Tokyo World Athletics Championships Day 8 Japanese Results

Fresh off the sting of world and Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi not making the final in the women's javelin, national pride was salved a bit in the first event the next morning on day 8 of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships.

In a tight 5-way race for the medals, women's 20 km national champion Nanako Fujii took 15 seconds off her own NR to take bronze in 1:26:18, 24 seconds behind Spain's Maria Perez, who added the 20 km gold to her 35 km victory last weekend with a 1:25:54, and 12 seconds behind Mexico's Alegna Gonzalez, who set an area record of 1:26:06. Fujii had to reach for bronze, beating Ecuador's Paula Milena Torres to the line by a step, with Peruvian Kimberly Garcia Leon 4 seconds back in 5th. All-time Japanese #2 Kumiko Okada was 18th in 1:30:12 and third teammate Ayane Yanai 37th in 1:35:44.

That brought Japan's medal count for its home soil World Championships to 2, both bronze and both in race walks. With Kitaguchi out the home team's only real remaining chance for a gold medal was in the next event, the men's 20 km, where Toshikazu Yamanishi and Satoshi Maruo were ranked 1-2 and third man Kento Yoshikawa 5th. Yoshikawa drifted a short way back relatively early, and when a series of athletes took turns throwing in surges early in the second half Maruo also fell back.

With only one red card on the books Yoshikawa made a break for it at 16 km, but the excitement got away from him and in quick succession he was given 2 more red cards, meaning he would be forced to sit a 2-minute penalty. And with that Japan's chances of a gold medal at home were gone, barring a miracle in the men's 4x100 m. Maruo, who also raced the 35 km, faded over the last 5 km, leaving Yoshikawa to come from behind for the top Japanese spot at 7th in 1:19:46.

Maruo was 9th in 1:20:09, finishing outside the top 8 again, with Yamanishi packing it in after his penalty was up and keeping it easy the rest of the way to avoid another red card and disqualification. Ultimately he was 28th in 1:22:39. Gold went to Brazilian Caio Bonfim in 1:18:35, China's Zhaozhao Wang taking silver in 1:18:43 and Spain's Paul McGrath in 1:18:45.

The only other Japanese athlete active in the morning session, Masateru Yugami could only muster up a 56.40 m in the men's discus throw, over 8 m off his recent best and putting him last in the qualifying round.

In the evening session, without a fully fit Kentaro Sato the men's 4X400 m team of Yuki Joseph Nakajima, Fuga Sato, Takuho Yoshizu and Kenki Imaizumi had a tough road ahead to the final, but even so they managed a 2:59.74 season best that would have put them 2nd in Heat 1. As it was, it was only good enough for 6th in Heat 2 and they didn't advance to tomorrow's final.

Running without its potential A-lineup exactly, the Japanese men's 4x100 m team, Yuki Koike, Hiroki Yanagita, Yoshihide Kiryu and Towa Uzawa still managed to get through to the final with a 38.07 for 3rd in Heat 2, lucking out a bit when tough rivals South Africa and Great Britian both blew the first exchange. 38.07 puts Japan at 5th among the qualifiers, something they'll have to improve on in the final tomorrow if they want to close out their home soil World Championships with one last medal. Jamaica not making it through in Heat 1 helps their chances.

In the women's 5000 m final NR holder Nozomi Tanaka ran the same kind of race Nagiya Mori did in the men's 5000 m heats, staying back out of trouble early, moving up into position before 4000 m, then fading off when things got real. With Beatrice Chebet out kicking Faith Kipyegon for gold 14:54.36 to 14:55.07 and Italian Nadia Battocletti medaling again with a 14:55.42 for bronze Tanaka was a distant 12th of 16 finishers in 15:07.34.

Kobe Marathon Elite Field

Sunday's Kobe Marathon has announced its elite fields, finally. Japanese athletes have a shot at qualifying for next fall's MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, if they go sub-2:27 for the first Japanese woman across the line or sub-2:09 for the first 3 Japanese men to do it. There aren't a lot of contenders to pull it off. On the women's side, Kaede Hagitani , Ayaka Shimoyamada and Kotomi Tsubokura all ran 2:31-32 PBs in the spring and will need to step it up a couple of notches to get there. 2:23 Kenyan Antonina Kwambai is perfectly positioned to help. On the men's side, Keijiro Mogi is closest with a 2:09:06 at last year's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Hiroto Kanamori his closest domestic competition with a 2:10:01 PB in Osaka in February. The international trio of last year's winner Barnaba Kipkoech , Elisha Rotich and Goitom Kifle all have recent 2:06-7 times and should help set it up for someone to get there, wh...

Kenyan Graduate Student Athlete Posts Job Hunt for Ekiden Team on Twitter

A Kenyan runner who had tried to help lead his team to the Hakone Ekiden has taken an unusual approach to finding a post-graduation sponsor. Last week Patrick Kamau posted his job hunt on his Twitter account , saying, "I am looking for a club team or a corporate team where I can run in ekidens. I would be happy to run for any team that gave me a chance. I would be grateful for any opportunity and take it on with a positive attitude!" Kamau was 5th at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying race half marathon in 1:01:10 last year during his 4th year at Jobu University . But despite his efforts, Jobu never qualified for Hakone during his 4 years there. He is currently working on a graduate degree while looking for "a team that will let me continue my competitive career." Fans responded to Kamau's job search posting, saying, "I hope it works out for you!" "Good luck comes to those who work hard" and "Kamau is going to graduate school? Given...

Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite Field (updated)

Another big race on the MGC qualifying calendar has posted its elite fields, the Dec. 6 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon . It looks like a good race for the single MGC spot up for women under 2:27, and the 6 spots for men sub-2:09. Yuka Ando is the favorite in the women's race with a 2:21:18 in Nagoya 2 years ago, with her only real competition coming from Ayumi Morita , who broke 2:27 in Hofu last year but missed qualifying by not being the first Japanese woman across the line. CR holder Workneh Derese is back after his 2:06:58 win last year, leading Kenyan veteran Bedan Karoki and 4 Japanese men with a solid chance at sub-2:09, Tatsuya Maruyama , Ryoma Takeuchi , Shuho Dairokuno and Kento Nishi . Takeuchi set his 2:08:20 PB at Gold Coast in July, and Dairokuno is fresh off a great run at the final Kyushu Corporate Ekiden. Masatoshi Sakata , Yota Ifuku , Madoka Tanihara and Daiji Kawai have both come close to sub-2:09 in recent races and could factor in. 57th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite...

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