Ochiai, Nakatani and Yoshida Get Japan on the Board - Lima World U20 Championships Day Four Japanese Results

Japan finally got on the medal board with a silver medal from Rikuya Yoshida and a pair of bronzes from Ko Ochiai and Kaisei Nakatani on the fourth day of the Lima World U20 Championships. Yoshida was up first in the men's pole vault, where he cleared a PB 5.40 m on his first attempt, good for silver behind German Hendrik Muller who made 5.45 m. Czech Jan Krcek also PBd at 5.30 m for bronze, with Ryota Murakoso 4th at 5.20 m.

After squeezing through the men's 800 m semifinals by 0.02, NR holder Ochiai started strong in the final, 2nd through 200 m in 25.13 and 4th at 400 m in 52.19, almost dead even with his NR last month. By 600 m he dropped to 6th, but over the final 200 m he ran down Kenyans Kelvin Kimutai Koech and Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech and Qatari Hatim Ait Oulghazi to take bronze in 1:47.03 behind Ethiopian General Berhanu Ayansa and Australian Peyton Craig. Ochiai's closing split of 27.33 was actually faster than Ayana's 27.53 and Craig's 27.46, but they were just too far out of range.

Nakatani followed that up with a 2.19 m clearance on his first attempt in the men's high jump, one of only three men to make it over that height. In the qualifying round Nakatani had cleared 2.21 m, but in the final he couldn't make it work and was stopped at 2.19 m. American Scottie Vines went over 2.21 m on his first try and went as far as 2.25 m to take gold. Italy's Matteo Sioli took three attempts before he cleared 2.21 m and did it again for 2.23 m, but 2.25 m was too much and he had to be content with silver.

Both the men's and women's 10000 m race walks were high-level, with all medalists delivering world leading times, championship records and/or national records and almost everyone in both fields turning in PBs. Sotaro Osaka was only 8 seconds out of bronze in the men's race, taking a strong 5th with a 39:39.36 PB. Taisei Yoshizako turned in a PB too, clocking 40:14.67 for 8th. Both Japanese women, Suzuka Kuge and Suzu Okuno, also PBd, Kuge taking 14th in 46:38.20 and Okuno 16th in 46:51.77.

After leading the field in the heats and semifinals, women's 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo couldn't quite put it together in the final. 5th through 600 m, Kubo dropped to 6th right before the line, finishing in 2:03.31. Medalists Sarah Moraa, Claudia Hollingsworth and Sophia Gorriaran all ran in the 2:00-2:01, times Kubo ran twice this summer, but as an international debut at age 16 her performance still suggested there's more to come.

Takuto Tsuchiya scored another top 8 placing for Japan in the men's long jump final at 7.56 m (+1.1), 24 cm from bronze medalist Temoso Masikane of South Africa. Eito Omori was 10th at 7.32 m (+1.4). In the women's 3000 m final Miu Suzuki had a tough time, finishing 15th of 16th starters in 9:41.15.

In qualifying rounds:

Both Kairi Gonda and Kyo Kikuta were eliminated in the men's 400 mH semifinals, Kikuta 3rd in SF 1 in 51.04 and Gonda 3rd in SF 3 in 51.80.
The men's 4x400 m relay team of Ryota Oishi, Kentaro Shirahata, Gonda and Kikuta ran a season best 3:07.04 for 2nd behind the U.S.A. among qualifiers for the final.
No luck for the men's 4x100 m relay team of Fukuto Komuro, Kei Wakana, Katsuki Sato and Naoki Nishioka though, as they were disqualified after a missed exchange in their qualifying heat.

The Lima World U20 Championships continue through Saturday. Complete schedule and results here.

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon

On Apr. 9 the Kinki Region Bureau of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Division arrested Matthew Inglis Fox , 38, an Australian business owner of no known fixed address, on charges of violating the importation regulations of the Narcotics Control Act by smuggling tablets containing marijuana elements from the United States. The suspect had entered Japan in February to run in the Osaka Marathon . The suspect was arrested on suspicion of smuggling approximately 12 pills containing marijuana by sending them from a U.S. airport to Osaka's Kansai Airport using an international courier service on Feb. 19. The Osaka branch of the Customs Service discovered the tablets in arriving cargo and suspected them to be narcotics. Customs contacted the Narcotics Control Division, which then began its investigation of the case. According to the Narcotics Control Division, the suspect denies the charges. Translator's note: Fox, who received a lifetime ban from the Ageo City Half Mara...

Long Time Coming - Akira Akasaki and Haruka Onodera's Road to the 2022 United Airlines NYC Half

Back in pre-pandemic days Akira Akasaki and Haruka Onodera were still in college, Akasaki at Takushoku University and Onodera at Teikyo University . At the 2019 Ageo City Half Marathon they frontran most of the race together, dead set on finishing in the top two Japanese collegiate spots to win invitations to the 2020 United Airlines NYC Half. For Akasaki it had already been a year and a half wait. Inspired by Kenta Murayama 's 1:00:57 5th place in finish in New York in 2017 and Kei Katanishi 's 7th-place in 2018, Akasaki went for it his junior year in his debut at the 2018 Ageo Half . "Coming up to 10 km I was in the lead pack and feeling good, so I knew I had a shot at going to New York and got pretty excited," he said. But right after the 10 km turnaround point he tripped and fell, and by the time he was back up the lead group was out of range. He finished 20th in 1:03:07, over a minute and a half behind top Japanese university man Ken Nakayama . "I was f...

japan running news

Search This Blog