japan running news

The Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives has announced that it's women's running team will be disbanded in March, 2023 at the end of the 2022-23 season. Founded in 1987, the Hokuren team qualified for the National Corporate Women's Ekiden 26 times and produced notable athletes including Yukiko Akaba , a 2008 Olympian in the 5000 m and 10000 m. It failed to make last year's National Corporate Women's Ekiden, finishing 29th at the qualifying race. In addition to competing in races, the team regularly held educational session and running events for school children and the general public to help contribute to society by spreading the love of the sport. Its activities will remain unchanged during the 2022-23 season and will still compete as usual. It will also continue to support the Hokuren Distance Challenge series of track meets held across Hokkaido every summer. source article: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/32a9115eac6fa7fc2d7ac2b2a8442e4a76c21e8d tra...

Future Beijing Olympics marathon gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru runs a still-standing Third Stage course record to lead Sendai Ikuei H.S. to the National High School Boys Ekiden Championships title. The team's winning time, a course record at the time, is still the second-fastest ever.

Hospitalized since Mar. 30 after contracting the novel coronavirus, 2008 Beijing Olympics men's 4x100 m silver medalist Naoki Tsukahara , 34, has been released from the hospital. According to a spokesperson for Fujitsu, where Tsukahara is employed as an advisor to its track and field field, following the completion of his treatment Tsukahara was discharged on Apr. 12. He is now resting at home. Tsukahara appeared at as a special guest instructor at a track and field workshop event in Mie on Mar. 28. He began to feel sick a few hours after the event and went to a local hospital to be examined. When his fever did not go down the next day a PCR was conducted, and on the 30th he was found to have contracted the virus. Despite Fujitsu policy not to reveal the names of infected employees, Tsukahara insisted that his name be disclosed in order to help prevent further spread. Fujitsu team members include Tokyo Olympics men's marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura and 2019 Doha W...

On Mar. 31 the Fujitsu corporate team announced that 2008 Beijing Olympics men's 4x100 m relay silver medalist Naoki Tsukahara , 34, now a team advisor, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Under medical guidance Tsukahara was hospitalized Mar. 30 at a health center specializing in treatment of infectious disease. He is the first Olympic medalist to have been publicly revealed to have the coronavirus. Tsukahara took part in a track and field training program with over 70 participants in Suzuka, Mie as a guest speaker on Mar. 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. At 6:00 p.m. he went to a local hospital after beginning to feel unwell and coming down with a fever. When his fever did not come down the following day, a PCR test was conducted by the hospital under the guidance of the specialized health center. His infection with the coronavirus was confirmed on the 30th. Following the positive result, the Fujitsu corporation disinfected its entire Kawasaki factory, where Tsukah...

On Mar. 19 it was learned that 2008 Beijing Olympian Kensuke Takezawa , 32, has been named head coach of the Osaka Keizai University track and field team. Previous head coach Kunihiro Tsurutani had led Hotoku Gakuen H.S. to six National High School Ekiden titles before taking over at Osaka Keizai. He passed away last year. Takezawa was coached by Tsurutani at Hotoku Gakuen H.S. A native of Hyogo prefecture, Takezawa went on to Waseda University where he ran the Hakone Ekiden all four years. As a student athlete he ran the 10000 m at the 2007 Osaka World Championships. A year later he ran the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Beijing Olympics. He retired from competition in 2017. source article: https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20190320-00050148-yom-spo translated by Brett Larner

On Dec. 11 the Japan Olympic Committee announced that Japan's 2008 Beijing Olympics men's 4x100 m relay team has been officially elevated from the bronze medal position to silver. The leading runner for former gold medalists Jamaica, Nesta Carter , tested positive for prohibited substances in an antidoping test, leading to the IOC stripping the Jamaican team of its medals. Carter appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but lost the appeal in June this year. The International Olympic Committee released a statement on the official change in status on Dec. 7. A medal ceremony will be held for the four team members at a later date. The Japanese national team ran 38.15 at the Beijing Olympics. Its four members in running order were Naoki Tsukahara , Shingo Suetsugu , Shinji Takahira and Nobuharu Asahara . Their bronze medal was only the second Japanese Olympic medal on the track in history, the first coming 80 years earlier at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics whe...

