Japan's National Track and Field Championships are happening this weekend in Yamaguchi. Somebody is always being selected for something at Nationals, and this year it's the Jakarta Asian Games. Most of the action will be streamed live on the JAAF site Friday through Sunday, with some breaks for the major events which will only be shown on TV.
In three of the biggest events the defending champs are absent. 100 and 200 m winner Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Univ. of Florida) and 10000 m champ Suguru Osako (NOP), both U.S.-based, having bowed out with injury in Sani Brown's case and purportedly to prepare for the Chicago Marathon in Osako's. In the 100 m and 200 m the door is open for the other members of Japan's medal-winning relay squad to take home a national title, national record holder Yoshihide Kiryu (Nihon Seimei) the #1 seed in the 100 m and Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) ranked #1 in the 200 m.
The men's 10000 m is surprisingly weak this year, with no Japanese men under 28 minutes since November. New Year Ekiden champ Asahi Kasei has the top three seeds, but of those one, Takashi Ichida, told JRN this week that he is coming off an injury and isn't at peak fitness. Based on recent performances the best bet may be Hiroto Inoue (MHPS), who set a 5000 m PB this season after running 2:06:54 at February's Tokyo Marathon.
Defending champs Takamasa Kitagawa (Juntendo Univ.) , Sho Kawamoto (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and Hiroki Matsueda (Fujitsu) are back with the #1 spots in the 400 m, 800 m and 5000 m, but in the 1500 m last year's winner and new indoor mile national record holder Ryoji Tatezawa (Tokai Univ.) is only at #2, two seconds behind favorite Shoma Funatsu (Chuo Univ.) with a 3:38.65 best.
Last year's 3rd-placer Genta Masuno (Yamada Denki) is the favorite in the men's 110 m hurdles, 0.04 ahead of 2017 winner Shunya Takayama (Zenrin) and just 0.01 off the NR. In the 400 m hurdles Takatoshi Abe (Descente TC) is back to go for a repeat win, but 3000 m steeplechase champ Hiroki Tsuetaki is MIA. In his absence, versatile Rio Olympian Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.) is the favorite. Back from Boise State University, Yusuke Uchikoshi (Saitama T&F Assoc.) could make a dent in the front end of the field.
Men's and jumps and throws are dominated almost exclusively by the defending champs. Only two events look to have the potential for some new blood to step up. In the men's high jump Hibiki Tsuha (Toyo Univ.) has the top ranking at 8.09 m, 4 cm better than last year's winner Yuki Hashioka (Nihon Univ.). In the men's shot put Daichi Nakamura (Mizuno) was only 5th last year, but with an 18.85 m national record to his name since then he has a 33 cm advantage over 2017 national champion Satoshi Hatase (Alsok).
Last year Kana Ichikawa (Mizuno) put a stop to the million-year streak of doubles by Chisato Fukushima (Seiko) in the women's 100 m and 200 m. Both are back this year, but will Fukushima really be back to her old self? Newcomer Seika Aoyama (Osaka Seikei Univ.) occupies the top seed in the 400 m, but from 800 on up to 5000 m it's defending champs all the way.
Last year Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) got the better of 10000 m national champ Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) to take the win. After a more than successful marathon debut in Osaka in January Matsuda will be back ranked #3 behind Suzuki and Yuka Takashima (Shiseido), who made a successful marathon debut of her own in Paris.
In the 100 m hurdles last year's runner-up Hitomi Shimura (Toho Ginko) has surpassed national champion Ayako Kimura (Edion) to occupy the #1 ranking at 13.03, 0.03 off the national record. 400 m hurdles and 3000 m steeplechase champs Sayaka Aoki (Toho Ginko) and Chikako Mori (Sekisui Kagaku) are both back ranked at #1, Aoki the only woman in the field to have ever broken 56 seconds and Mori the only under 9:50.
The situation in the women's jumps and throws is even more dire than in the men's. Between the four jump events and four throws, all eight of last year's winners return with the best marks in the field. With many of them still collegiate athletes or competing for club teams and sponsors outside the mainstream of Japanese athletics it's clear that there's a lot of room for development of depth in Japanese women's field events. It's too late to turn that too far around in time for Tokyo 2020, but the problem remains all the same.
