Ichiyama and Hironaka Make Top 8 - Tokyo Olympics Athletics Day Nine Japanese Results

Bumped up an hour on short notice, the women's marathon was one of the events at the Tokyo Olympics where Japan hoped to get onto the podium, or at least into the top eight for the first time since national record holder Mizuki Noguchi's gold medal in Athens in 2004.

All three Japanese women, Honami Maeda, Ayuko Suzuki and Mao Ichiyama, were up in it early, Maeda doing her share of frontrunning in the earliest stages, but when the race really got moving only Ichiyama was left. After 32 km she lost steam and started to drop back, falling as low as 9th, but a lucky break with Kenyan-born Israeli Lonah Salpeter stopping and walking at 38 km while battling American Molly Seidel for bronze put Ichiyama back into 8th, where she stayed until she crossed the finish line in 2:30:13. "I've got no regrets about finishing 8th," she said post-race. "Thanks for cheering from so early in the morning."

Suzuki was 19th in 2:33:14 and Maeda 33rd in 2:35:28. Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir took gold in 2:27:20, knocking world record holder Brigid Kosgei back to silver in 2:27:36 and keeping Kosgei out of the exclusive club of people to both break a marathon world record and win Olympic marathon gold. Seidel hung on for bronze in 2:27:46 almost a minute up on 4th-placer Roze Dereje.

In the women's 10000 m, 5000 m national record holder Ririka Hironaka, 20, ran big again. In only her third time running 10000 m Hironaka was 7th in 31:00.71, making her the 4th-fastest Japanese woman ever and first in 25 years to make top 8 at the Olympics. Hironaka just outkicked Germany's Konstanze Klosterhalfen to finish as the top woman born outside Africa. The 10000 m national record is sure to be on her list of targets next. Hitomi Niiya and Yuka Ando were 21st and 22nd out of 24 finishers in 32:23.87 and 32:40.77.

10000 m National Championships Preview

Less than five months since the 2023 10000 m National Championships went down at the 2021 Olympic stadium in Tokyo, the 2024 edition happens Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium, with NHK broadcasting it live starting at 19:25 local time. Doubling up on Nationals like this lets Japanese athletes double dip on placing points to try to get into the Paris Olympics on rankings. But between the number of people who've hit the 30:40.00 women's standard and 27:00.00 men's standard and the lopsided eight spots given away to top placers at World XC, there are only four women's spots and three men's available via rankings. Of those, three of the four women's spots and two of the three men's spots are currently occupied by top placers at December's 2023 Nationals, Ririka Hironaka , Haruka Kokai and Rino Goshima for women and Ren Tazawa and Tomoki Ota for men. The 2023 Nationals did get close to the standards, with Hironaka leading the top four women under

Chesang and Kipkoech Win Hot Gifu Half

Hot conditions held back fast times at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon Sunday, where Ugandan Stella Chesang and Kenya Hillary Kipkoech took the top spots over last year's winners Dolphine Nyaboke Omare and Amos Kurgat . In the women's race Chesang, Omare and Kenyan-born Bahraini Eunice Chebichii Chumba went out as a trio, Japan-based Hellen Ekarare with them initially but eventually dropping out. After a 15:39 opening 5 km Chumba started to slip off, and by 15 km Chesang was on her own. Chesang won in 1:07:59, solid given the conditions, with Omare 2nd in 1:08:31 and Chumba 3rd in 1:09:10. Rinka Hida was the first Japanese woman, 5th overall in 1:12:06 behind Australian Genevieve Gregson . A lead men's pack of 11 went through 5 km in 14:31, but by 10 km it was down to Kipkoech, Kurgat, , Timothy Kiplagat , Ugandan Stephen Kissa and Japan-based Kenyans Patrick Mathenge Wambui and Anthony Maina . At 15 km in 43:40 only Kurgat and Kipkoech were left, and over the last 5

Drury and Mashiko Lead Four Japanese Golds - U20 Asian Championships Day 4

The closing day of the Dubai U20 Asian Athletics Championships saw Japan go out big, with four gold medals led by dominant runs by Sherry Drury (Tsuyama H.S.) and Yota Mashiko (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.). Making her international debut, the 16-year-old Drury led start to finish in the women's 1500 m final, grinding down the rest of the field and putting over 4 seconds on runner-up Sandilea Vinod of India over the last 300 m to win in 4:21.41. Drury's splits: 1:11-2:24-(3:19)-3:35-4:21. There's still a long way for Drury to go, but in terms of form and confidence this was the best she has looked since her legendary breakthrough CR at last year's National Women's Ekiden, and you could see more than a glimmer of what everyone is hoping is really there. Mashiko was even more dominant in the men's 3000 m. Coming out on the front end of some pushing and shoving in the first 50 m, Mashiko led the entire way. By 300 m he had a measurable gap that never got smaller, and af

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