1500 m women's national record holder and Beijing Olympian Yuriko Kobayashi , 29, gave a lecture on the value of having a dream to new employees at Echizen City Hall as part of their training. The lecture was part of the "Dream Classroom" series, a partnership project between the city government and the Japan Football Association to have top-level athletes teach classes at local elementary and junior high schools. Kobayashi's session was the first in the series aimed at recognizing the dreams of adults. Speaking to a group of thirty city employees, Kobayashi spoke about her experience running in the National Championships while still in high school, the dedication she and her friends put into becoming the best ekiden team in Japan, and other parts of her career as an athlete, stressing the importance of steady achievement at small goals in the pursuit of a larger dream. At the Beijing Olympics, one of her major goals, she missed her objective of making the top e...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/1766072.html http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170116-00000213-sph-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner The Sumitomo Denko corporate men's team announced on Jan. 16 that Kensuke Takezawa , 30, a 2008 Beijing Olympian in the 5000 m and 10000 m, has made the decision to retire from competition.  Via a statement from the company Takezawa said, "I will retire from active competition at the end of this season.  The last few years I haven't been able to produce good results, but the strong, heartfelt support and encouragement I've received from everyone has made it possible to keep going this long.  I sincerely thank you all.  Please continue to cheer on the Sumitomo Denko team." Takezawa graduated from Hyogo's Hotoku Gakuen H.S. before going to Waseda University , where he set the still-standing collegiate 5000 m record of 13:19.00 and as a fourth-year in 2009 broke the Hakone Ekiden Third Stage re...

by Brett Larner Today's retirement press conference marks the end of the road for one of the sport's all-time greats, Mizuki Noguchi .  Noguchi is best remembered, rightfully, for her achievements in the marathon.  Five wins and seven top three finishes in ten marathon starts.  An Olympic gold medal.  A World Championships silver medal.  A Japanese national record of 2:19:12.  That time still a Berlin Marathon course record no one has been able to touch more than ten years later, the only World Marathon Majors course record held by a Japanese runner. Her gold medal win at the 2004 Athens Olympics brilliantly executed, her loss to Catherine Ndereba at the 2003 Paris World Championships showing her exactly what she had to do to beat Ndereba a year later on the bigger stage and then doing it perfectly, almost down to the second, breaking Paula Radcliffe in the process.  Her DNS at the the 2008 Beijing Olympics a national heartbreak.  Her co...

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/disillusioned-mara-yamauchi-would-no-longer-advise-young-runners-to-aim-for-hollow-olympics-a6803441.html

http://www.sankei.com/west/news/150524/wst1505240046-n1.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Holder of the 13:19.00 collegiate national record for 5000 m, Kensuke Takezawa (Team Sumitomo Denko) won Sunday's Kansai Corporate Track and Field Championships men's 5000 m in 13:59.67 with a surge over the last 300 m.  Having just come off a long season off due to an Achilles tendon injury Takezawa nodded as he said, "I'm almost back.  I've grown since last year." Starting this spring, Takezawa's former coach at Waseda University, Yasuyuki Watanabe , has joined the Sumitomo Denko team as head coach, reunited the pair.  A member of the 2008 Beijing Olympics team, Takezawa, still just 28,  was optimistic of making a full comeback as he said, "Coach Watanabe understands me better than anybody.  Having him around changes my mentality."  Translator's note: Two weeks ago Takezawa ran 13:37.89 for 4th at the Golden Games in Nobeoka meet, h...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201502/2015020100194&g=spo translated by Brett Larner Having recently announced her retirement, 1500 m national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi (26, Team Toyota Jidoshokki) finished with a smile at her final race on Feb. 1 at the local Hyogo Prefecture Ekiden.  Running the 5 km anchor stage for her hometown Ono-shi, Kobayashi brought the team home in 3rd overall.  "I'm really grateful to all the people who cheered for me and called out, 'Thank you!' as I ran," she said.  "It almost made me cry.  I'm a very happy person." Kobayashi ran the 1500 m national record while at Hyogo's Suma Gakuen H.S. , going on to run against the best in the world in the 5000 m at world-level events like the Beijing Olympics.  It was a sign of how much of an inspiration she is to junior high school and high school runners that Kobayashi was surrounded by people asking for autographs and pictures together.  After retiring Kobayashi ...

