Finals
Men's 3000 m SC Final
One of the favorites, Seiya Sunada fell on the barrier coming into the home straight on the second lap and ultimately finished 2nd to last. Yutaro Niinae took over after a 2:52 first 1000 m and led the rest of the way, pushing the pace until by the bell it was just him, Chuo University's 19-year-old Daichi Shibata and mile NR holder Ryoma Aoki. All three were still together in the last 100 m, but Aoki had the gear to win it in 8:24.21, his first time under 8:30 since last October. Shibata was next in 8:24.68, a PB by 18 seconds, and Niinae 3rd in 8:25.45, a 3-second PB. Already 27th of 36 in the Paris quota, Aoki is pretty much a lock to make the Paris Olympics along with NR holder Ryuji Miura.
1. Ryoma Aoki (Honda) - 8:24.21
2. Daichi Shibata (Chuo Univ.) - 8:24.68 - PB
3. Yutaro Niinae (Aisan Kogyo) - 8:25.45 - PB
4. Yasunari Kusu (Ami AC) - 8:29.04
5. Hibiki Obara (GMO) - 8:31.69
6. Yuki Satake (Toenec) - 8:32.85
7. Atsushi Shobu (Kao) - 8:33.67
8. Shintaro Nakazono (SID Group) - 8:33.99
9. Taiji Nishikata (Aisan Kogyo) - 8:35.20
10. Hayate Sato (Fujisan no Meisui) - 8:35.99
Women's 3000 m SC Final
Reimi Yoshimura won the national title for the 2nd time, leading through a 3:12 opening 1000 m, dialing it back. mid-race, then coming back to open a 3-second gap on 2nd for the win in 9:45.77. Miu Saito of Nittai University and Manami Nishiyama raced to the line for 2nd, Saito getting it in 9:48.15 and Nishiyama 3rd in 9:48.16. The next two also made it under 10 minutes, with mid-race leader Chikako Mori dropping back to 6th in 10:01.16. It was a good comeback run for Yoshimura, but without any other high-level runs this year it was short of what she needed to make the Paris quota.
1. Reimi Yoshimura (Cramer Japan TC) - 9:45.77
2. Miu Saito (Nittai Univ.) - 9:48.15
3. Manami Nishiyama (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 9:48.16
4. Ayana Yamashita (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 9:57.04
5. Soya Segawa (Sysmex) - 9:58.28
6. Chikako Mori (Sekisui Kagaku) - 10:01.16
7. Yuzu Nishide (Daihatsu) - 10:02.76
8. Ayaka Koike (F-Assist) - 10:07.23
9. Mayu Kawase (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10:09.87
10. Maika Kobayashi (Kantaiheiyo Univ.) - 10:10.14
Women's High Jump Final
The heavy favorite, Nagisa Takahashi made it over everything up to 1.87 m on single attempts but couldn't clear 1.90 m. Based on the current Road to Paris rankings that puts her at 33rd worldwide, one spot outside the 32-deep quota. A lot of other countries have their national championships this weekend too, but Takahashi's only hope of making the Paris Olympic at this point is for someone above her to scratch and the available place to roll down to her.
1. Nagisa Takahashi (Senko) - 1.87 m
2. Shieriai Tsuda (Tsukiji Gindako) - 1.78 m
3. Natsumi Aoyama (Daitex) - 1.78 m
4. Reina Takeyama (Edion) - 1.75 m
5. Airi Shinmura (Daishin Plant) - 1.75 m
6. Sumika Yaegashi (Tsukuba Univ.) - 1.70 m
6. Ayane Morokuma (Hasegawa) - 1.70 m
8. Marin Matsumoto (Takasho) - 1.70 m
8. Moe Takeuchi (Kanseki) - 1.70 m
10. Miyuki Tatsumaru (Kagoshima Ginko) - 1.70 m
Women's Hammer Throw Final
#3-ranked Miharu Kodate nearly pulled off an upset on her final attempt, bettering her PB by 1.11 m but coming just 3 cm short of NR holder Joy McArthur. McArthur took the win at 65.66 m on her 5th attempt, Kodate next at 65.63 m, enough to move her up to all-time Japanese #5, and Raika Murakami 3rd at 63.24 m. 4th-placer Sara Fujimoto tied her all-time Japanese #9 63.17 m PB, and 5th-placer Teresa Epasaka came in at all-time Japanese #10 with a PB of 62.06 m to make it one of the overall highest-level Japanese women's hammer throw competitions ever. But although her performance moved her up the rankings, McArthur was nowhere near what she needed to crack the top 32 worldwide and earn a spot at the Olympics.