102nd Japanese National Track and Field Championships
Entry List HighlightsYamaguchi, Japan 22-24, 2018
daily schedule
complete entry lists
marks listed are season bests except where noted
Men
Men's 100 mYoshihide Kiryu (Nihon Seimei) - 9.98 - NR
Ryota Yamagata (Seiko) - 10.00
Shuhei Tada (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) - 10.07
Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) - 10.08
Aska Cambridge (Nike) - 10.08
Men's 200 m
Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) - 20.40
Kenji Fujimitsu (Zenrin) - 20.47
Yuki Koike (ANA) - 20.58
Yoshihide Kiryu (Nihon Seimei) - 20.59
Yoshinobu Imoto (Tokai Univ.) - 20.59
Men's 400 m
Takamasa Kitagawa (Juntendo Univ.) - 45.48
Kazushi Kimura (Shidenko) - 45.53
Julian Walsh (Toyo Univ.) - 45.62
Kentaro Sato (Fujitsu) - 45.67
Yuzo Kanemaru (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 45.76
Men's 800 m
Sho Kawamoto (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 1:46.17
Takumi Murashima (Fukui Pref. Sports Assoc.) - 1:47.01
Jun Mitake (TSP Taiyo) - 1:47.40
Takuto Hanamura (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) - 1:47.86
Hiroyuki Shiraishi (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:48.04
Men's 1500 m
Shoma Funatsu (Chuo Univ.) - 3:38.65
Ryoji Tatezawa (Tokai Univ.) - 3:40.49
Hiroki Matsueda (Fujitsu) - 3:41.28
Ko Kobayashi (Tsukuba Univ.) - 3:41.61
Hayato Seki (Tokai Univ.) - 3:42.08
Men's 5000 m
Hiroki Matsueda (Fujitsu) - 13:28.61
Ken Yokote (Fujitsu) - 13:31.35
Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 13:32.16
Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 13:33.99
Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) - 13:35.29
Hayato Seki (Tokai Univ.) - 13:35.81
Shota Onizuka (Tokai Univ.) - 13:38.58
Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko) - 13:38.79
Chiharu Nakagawa (Toenec) - 13:38.92
Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 13:39.15
Men's 10000 m
Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 27:57.63
Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 27:59.76
Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei) - 28:00.49
Ken Yokote (Fujitsu) - 28:04.51
Mitsunori Asaoka (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 28:07.26
Hiroto Inoue (MHPS) - 28:08.04
Yuki Sato (Nissin Shokuhin) - 28:09.01
Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) - 28:16.01
Tsubasa Hayakawa (Toyota) - 28:16.61
Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 28:16.87
Men's 110 mH
Genta Masuno (Yamada Denki) - 13.40
Shunya Takayama (Zenrin) - 13.44
Hideki Omuro (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 13.48
Taio Kanai (Fukui Pref Sports Assoc) - 13.53
Hiroyuki Sato (Hitachi Kasei) - 13.59
Men's 400 mH
Takatoshi Abe (Descente TC) - 48.68
Yuta Konishi (Sumitomo Denko) - 49.03
Kei Maeno (Under Armor) - 49.06
Takayuki Kishimoto (Fujitsu) - 49.33
Ryo Kajiki (Sumitomo Denko) - 49.33
Men's 3000 mSC
Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.) - 8:34.80
Yuma Higashi (Kyudenko) - 8:35.01
Kosei Yamaguchi (Aisan Kogyo) - 8:35.82
Aoi Matsumoto (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 8:36.40
Ryohei Sakaguchi (Tokai Univ.) - 8:37.64
Men's High Jump
Takashi Eto (Ajinomoto AGF) - 2.30 m
Naoto Tobe (Tsukuba TP) - 2.30 m
Tomohiro Shinno (Fukuoka Univ.) - 2.25 m
Men's Pole Vault
Seito Yamamoto (Toyota) - 5.72 m
Hiroki Ogita (Mizuno) - 5.70 m
Masaki Ejima (Nihon Univ.) - 5.65 m
Men's Long Jump
Hibiki Tsuha (Toyo Univ.) - 8.09 m
Natsuki Yamakawa (Tobu Top Tours) - 8.06 m
Yuki Hashioka (Nihon Univ.) - 8.05 m
Men's Triple Jump
Ryoma Yamamoto (JAL) - 16.87 m
Kohei Yamashita (ANA) - 16.42 m
Mutsuki Harada (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 16.27 m
Men's Shot Put
Daichi Nakamura (Mizuno) - 18.85 m - NR
Satoshi Hatase (Alsok) - 18.52
Hayato Yamamoto (Fukubi Kagaku) - 18.07 m
Men's Discus Throw
Yuji Tsutsumi (Alsok) - 60.74 m - NR
Masateru Yugami (Toyota) - 59.30 m
Shigeyuki Maisawa (Oriko) - 58.53 m
Men's Hammer Throw
Ryuta Kashimura (Yamada Denki) - 71.36 m
Yudai Kimura (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 70.06 m
Kunihiro Sumi (Kobayashi Create) - 70.05 m
Men's Javelin Throw
Ryohei Arai (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 82. 13 m
Kohei Hasegawa (Fukui Pref Sports Assoc.) - 80.85 m