http://mainichi.jp/sports/news/m20140311k0000m050012000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On Mar. 10, Beijing Olympics women's marathoner Yurika Nakamura , 27 announced her intent to retire at the end of March.  The announcement came via her corporate team sponsor Tenmaya.  Following her retirement she plans to focus on her work at the company. Nakamura is a native of Hyogo prefecture.  After graduating from Nishinomiya H.S. she joined the Tenmaya team in 2004.  She won her marathon debut at the 2008 Nagoya International Women's Marathon to qualify for the Beijing Olympics where she placed 13th, the only Japanese woman to finish the race.  In the 2009 Berlin World Championships 10000 m she placed 7th, the top Japanese finisher.  After her last race in January, 2013 she took a leave of absence from competition to rest and recuperate.  "After re-examining myself I came to the conclusion that it was time to retire," she said in her stateme...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20140202-00000067-jij-spo http://373news.com/modules/pickup/index.php?storyid=54493 translated and edited by Brett Larner Having retired in December, 2009 World Championships marathon 6th-placer and half marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato  (35, Team Chugoku Denryoku) announced Feb. 2 that he will become head coach of the Kyocera  corporate women's team this spring.  Sato is the all-time fourth-fastest Japanese marathoner, with a best of 2:07:13, and ran the 2008 Beijing Olympics marathon.  He retired last year following December's Fukuoka International Marathon.  For some time he has been on leave from the Chugoku Denryoku company, training and working to develop local athletics in his native Fukushima.  Previous Kyocera head coach Yasunori Niihara  passed away on Dec. 20 due to an illness. Also announced was that Sato's wife, 800 m national record holder and Olympian Miho Sato , will join the team's s...

http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/sports/2013/12/03/wanjiru-inquest-ruling-set-for-monday/

http://www.minyu-net.com/sport/running/news/131121/news2.html translated by Brett Larner Half marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato  (Team Chugoku Denryoku) has announced that he will retire following next month's Fukuoka International Marathon. Now 35, he has increasingly been forced to deal with running in pain and numbness in his legs.  In an interview on Nov. 20 Sato admitted, "I've had more and more problems with injuries and just can't seem to be able to do the kind of training I need any more." Sato relocated his training base from Hiroshima back to his hometown of Aizubange-machi, Fukushima following the 2011 disasters with the intent of training for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August, 2016.  He has been building his mileage there, but realizing he would not be able to achieve this goal and deciding to retire, he said, "I've always had the dream of being a mentor and coach, so I'd like to put the punctuation on one phase on my...

http://www.sei.co.jp/news/press/13/prs079_s.html translated and edited by Brett Larner The Sumitomo Denko corporation is proud to announce today that Beijing Olympics 5000 m and 10000 m Olympian Kensuke Takezawa , with bests of 13:19.00 and 27:45.59, has joined the company as a member of its men's long-distance running team.  "I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to make a new start now at Sumitomo Denko," Takezawa said.  "A lot of people have supported and encouraged me through some difficult times, and from the heart I offer my sincerest gratitude for being able to stand here today for this announcement.  Since the Olympics I haven't been able to become the kind of internationally-competitive athlete I hoped to become, but in this new environment I will dedicate myself to becoming the best I can be, not just as an athlete but as a human being. I ask for your continued support and encouragement." Sumitomo Denko head coach Toshihiro Matsumoto  c...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20130522-OHT1T00091.htm translated by Brett Larner 2004 Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medalist and national record holder Mizuki Noguchi (34, Team Sysmex) left from Tokyo's Narita Airport on May 22 for altitude training in Boulder, Colorado. Interviewed prior to her departure, she said that she is aiming to make the 2016 Rio Olympics. Following her withdrawal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics Noguchi struggled with injuries for years, but after a 3rd-place finish at March's Nagoya Women's Marathon she made her first national team in ten years, qualifying for the Moscow World Championships marathon squad and signaling that she is well on her way to a complete return to form. "Last year I didn't have it in me [to make the Olympics], but since Nagoya I've felt the way I used to," she said. "My injury problems have finally gone away." Noguchi will be training in Boulder together with the...

http://www.kahoku.co.jp/news/2013/04/2013042701001673.htm translated by Brett Larner Selected earlier in the week for the Moscow World Championships marathon team, national record holder Mizuki Noguchi  (Team Sysmex) made a guest appearance at a cross-country race in Asogun, Kumamoto, on April 27.  "I'm totally, totally happy," she delightedly told fans.  "Since I am running, my goal is to medal.  At absolute worst top eight." In Noguchi's last appearance at the World Championships in 2003 she won silver.  At the 2008 Beijing Olympics she was a DNS with a serious injury, meaning that her last time competing at the world level on the Japanese national team was her gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.  Now 34, the veteran Noguchi smiled as she said, "Having been all the way to the bottom it seems like a miracle to me that I'm back on my feet and headed to Worlds, but I know that it's something I was able to do myself, under my own power....

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201303/2013032900798&g=spo translated by Brett Larner The Fujitsu track and field team announced on Mar. 29 that men's 3000 m steeplechase national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu , 33, will leave the team at the end of March and retire from competition. Beginning April 1 he will take a position as an assistant coach with the Shiseido women's team. Iwamizu ran in both the Athens and Beijing Olympics. Beginning in 2001 he competed in five-straight World Championships, setting the Japanese national record of 8:18.93 at the 2003 Paris World Championships.