1. Joy McArthur (unattached) - 65.66 m
2. Miharu Kodate (Somay-Q) - 65.63 m - PB
3. Raiki Murakami (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 63.24 m
4. Sara Fujimoto (Kondotech) - 63.17 m
5. Teresa Epasaka (Niigata Iryo Fukushi Univ.) - 62.06 m - PB
6. Sako Takahashi (Team SSP) - 60.58 m
7. Momoko Watanabe (Jackets) - 60.56 m
8. Remi Katsuya (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 60.16 m
9. Hitomi Katsuyama (Orico) - 58.38 m
10. Rena Sano (Fukuoka Univ.) - 55.98 m
Men's Hammer Throw Final
Local boy Tatsuto Nakagawa came up with a 72.71 m PB on his 2nd attempt, ultimately enough to beat top 2-ranked Shota Fukuda and Ryota Kashimura. #6-ranked Takahiro Kobata also knocked the favorites back a spot, taking 2nd win an opening-round 70.94 m that beat 2023 winner Fukuda's last attempt by 4 cm.
1. Tatsuto Nakagawa (Niigata Albirex RC) - 72.71 m
2. Takahiro Kobata (Support Zen) - 70.94 m
3. Shota Fukuda (Sumitomo Denko) - 70.90 m
4. Ryota Kashimura (Yamada Holdings) - 70.73 m
5. Yudai Kimura (Zenrin) - 69.05 m
6. Daichi Shigyo (Tsukuba Univ.) - 68.55 m
7. Koshin Yamakawa (Chukyo Univ.) - 67.11 m
8. Yuji Tarui (Shikoku Gakuin Univ.) - 65.45 m
9. Hiroki Ako (Manabiyaen) - 63.76 m
10. Ryusei Kawai (Juntendo Univ.) - 63.59 m
Men's Triple Jump Final
2023 national champ Hikaru Ikehata was out after only 3 attempts, but in his place #2-ranked Yuto Adachi brought A-game. In the lead after the first round of jumps, Adachi dropped a 6-cm PB of 16.52 m (+0.5) on his 4th attempt. He then came through with a solid 16.70 m (+0.4) jump on his last attempt, a PB by 24 cm that beat 2nd-placer Yuki Yamashita by 44 cm.
1. Yuto Adachi (Fukuoka Univ.) - 16.70 m (+0.4) - PB
2. Yuki Yamashita (Fujibo) - 16.26 m (+0.6)
3. Kota Mizuno (Dome Club) - 16.11 m (+0.4)
4. Taiga Oda (Xspo Seagulls) - 16.11 m (+0.5)
5. Hajime Araki (Juntendo Univ.) - 15.96 m (+0.4)
6. Riku Ito (Suzuki) - 15.90 m (+0.7)
7. Kosei Shirosaki (Toyo Univ.) - 15.87 m (-0.3)
8. Manato Miyao (Toyo Univ.) - 15.84 m (+0.2)
9. Hikaru Ikehata (Surugadai Univ. AC) - 15.78 m (0.0)
10. Yutaro Yamashita (Kanoshin) - 15.76 m (+0.2)
Heats and Semifinals
Men's 1500 m final qualifiers
The 10 fastest-ranked men all made it through to the final, but not without some drama. After a slow first heat, favorite Kazuto Iizawa, a near-miss on the NR twice this season, got clipped while leading with around 200 m to go and fell, finishing far back from the rest of the field. Four other runners including 3:38.69 man Yusuke Takahashi were caught up in the fall, but all five were given places in the final on protest, setting up a 17-man final that includes 5 of the 8 fastest Japanese men ever and Kenyan Alex Kipchirchir Kipirech competing OC.
