Japanese Athletes in Action on Tokyo World Championships Day 3

Day 3 of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships kicks off with what will probably be the most-viewed event on domestic TV. A quick look at Japanese athletes competing throughout the day:

7:30 - Men's Marathon

Yuya Yoshida (GMO) - 2:05:16 - 1st, Fukuoka Int'l 2024

Ryota Kondo (Mitsubishi Juko) - 2:05:39 - 2nd, Osaka 2025

Naoki Koyama (Honda) - 2:06:33 - 3rd, Osaka 2024

Prognosis: If we had to pick one Japanese athlete we'd most like to see win a medal it's Yoshida, someone who's risen from benchwarmer in college to Fukuoka CR holder. He's been almost invisible this year so it's hard to know where he's at, but if his second half is anything like it was in Fukuoka then he's a contender. Kondo is a wildcard, with a 2:05:39 debut and narrow miss on the win in Osaka this year, but in snow and cold far removed from what Tokyo will be like Monday. Koyama seemed almost no-miss up through his PB in Osaka last year but has struggled since then and controversially made the team here based on points in the domestic marathon series over multiple people who have run a lot better more recently.

9:00 / 10:45 - Men's Hammer Throw Qualification

Shota Fukuda (Sumitomo Denko) - 74.57 m - 1st, Nationals

Prognosis: National champ Fukuda is in good shape this season, but even that only ranks him 3rd from the bottom of the field. He's not likely to go on to the final.

9:05 - Women's Pole Vault Qualification

Misaki Morota (At Home) - 4.40 m - DNS, Nationals

Prognosis: Morota has been out of competition for the last few months and didn't compete at Nationals in July, so it was a surprise to see her added to the team on a host country ticket. No indication of what kind of shape she's in, but it's not likely to be near peak form.

10:30 - Women's 3000 m Steeplechase Heats

Miu Saito (Panasonic) - 9:38.16 - 2nd, Nationals

Prognosis: Saito has been having a great season but only made the team off a host country spot. With any luck she'll get pulled along to a PB in the heats, but even that probably won't get her to the final.

19:35 - Men's 400 m Hurdles Heats

Shunta Inoue (Fujitsu) - 48.46 - 3rd, Nationals

Ken Toyoda (Toyota) - 48.55 - 7th, Heat 1, Nationals

Daiki Ogawa (Toyo Univ.) - 48.61 - 1st, Nationals

Prognosis: One of Japan's better events. Moving on to the semi-finals would be a good achievement for any of the 3 men on the squad. Toyoda is the biggest question mark after injury issues earlier in the season that saw him eliminated in the heats at Nationals.

19:40 - Men's Long Jump Qualification

Hibiki Tsuha (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 8.15 m (+1.0) - 5th, Nationals

Riku Ito (Suzuki) - 8.11 m (+0.1) - 2nd, Nationals

Yuki Hashioka (Fujitsu) - 8.10 m (+1.7) - 4th, Nationals

Prognosis: Another good squad, but neither Tsuha nor Hashioka have been close to their best this season. All three are in the bottom half of the field and will need a good day to make the final.

20:23 - Men's 110 m Hurdles Heats

Rachid Muratake (JAL) - 12.92 (+0.6) - DNS, Nationals

Shunsuke Izumiya (Sumitomo Denko) - 13.19 (+0.3) - 1st, Nationals

Shusei Nomoto (Ehime T&F Assoc.) - 13.21 (+0.6) - 2nd, Nationals

Prognosis: Muratake is a medal contender. Izumiya and Nomoto might join him in the semis, but he's probably going to be the only one in the final.

(21:06 - Women's 100 m Hurdles Semi-Final)

Prognosis: Two of the three Japanese women in the heats, Hitomi Nakajima and Mako Fukube, have a reasonable chance of advancing past the heats to the semis.

(21:30 - Men's 1500 m Semi-Final)

Prognosis: Asian champ Iizawa has a 3:36 season best and will have a hard time making here past the first round.

(21:55 - Men's 3000 m Steeplechase Final)

Prognosis: Miura should be in it for a medal back on the track where he had his big international breakthrough in the heats at the Tokyo Olympics.

(22:20 - Women's 100 m Hurdles Final)

Prognosis: It'd be a surprise to see either Nakajima or Fukube go this far. A pleasant surprise, though.

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...

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