Double National Records at HDC Shibetsu Meet

This year's Hokuren Distance Challenge series wrapped up Saturday in Shibetsu with a pair of new national records from international competitors. South Korea's Na Yeon Park took the win in the women's 1500 m with a new NR of 4:13.87, only a 0.38 PB but enough to get her under the old record she'd previously just missed. In the men's 5000 m A-heat, Chuo University 1st-year Chien Tzu Chieh went under 13:40 for the first time, running a new Taiwanese NR of 13:39.61 for 8th in a race won by Reitaku University's Brian Kiputwu in 13:28.09.

Other good performances in Shibetsu included a 2:01.80 win by Ayano Shiomi in the women's 800 m, the 3rd-best time of her career, 3 more men joining the sub-3:40 club in the 1500 m led by Juntendo University's Shuntaro Kawaguchi in 3:38.46, and Dolphine Omare and Lucy Nduta going sub-15 in the women's 5000 m A-heat in 14:56.70 and 14:57.25.

Overseas Japanese results from the weekend:

At the London Diamond League meet, 3000 m NR holder Nozomi Tanaka shaved a second off her record of 8:33.52 from last year's Millrose Games, running a new mark of 8:32.29. But at 8 seconds off Australian winner Jessica Hull that was only good enough for 13th. A Japanese men's 4x100 m team made up of veterans Shuhei Tada, Yoshihide Kiryu and Yuki Koike with Chuo University's Fukuto Komuro adding some fresh blood took 3rd in 38.66 with GBR getting the win in 37.95 and Australia 2nd in 38.00.
A lot of Japanese athletes were in action at the Night of Athletics meet in Belgium. Traveling from Canada, Allon Clay kept his streak of good races rolling with a 2nd-place finish in the men's 800 m in 1:45.11. Hiroya Kiyokawa turned in another 2nd-place finish in the men's javelin throw at 74.46 m. Ippei Takeda was 4th in the men's 100 m B-final in 10.62 (-2.3), and Takuho Yoshizu 5th in the men's 400 m B-final in 47.28. Women's 3000 mSC NR holder Miu Saito was 8th in 9:34.21, 10 seconds off her record. 10000 m NR holder Mebuki Suzuki, Yamato Yoshii and Ryuto Igawa were 14th, 15th and 19th of 19 finishers in the men's 5000 m A-heat, Suzuki fastest in 13:34.68 over half a lap behind winner Jose Carlos Pinto's Portuguese NR of 12:59.75. Naoki Ota did better in the B-heat with a 13:28.75 for 4th, road 10 km NR holder Tomoya Ogikubo finishing 12th in 13:38.98.
Continuing his solo European tour, Koki Fujihara was 2nd in the men's long jump at the Lappeenranta Games in Finland with a wind-aided 7.91 m (+4.1) behind winner Kasperi Vehmaa who jumped 8.03 m (+1.9). Fujihara's best legal jump was 7.79 m.

Japan's Team Performance at World U20 Championships

There wasn't much surprise in the events where Japan did well at the Oregon World U20 Championships , with medals in the men's 110 mH, 400 mH and 3000 m, and top 5 finishes in the women's and men's 5000 m race walks, men's 4x100 m relay, men's pole vault and long jump, men's 200 m, women's 800 m and 3000 m, and women's javelin throw. Jeremy Koga ran a 12.95 (+0.3) Asian U20 AR in the men's 110 mH semifinals, then came back in the final with a 12.97 (+0.7) in the final to take silver behind a brilliant 12.72 U20 WR by American Le'Ezra Brown . Taiju Goto was expected to medal in the men's 400 mH, but after leading the semifinals the best he could do was silver in 49.23, gold going to the Czech Republic's Michal Rada with a 48.59 European U20 AR. Expected to do better in the 1500 m, Ojiro Honda ran a 7:48.49 U20 NR in the men's 3000 m final to score bronze, only to come in near the back of the field in the 1500 m final at 14th in...

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...

Some Mid-Season Women's Corporate Team Roster Changes

The Daiichi Life women's corporate team announced last week on its official site that Paris Olympics 10000 m runner Haruka Kokai and teammate Yuka Masubuchi left the organization as of July 31. Kokai was born in 2003. Kokai rose to the national level while at Sendai Ikuei H.S. , winning the first leg at the National High School Ekiden her 2nd year to lead them to the overall national title. After graduating she joined Daiichi Life, then called Daiichi Seimei, in 2021. In March, 2023 she was the gold medalist in the women's 10000 m at the Asian Championships, and in December the same year she took 3rd in the National Championships 10000 m in an all-time Japanese #7 30:57.67 to score a place on the Paris Olympics team. In Paris she placed 19th. In a statement released by Daiichi Life Kokai said, "I want to thank the team, who always put the athletes first as they shared this journey, and all my teammates for so many good times together. There were times I got really disco...

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