Alex Kipchirchir Kipirech (Comodi Iida) - 3:42.82, 1st H2
Atsuki Urushibara (Toenec) - 3:43.05, 2nd, H2
Yudai Noguchi (Toenec) - 3:43.51, 3rd, H2
Masato Saiki (Fujisan no Meisui) - 3:43.83, 4th, H2
Masaya Yanagimoto (Aisan Kogyo) - 3:43.96, 5th, H2
Koki Terada (Chuo Univ.) - 3:44.39, 6th, H2
Rikuto Iijima (Ami AC) - 3:45.72, 1st, H1
Keisuke Morita (Subaru) - 3:45.78, 2nd, H1
Shoma Funatsu (Komori Corp.) - 3:45.84, 3rd, H1
Ryuji Tatezawa (DeNA) - 3:45.87, 4th, H1
Nanami Arai (Honda) - 3:46.03, 5th, H1
Kazuki Kawamura (Toeneem) - 3:46.38, 6th, H1
Yusuke Takahashi (Earth Labo) - 3:54.11, 10th, H2 - qR
Takumi Shiobara (Juntendo Univ.) - 3:55.73, 11th, H2 - qR
Nao Kurihara (Josai Univ.) - 4:03.57, 13th, H2 - qR
Yusuke Inoguchi (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 4:12.84, 14th, H2 - qR
Kazuto Iizawa (Sumitomo Denko) - 4:27.39, 15th, H2 - qJ
Women's 1500 m final qualifiers
The 10 fastest women on the entry list all made it through to the final. Scheduled to run as pacer through 1000 m in the final, Kenyan Hellen Ekarare soloed a 4:06.93 for 1st in H1, which oddly took a qualifying spot away from 7th-placer Toshika Tamura, whose 4:17.24 was faster than H2 6th-placer Tomoka Kimura. Fresh back from the Kenyan Olympic trials, Mirriam Cherop cruised easily through 900 m before going to the front of the chase pack and finishing 2nd in H1 in 4:11.95. High schooler Sherry Drury initially followed Cherop, but although she dropped back she still took 6th to qualify for the final. NR holder Nozomi Tanaka jogged the first 800 m near the back of the pack, then duly took off for 1st in H2 in 4:08.16. Ekarare will pace Tanaka on track for the 4:02.50 m Olympic standard, which Tanaka currently lacks. Cherop told JRN post-race that she plans to go with them in hopes of improving on her 4:07.14 PB even though she'll be competing OC in the final.
Hellen Ekarare (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:06.93, 1st, H1
Nozomi Tanaka (New Balance) - 4:08.16, 1st, H2
Mirriam Cherop (Shin Nihon Jusetsu) - 4:11.95, 2nd, H1
Ran Urabe (Sekisui Kagaku) - 4:12.07, 3rd, H1
Yume Goto (Uniqlo) - 4:12.35, 4th, H1
Haruko Hosaka (Panasonic) - 4:14.03, 5th, H1
Ayano Ide (Shiseido) - 4:14.69, 2nd, H2
Saki Katagihara (Edion) - 4:15.25, 3rd, H2
Maki Izumida (Daiichi Seimei) - 4:16.61, 4th, H2
Sherry Drury (Tsuyama H.S.) - 4:16.69, 6th, H1
Ai Fujita (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:16.83, 5th, H2
Tomoka Kimura (Sekisui Kagaku) - 4:17.40, 6th, H2
Women's 400 m final qualifiers
Last year's national champion Haruna Kuboyama was 3rd in H2 in 54.82 and missed making the final. #2 and #3-ranked Nanako Matsumoto and Yuna Iwata won the other two heats, the only women to go sub-54 in qualifying.
