Yamamoto 3000 m Gold at Asian Indoor Championships

The Asian Indoor Athletics Championships took place Feb. 17-19 in Tehran, Iran, women's events happening in morning sessions and men's in evening sessions without overlap. The small Japanese team of 14 took four gold medals, four silvers, and one bronze.

Asuka Terada got things rolling for the small Japanese team with a silver in the women's 60 mH, running 8.18 to win her heat and then 8.21 in the final behind Indian gold medalist Jyothi Yarraji's 8.12.
China's Zhang Mingkun fouled on 4 of his 6 attempts in the men's, but his 5th attempt of 7.97 m was enough for gold. Japan's Yuto Toriumi and Daiki Oda took silver and bronze at 7.89 m and 7.76 m.
Nanako Matsumoto won the women's 400 m final in 55.14 over Iranians Nazanin Fatemeh Eidan and Kazan Rostami, with Haruna Kuboyama 4th in 56.28 almost a second behind Rostami.
Yuma Yamamoto had a dominant run for gold in the women's 3000 m, running 9:16.71 to win by almost 10 seconds over India's Ankita and Kyrgyzstan's Kalil Kyzy Ainuska.
Ryoichi Akamatsu and Yuto Seko went 1-2 in the men's high jump, both clearing 2.19 m but Seko in the silver position after missing his first attempt at 2.15 m. Bangladeshi Mahfuzur Rahman won bronze at 2.15 m.
Shuhei Tada won silver in the men's 60 m, Oman's Ali Anwar Ali Al Balushi taking gold in 6.52, Tada running 6.56, and North Korea's Jo Kum Ryong bronze in 6.66. Tada ran 6.60 in the opening heats and 6.53 in the semi-finals.
Yuma Maruyama dominated in the men's heptathlon, winning six of the seven events to take gold.

Non-medalists included:

Mariko Morimoto was 4th in the women's triple jump at 13.37 m on her final attempt, 11 cm out of the medals.
Shingo Sawa was 6th in the men's pole vault final, clearing only 5.25 m. Gold medalist Zhang Tao of China cleared 5.56 m.
Hikaru Ikehata took 4th in the men's triple jump, 30 cm out of the medals at 15.88 m on his opening jump.
The current #2 Japanese collegiate man over 5000 m, Shunsuke Yoshii ran only 8:20.34 in the 3000 m for 5th.

Hassan Runs NR/CR for Osaka Win, Dibaba Hits Women's CR, Yoshida and Shuley Earn Legends

This was maybe the most entertaining marathon in years. After rocking the 2nd leg at last year's Hakone Ekiden Hibiki Yoshida (Sunbelx) ran an incredible 1:01:01 CR for the 21.9 km New Year Ekiden 2nd leg last month, equivalent to a 58:47 half marathon. That predicted a 2:03:27 marathon if he ever ran one, and when Yoshida announced he was debuting at this year's Osaka Marathon he wasted no time in saying it'd be a shot at the 2:04:55 NR. Things went out fast enough with a 14:50 split through 5 km, 2:05:11 pace, but Yoshida just couldn't hold back and took off at 8 km. He clearly DGAF about what was probably going to happen as his projected finish kept getting faster, 2:04:41, 2:04:15, 2:03:51, 2:03:40, edging closer and closer to what his New Year time predicted, but not helped along by the fact that he missed 4 out of his first 5 drink bottles. People laughed, and then cheered him on. 30 km was the first time he slowed, his finish projection dropping to 2:03:53, an...

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...

M.I.A.

Sorry to have been silent for a while. JRN associate editor Mika Tokairin was in Taiwan for Ironman Penghu, where she won her age group to qualify for Kona for the first time. Right after that we moved for the first time in 14 years, and immediately after that I headed to the U.S. to help Keita Sato get settled in his new training base in Flagstaff. We'll be resuming normal operations shortly with a big roundup of results over the last 2 weeks. Brett Larner

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