they could make an assessment of Aska Cambridge 's situation in just half a day and replace him with Kenji Fujimitsu , who delivered a solid run. Japan has entered the ranks of the world's true relay powerhouse nations. Apart from leading man Shuhei Tada , the other three members were talking before the race in a totally relaxed way that would have been unthinkable in my e...

Thanks to a last-minute rush Japan walked away from the London World Championships with a passable haul. The JAAF judges performance in terms of medals and top 8 finishes. Up to Saturday, only one Japanese athlete had met either, 18-year-old sprinter Abdul Hakim Sani Brown finishing 7th in the men's 200 m final as the first Japanese man to make a 200 m final at Worlds since 2003. Three other Japanese athletes had scored top 10 placings, Yuki Kawauchi and Kentaro Nakamoto in the men's marathon and Ayuko Suzuki in the women's 10000 m, but under the JAAF's criteria these were not viewed as success. Saturday's men's 4x100 m final brought the first Japanese medal of the Championships, with Japan following up on its Rio Olympics silver with a bronze, its first-ever Worlds medal in the discipline. Sunday morning brought Japan's best-ever showing in the men's 50 km race walk, Rio bronze medalist Hirooki Arai moving up to silver, Kai Kobayashi taki...

Rio Olympics men's 50 km Race Walk bronze medalist Hirooki Arai followed up with Japan's first silver medal of the London World Championships, leading teammate Kai Kobayashi to a Japanese double medal haul. Far behind the championships record pace set by eventual gold medalist Yohann Diniz of France, Arai, Kobayashi and teammate Satoshi Maruo all sat together in the chase pack through 15 km. Maruo began to drop back approaching 20 km, but Arai and Kobayashi stayed up front through 35 km before making a break that took them all the way to silver and bronze medal finishes 2 seconds apart just over 8 minutes behind Diniz. Maruo fought his way back through the pack, ultimately finishing 5th just over a minute and a half behind his medalist teammates. On paper the men's 20 km crew had the potential to repeat the 50 km results, but it wasn't to be. One by one Rio Olympics 7th placer Daisuke Matsunaga and world #2 and #3-ranked Eiki Takahashi and Isamu Fujisawa sli...

Following up on its silver medal at the Rio Olympics, the Japanese men's 4x100 m relay squad delivered the first Japanese medal of the London World Championships as it took bronze behind hosts Great Britain and U.S.A. Swapping in alternate Kenji Fujimitsu for ailing anchor Aska Cambridge in the final, the team featured only two starting members of the Rio lineup. Lead runner Shuhei Tada , a student at Kwansei Gakuin University who burst onto the scene in May, again proved himself the best new development in Japanese men's sprinting with a fast start. Rio members Shota Iizuka and Yoshihide Kiryu did their bits on second and third to keep Japan even with Jamaica in 3rd before Fujimitsu delivered the goods. With bronze at the Beijing Olympics and silver in Rio last year it was Japan's first-ever World Championships men's 4x100 m relay medal. At age Fujimitsu may not make it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but with Cambridge, 200 m finalist Abdul Hakim Sani Brown and ...

Finishing 4th in her opening round heat, national champion Ayako Kimura became the first Japanese woman to make a World Championships 100 m hurdles semifinal, running 13.15 to auto-qualify. In Semifinal 2 she was unable to match that performance, finishing last in 13.29. National Championships runner-up Hitomi Shimura ran 13.29 in her heat and did not move on to the semifinals. In the men's 1500 m semifinals, Japan-based junior world record holder Ronald Kwemoi struggled with a recent injury and failed to advance to the final. Running in the same heat, American Johnny Gregorek , who ran last year's Izumo Ekiden as part of the Ivy League Select Team, moved up from last place over the last 300 m to snag the last spot in the final, the only U.S. man to make the 1500 m final. In the men's high jump, national champion Takashi Eto cleared 2.22 m for 9th in his qualification group and did not advance. In the decathlon, at the end of the first day of competition Japan...

18-year-old national champion Abdul Hakim Sani Brown became the first Japanese man since Shingo Suetsugu 's 2003 bronze medal and the youngest man ever to make a World Championships 200 m final. With a 20.32 best he faced seven men who had all broken 20 and run under 20.30 in the semifinals, and with a strong run off the curve he succeeded in taking one of them, the United States' Isiah Young , finishing 7th in 20.63 to Young's 20.64. In the women's 5000 m heats national champion Rina Nabeshima became the tenth-fastest Japanese woman ever when she ran 15:11.83 in Heat Two, but with the slowest qualifying time going to Bahrain's Kalkidan Gezahegne in 15:07.19 she failed to advance to the final. 9th in the final at the last World Championships, Nabeshima's teammate Ayuko Suzuki showed fatigue from the 10000 m as she ran only 15:24.86 in Heat One. In the men's javelin throw, national champion Ryohei Arai was far off his best, fouling on his first att...

For the first time in 14 years Japan landed a man in the finals of the World Championships 200 m. In Semifinal 1, 2010 World Junior Champion and Rio Olympics 4x100 m silver medalist Shota Iizuka was eliminated when he finished 5th in 20.62 (+2.1 m/s). In Semifinal 2, 2016 World Youth Champion and 2017 national champion Abdul Hakim Sani Brown beat Rio 4x100 m gold medalist Yohan Blake (Jamaica) for 2nd in 20.43 (-0.3 m/s) to make for the final, the youngest man to ever do it. The only one of the eight qualifiers not to break 20.30 in his semi, a time faster than his PB, Sani Brown told Japanese media afterwards that he had been lucky to make it. It's going to take some more luck for him to take down some of the other big names in Thursday's final. #london2017 #200m サニブラウン 20.43 -0.3 準決勝2組2着。着順で決勝決めた👏 pic.twitter.com/kQhWH0O5X9 — EKIDEN HAKIM MANIA (@ekiden_mania) August 9, 2017 London World Championships Day Six Japanese Results London, England, 8/9/17 cl...

The six members of Japan's men's and women's marathon teams at the ongoing London World Championships returned to Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Aug. 9. Decked out in the official team suit, Japanese team captain and at 9th the top-placing Japanese marathoner in London Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) spoke to the media. Having declared pre-race his intention to withdraw from consideration for future Japanese National Team positions, post-race Kawauchi showed no change in that intent. With regard to his future plans, his motivation as a competitor likewise remaining unchanged, Kawauchi indicated that he will run Decmeber's Fukuoka International Marathon,where his 3rd-place overall finish last year earned him his place in London. "In Fukuoka I want to break my PB and run 2:07," he said. "There are things I want to accomplish besides being on the National Team." Kawauchi revealed that his next marathon will be September's Oslo Marathon...