Nanako Matsumoto (Toho Ginko) - 53.81, 1st, H3
Yuna Iwata (Suzuki) - 53.89, 1st, H1
Shizuho Moriyama (Ichigo) - 54.11, 2nd, H3
Yuki Nakao (Sonoda Gakuen Joshi Univ.) - 54.12, 3rd, H3
Mayu Inaoka (Kagotani) - 54.48, 2nd, H1
Abigail Fuka Ido (Toho Ginko) - 54.50, 1st, H2
Yuika Mori (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 54.55, 3rd, H1
Keiko Iida (Chuo Univ.) - 54.77, 2nd, H2
Men's 200 m final qualifiers
No major surprises in the men's 200 m qualifying rounds as the 5 fastest men all made it through to the final. 2010 U20 world champion and 2016 Rio Olympics 4x100 m relay silver medalist Shota Iizuka came up with the fastest time among the 8 final qualifiers, a season best-tying 20.46 (+0.6), and with Iizuka currently sitting at 41st in the 48-deep Paris quota it looks like he'll only need to make top 3 in the final to make his fourth Olympic team.
Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) - 20.46 (+0.6) - 1st, H1
Koki Ueyama (Sumitomo Denko) - 20.47 (+0.6) - 2nd, H1
Soshi Misakubo (Miyazaki Sports Assoc.) - 20.51 (+0.3) - 1st, H3
Yudai Nishi (Mint Tokyo) - 20.56 (+0.3) - 2nd, H3
Towa Uzawa (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.57 (+0.7) - 1st, H2
Shoto Uno (Orico) - 20.61 (+0.7) - 2nd, H2
Kento Matsui (Kansai Univ.) - 20.63 (+0.6) - 3rd, H1
Futo Takasu (Waseda Univ.) - 20.79 (+0.3) - 3rd, H3
Women's 100 m final qualifiers
2023 national champ Arisa Kimishima turned in the fastest time out of the eight qualifiers for the final, 11.48 (+1.2) for 1st in SF1, but the hoped-for showdown with Mei Kodama was shut down when Kodama ran only 11.90 (+0.1) for 6th in SF2. Up-and-coming Aiha Yamagata suffered an apparent injury in the first round heats and was eliminated.
Arisa Kimishima (DKS) - 11.48 (+1.2) - 1st, SF1
Midori Mikase (Sumitomo Denko) - 11.55 (+0.1) - 1st, SF2
Manaka Miura (Ehima T&F Assoc.) - 11.60 (+1.2) - 2nd, SF1
Hinami Yamanaka (Shiga T&F Assoc.) - 11.68 (+0.1) - 2nd, Sf2
Yuhana Addia Ross (Josai H.S.) - 11.73 (+0.1) - 3rd, SF3
Aiko Iki (Osaka Gas) - 11.77 (+1.2) - 3rd, SF1
Yume Okuno (Konan Univ.) - 11.77 (+1.2) - 4th, Sf1
Ruho Sato (Hosei Univ.) - 11.83 (+0.1) - 4th, SF2
Men's 400 mH final qualifiers
Ken Toyoda came out swinging with an Olympic standard-quality 48.62 to win the first heat. Already under the standard this season, Kaito Tsutsue was 2nd in H2 in 49.40, but Japan's other standard clearer Kazuki Kurokawa was a DNS in H3. That opens the door for final qualifiers Haruto Deguchi and Yusaku Kodama to make the Paris team on rankings if they run quality times and make top 3 in the final.
Ken Toyoda (Keio Univ.) - 48.62, 1st, H1
Daiki Ogawa (Toyo Univ.) - 49.02, 2nd, H1
Haruto Deguchi (Zenrin) - 49.17, 1st, H2
Shunta Inoue (Hosei Univ.) - 49.24, 3rd, H1
Yusaku Kodama (Nojima T&F Club) - 49.36, 1st, H3
Kaito Tsutsue (ST-Wako) - 49.40, 2nd, H2
Masaya Oda (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 49.68, 2nd, H3
Tatsuhiro Yamamoto (Seki AC) - 49.70, 3rd, H2
text and photo © 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
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