Skip to main content

Lima World U20 Championships - Day Five Japanese Results


The Lima World U20 Championships wrapped with 5th-place finishes by Japanese athletes in both finals that had them. In the men's 3000 mSC final, Soma Nagahara started conservatively, sitting 11th at 1000 m in 2:49.36 with leader Edmund Serem of Kenya almost 2 second ahead. Over the next 1000 m Nagahara moved up into 5th, and that's where he stayed. Serem took gold in an U20 world-leading 8:15.28, and with 8 of the next 9 finishers running PBs to get there Nagahara hung on for 5th in a PB 8:30.37 just over 6 seconds outside the medals.

Nagahara's former Saku Chosei H.S. teammate Tetsu Sasaki, who had scratched from the 3000 m earlier in the championships, was in 15th at 1000 m but dropped to last, 16th of 16 in 9:16.20 and the only athlete not to break 9 minutes.

The men's 4x400 m relay got off to a slow start, opening runner Ryota Oishi 7th of 9 in 47.66. Japan's next two runners Kentaro Shirahata and Kairi Gonda moved up to 6th and then 5th, and with a strong run from anchor Kyo Kikuta they held on to 5th in a season best 3:06.94. All told that brought the overall Japanese team's performance in Lima to one silver medal, two bronzes, one 4th, five 5th-places, two 6th, one 7th and two 8th, sort of a gold to cap it but within the range of expectation.


© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee




Comments

Most-Read This Week

Police Arrest 20-Year-Old Man Charged With Assaulting Female Runner at Popular Tokyo Running Spot

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a female runner along the banks of the Tama River in Ota Ward, Tokyo. "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go for a walk and move my body a bit," the man told police. Local resident Hirai Muroyama , 20, of no known occupation, was arrested on charges of sexual assault. He is accused of acts including grabbing the breasts of a woman in her 20s at around 10 p.m. on May 31 along the banks of the Tama River. According to police, the woman was taking a break in her run when Muroyama approached her silently from behind and grabbed her breasts before running away. Under police interrogation Muroyama told investigators, "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go out for a walk and move my body. I'd had a few drinks and was feeling pretty hype. She was totally my type." source article: https://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newsey

Yamada Holdings Scratches From National Corporate Women's Ekiden Qualifier

On Sept. 6 Yamada Holdings announced that its women's ekiden team has scratched from the Oct. 20 Princess Ekiden, the qualifying race for the Nov. 24 Queens Ekiden national corporate women's championships in Sendai. Yamada Holdings had been targeting a podium finish at the Queens Ekiden this year. The announcement stated, "A restructured development system was put in place this year to develop a stronger team, but with multiple athletes injured we have made the decision to withdraw from running the Princess Ekiden." Other races on the schedule this season remain a question mark and will depend on athletes' conditions. The Yamada Holdings team was 22nd at the Queens Ekiden last year, well off the podium and earning the guaranteed place at the following year's race that comes with it. Longtime coaching staff member Kei Yokoyama , 49, was appointed head coach this year after 10 years as assistant coach, and hopes were high that the team would return to previous

Suguru Osako Makes it Through Trail Debut at UTMB MCC Two Weeks After Olympic Marathon

Two-time Olympic marathoner Suguru Osako  posted on his Instagram story on Aug. 26 about his trail running debut at last weekend's UTMB MCC in Chamonix, France with support from his high school friend, trail runner Ruy Ueda . Osako ran the 40 km division with 2300 m cumulative elevation gain. In 4th at the first checkpoint, he slowed partway through when the course got steep and rocky. "To be honest it was too scary," he wrote. "How can people run there? LOL. It was different from what I'd heard. Mostly rock." Osako struggled on the descents, writing that he had cramps in his legs. Video showed trail specialists running smoothly past him on a steep downhill. But in the end he managed to finished, placing 50th among men and 52nd overall in 4:30:41. Afterward he wrote, "It was scarier than I expected and my legs wouldn't move, even more on the downhills where I'm terrible. But at least I was able to make a mark in the safe first 10k! LOL. I'v