Takuto Kominami (Tsukuba Ginko) - 79.17 m
Women
Women's 100 mChisato Fukushima (Seiko) - 11.36
Kana Ichikawa (Mizuno) - 11.43
Miyu Maeyama (Niigata Albirex RC) - 11.51
Nodoka Seko (Crane) - 11.52
Mizuki Nakamura (Osaka Seikei AC) - 11.57
Women's 200 m
Chisato Fukushima (Seiko) - 23.35
Kana Ichikawa (Mizuno) - 23.39
Mizuki Nakamura (Osaka Seikei AC) - 23.66
Saori Imai (Iida Byoin) - 23.73
Miyu Maeyama (Niigata Albirex RC) - 23.80
Women's 400 m
Seika Aoyama (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 53.03
Mae Hirosawa (Nittai Univ.) - 53.45
Konomi Takeishi (Toho Finko) - 53.47
Ayaka Kawata (Higashi Osaka Univ.) - 53.50
Yuna Iwata (Chuo Univ.) - 53.65
Women's 800 m
Yume Kitamura (Edion) - 2:00.92
Ayano Shiomi (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 2:02.57
Ayaka Kawata (Higashi Osaka Univ.) - 2:02.71
Yuki Hirota (Akita Univ.) - 2:05.01
Fumika Omori (Okuantsuka) - 2:05.30
Women's 1500 m
Ayako Jinnouchi (Kyudenko) - 4:12.59
Nozomi Tanaka (ND28 AC) - 4:15.90
Yui Fukuda (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:16.64
Yuna Wada (Meijo Univ.) - 4:16.76
Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu (Meijo Univ.) - 4:16.83
Women's 5000 m
Rina Nabeshima (Japan Post) - 15:11.83
Tomoka Kimura (Universal Entertainment) - 15:12.97
Riko Matsuzaki (Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:19.91
Yui Fukuda (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 15:20.08
Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 15:20.50
Minami Yamanouchi (Kyocera) - 15:21.31
Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) - 15:24.17
Yuka Hori (Panasonic) - 15:28.64
Nana Kuraoka (Denso) - 15:31.39
Miku Moribayashi (Denso) - 15:31.71
Women's 10000 m
Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 31:27.30
Yuka Takashima (Shiseido) - 31:33.33
Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) - 31:39.41
Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei) - 31:48.81
Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) - 31:49.01
Yuka Hori (Panasonic) - 31:59.80
Kaori Morita (Panasonic) - 31:59.94
Anna Matsuda (Kyocera) - 32:07.11
Keiko Nogami (Juhachi Ginko) - 32:07.70
Akane Sekino (Saitama T&F Assoc.) - 32:08.09
Women's 100 mH
Hitomi Shimura (Toho Ginko) - 13.03
Ayako Kimura (Edion) - 13.06
Masumi Aoki (Juhachi Ginko) - 13.18
Chisato Kiyoyama (Ichigo) - 13.30
Eriko Soma (Lake 21) - 13.34
Womens 400 mH
Sayaka Aoki (Toho Ginko) - 56.32
Eri Utsunomiya (Hasegawa Taiiku Shisetsu) - 56.84
Manami Kira (Art Home) - 56.96
Kana Koyama (Waseda Univ.) - 57.80
Satsuki Uehara (Sumitomo Denko) - 57.81
Women's 3000 mSC
Chikako Mori (Sekisui Kagaku) - 9:49.41
Yui Yabuta (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 10:02.64
Ayaka Koike (Owada Jutaku Sendai) - 10:04.73
Kako Okada (Matsuyama Univ.) - 10:05.26
Riho Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) - 10:05.81
Women's High Jump
Haruka Nakano (Waseda Univ.) - 1.83 m
Misaki Nakanishi (Nihon Joshi Taiiku Univ.) - 1.82 m
Miyuki Fukumoto (Konan Gakuen AC) - 1.80 m
Women's Pole Vault
Tomomi Abiko (Shiga Lake Stars) - 4.30 m
Megumi Nakada (Mito Shinyo Ginko) - 4.20 m
Tomoko Nemoto (Shin Nitetsu Sumikin Kimitsu) - 4.10 m
Women's Long Jump
Konomi Kai (Volver) - 6.58 m
Hitomi Nakano (Washoku Yamaguchi) - 6.43 m
Sachiko Masumi (Kyudenko) - 6.34 m
Women's Triple Jump
Kaede Miyasaka (Nippatsu) - 13.48 m
Kuria Kenmochi (Tsukuba Univ.) - 13.14 m
Kanna Kawai (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 13.05 m
Women's Shot Put
Nanaka Kori (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 16.57 m
Aya Ota (Fukuoka Univ. AC) - 16.47 m
Honoka Oyama (Fukuoka Univ.) - 15.78 m
Women's Discus Throw
Nanaka Kori (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 54.26 m
Eriko Nakata (Shikoku Oki) - 52.84 m
Minori Tsujikawa (Tsukuba Univ.) - 52.56 m
Women's Hammer Throw
Kazuha Tada (Ryutsu Keizai Univ. AC) - 65.83 m
Akane Watanabe (Maruwa Unyukikan) - 65.24 m
Hitomi Katsuyama (Oriko) - 64.57 m
Women's Javelin Throw
Marina Saito (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 62.37 m
Haruka Kitaguchi (Nihon Univ.) - 61.07 m
Risa Miyashita (Osaka Taiiku Univ TC) - 60.71 m
© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
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