japan running news

On Oct. 1 the Daiichi Seimei corporate team announced that executive advisor and special head coach Sachiko Yamashita had retired from the company at the end of October. Yamashita, 61, was born in 1964. After working as a teacher she joined the corporate leagues as an athlete, going on to take silver in the marathon at the 1991 Tokyo World Championships. A year later she was 4th in the Barcelona Olympics marathon. Yamashita joined Daiichi Seimei as an athlete and coach n 1994, and after retiring from competition in 1996 became the team's head coach. As the team's coach she developed Olympians Yoshimi Ozaki , Tomomi Tanaka , Miyuki Uehara and Yuka Suzuki , and led the team to two Queens Ekiden national titles. In 2024 she stepped back from her leadership role to focus on coaching Suzuki. "For 31 years I've had the opportunity to take on a wide range of challenges in this sport that I love so much, and that was thanks to the support of many people," she said in p...

On June 25 the JAAF announced that director Mitsuki Ogata is stepping down and will be replaced by vice-chair Yuko Arimori . A two-time Olympic marathon medalist, Arimori will be both the first woman and first Olympian to lead the JAAF. Arimori was born in 1966 in Okayama. In 1985 she graduated from Shujitsu H.S. and entered Nittai University . After graduating in 1989 she joined the Recruit corporate team under the leadership of head coach Yoshio Koide . In January, 1990 she ran 2:32:51 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon, at the time a debut marathon national record. The next year she placed 4th at the Tokyo World Championships, then took the silver medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Four years later Arimori followed that up with a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She retired from competition in 2007. After retiring, Arimori became active in a wide range of area, including as chair of Special Olympics Japan, a sports organization for intellectually-challen...

At a signing ceremony in Tokyo on Jan. 23, Sony announced that it will enter into a sponsorship agreement with World Athletics for 2024 through 2026. Beginning with the Glasgow World Indoor Championships on Mar. 1 and running until the end of 2026, Sony will provide sponsorship support for all events in the World Athletics Series. Sony subsidiary Hawk-Eye will provide services to assist in referees' decision making, contributing to fair and impartial competition management. At the signing ceremony Sony president Hiroki Totoki commented, "Through the integration of World Athletics' knowledge and know-how with Sony technology we will bring all the excitement of athletics to a wider range of people than ever before, from hardcore fans to the kids." World Athletics top Sebastian Coe added, "It brings me great pleasure to announce signing this deal with one of the leaders in the history of technology and innovation. Thank you for believing in the sport of athletics...

In a world where slander and abuse run freely on the Internet, words have become a deadly weapon that can end someone's life. 1991 marathon world champion Hiromi Taniguchi , 60, saw his own life change dramatically when he uttered a single phrase after finishing 8th in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics men's marathon. The words he said right after finishing, "I had a little whoopsie-daisy!" have become part of folklore as the good-natured reaction of someone who simply lost their race, but in the years since then they've become in their own way a cross that Taniguchi has had to bear. We talked directly with Taniguchi, now a professor at Miyazaki University, to find out what impact those Olympic Games now 28 years distant had upon his life and fate. Taniguchi teaches at Miyazaki University three times a week. His classes and appearances at marathon-related events have been heavily impacted by the coronavirus crisis. "Everything on the schedule this year has been...

Hiromi Taniguchi wins gold at the 1991 Tokyo World Championships, scoring a place on the 1992 Barcelona Olympic team.

http://www.sanspo.com/smp/sports/news/20170306/ath17030605000001-s.html an editorial by Hiromi Taniguchi ,  1991 Tokyo World Championships marathon gold medalist and two-time Olympic marathoner translated by Brett Larner Yesterday's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon was a pretty unremarkable race. Akinobu Murasawa and the other young athletes ran at 3:00/km pace in the lead group to 20 km, but at that point there were only 21 people left in the group and it looked like the more inexperienced athletes started to feel afraid somewhere along the way.   Tadashi Isshiki was the same way.  I think the pressure probably did him in before he even started running.  You have to value the experience level of Satoru Sasaki , who fell off pace midway but came back to take the top Japanese position, but in terms of his time it's tough to consider him. For the World Championships team, why not select the top three Japanese men from the Tokyo Marathon, Hiroto Inoue , Hiroyuki Y...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20130218-1087016.html translated by Brett Larner 2013 Hakone Ekiden winners Nittai University  held a banquet at Tokyo's Hotel New Otani on Feb. 18 to celebrate their first Hakone title in 30 years.  More than 1200 guests and dignitaries attended the banquet, including former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori , 75, holder of an honorary doctorate from Nittai.  A lifelong Hakone Ekiden fan, Prime Minister Mori praised team captain and Fifth Stage winner Shota Hattori , telling the banquet attendees,  "On TV he looks so strong and powerful, but seeing him in person he is an adorable little munchkin, that Hattori."  Hattori, looking nervous onstage up to that point, laughed and relaxed. The members of Hattori's last Hakone-winning team from 30 years ago were also in attendance and gathered onstage for a commemorative photo.  Among them were 1991 Tokyo World Championships marathon gold medalist Hir...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20110808k0000m050080000c.html http://www.47news.jp/CN/201108/CN2011080701000696.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Daegu World Championships women's marathon team members Yoshimi Ozaki  and Azusa Nojiri  (both Team Daiichi Seimei) returned to Japan on Aug. 7 after two months of altitude training in Boulder, Colorado.  The pair talked to the media at Tokyo's Narita International Airport along with their coach, '91 World Championships women's marathon silver medalist Sachiko Yamashita  (Team Daiichi Seimei).  Ozaki, the '09 Berlin World Championships marathon silver medalist, was in good spirits and looked cheerful as she gave herself a self-evaluation of "about 70%." The Boulder training camp put an emphasis on mileage, with the pair training at the 800 km/month level and completing their first-ever 50 km run.  Ozaki looked confident as she commented, "I was able to pick up the pace in last part of the...