japan running news

Ten years after his last appearance on the Japanese national team with a 9th-place finish at the London Olympics, Roderick Genki Dean put himself in good position in the qualification round of the men's javelin throw on Day 7 of the Oregon 22 World Athletics Championships . With all 12 qualifiers for the final going over 80 m Dean was right on the cusp with his first two throws, hitting 79.26 m and 79.33 m. But on his third attempt he pulled out a season best 82.34 m to make the cut, positioning himself at 7th going into the final. Teammate Kenji Ogura couldn't quite get there, throwing 78.48 m on his first attempt and unable to better it on his other two. Dean looks to be in good position to better his London performance in Saturday's final if he can replicate the same kind of form. Neither of the other Japanese athletes in action advanced to the next round in their events. Running in Heat 2, all-time Japanese #2 Hyuga Endo only needed to finish 10th in 13:24.55 to mak...

an editorial by Serika Ito As the figure on the screen grew larger, I could feel myself unintentionally getting energy from it. Just past 31 km, the oldest man in the race, 36-year-old Kentaro Nakamoto (Yasukawa Denki) took the lead in the chase pack behind breakaway frontrunner Yuta Shitara (Honda). It was one of the memorable scenes in last September's Marathon Grand Championship (MGC) Tokyo Olympics marathon trial race. At one point Nakamoto was more than 20 seconds behind the chase group, but he had already proven himself in heat and excelled at race tactics and catching up. "Maybe there's going to be a Tokyo Olympics for him," I thought. I couldn't help starting to get excited. Nakamoto was 6th in the 2012 London Olympics marathon and made three World Championships teams in the marathon, finishing as high as 5th and always in the top 10. I interviewed him many times over the years as he quietly build a track record of anonymous quality. Although he ...

2012 London Olympian Arata Fujiwara , 37, announced his retirement from competition on April 1. Effective the same day he will join the Suzuki Hamamatsu AC coaching staff. Translator's note: The most wildly unpredictable of Japan's elite marathoners, Fujiwara's achievements included a 2:07:48 PB that at the time ranked him all-time Japanese #7, a 2:09:34 course record at the 2010 Ottawa Marathon that made him the first Japanese man in 23 years to win a marathon outside Japan sub-2:10, three 2nd-place finishes at the Tokyo Marathon, becoming only the fifth Japanese man to score five career sub-2:10s, and representing Japan at the 2009 Berlin World Championships and 2012 London Olympics. His 2010 decision to quit the corporate league system and get individual sponsorship led the way for others including future national record holder Suguru Osako and Hakone Ekiden star Daichi Kamino to do the same.  source article: https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20190401-00000146...

One of Japan's best long distance women is back on track. 5th in the women's 10000 m at the 2013 Moscow World Championships before declaring her retirement in January, 2014, Hitomi Niiya (30, Nike Tokyo TC) ran her first race in almost five years in the 3000 m at the June 9 Nittai University Time Trials  meet. Post-race she said, "Yeah, it's been a while. Feels like I'm on my way back." Describing herself as, "an athlete whose history is only in the past," Niiya ran 9:20.74 for 2nd in the 3000 m A-heat at Nittai. "That's a really half-assed time, huh," she said afterwards. Her bib number was 30, the same as her age now. "That pissed me off," she laughed. "I'm not happy about it." Sounding just like her old self there was no doubt that her sharp tongue, at least, hasn't lost its edge. After running in the 2012 London Olympics, in November that year at the age of 25 Niiya was diagnosed with plantar fasci...

On June 3 it was revealed that 2013 Moscow World Championships women's 10000 m 5th-placer Hitomi Niiya , 30, will run the women's 3000 m at the June 9 Nittai University Time Trials as part of the Nike Tokyo Track Club. Her first race in over four years, the race represents her first step on the road to a comeback in time for the 2020 Tokyo Oympic Games. According to a club spokesperson, Niiya began running again last summer. Her goal at Nittai to clear the 9:50 qualifying time for July's Hokuren Distance Challenge series in Hokkaido, where she will run the 5000 m in order to secure the 15:40.00 standard for the 2019 National Championships. A native of Soja, Okayama, while at Kojokan H.S. Niiya won the 6.0 km First Stage at the National High School Ekiden three years in a row. Two of those runs broke the course record, with her time of 18:52 still standing as the course record. No other runner has ever broken 19 minutes. Together with her future London Olympics teamma...

The 2018 Tokushima Marathon took place Mar. 25 in the city of Tokushima, starting in front of the Tokushima Prefectural Government offices and running along a course along the Yoshino River. 12,400 people took part. Overseas invited elite athlete Wilson Kipsang (Kenya), the 2012 London Olympics bronze medalist, won in 2:19:35. Local runner Takumi Matsumoto was 2nd. Kipsang's time was just over four minutes off the course record of 2:15:25 set by Yuki Kawauchi in 2014. Kipsang is in the process of establishing a fund to support improvement of the living environment and education of children in his home country and is taking part in activities to support that end. At 2:00 p.m. he held a session at Aibahama Park in Tokushima to sign autographs and ask for support for his project. source article: https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20180325-00010001-tokushimav-l36 translated by Brett Larner

On Mar. 22 Chuo University , 15th place at the 2018 Hakone Ekiden, announced that 2012 London Olympics marathoner and Chuo alumnus Ryo Yamamoto , 33, has been invited to join the Chuo long distance coaching staff. Yamamoto ran Hakone three times while at Chuo. Joining the SGH Group corporate team after his graduation, Yamamoto ran a PB 2:08:44 to finish 4th at the 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon and earning a place on the London Olympic team. A statement from Chuo read, "As an Olympian and top-level athlete, Yamamoto is someone we would like to have guide our team members." Yamamoto will take up his new duties on Apr. 1, joining head coach and fellow 2:08 marathoner  Masakazu Fujiwara . With the record for most Hakone Ekiden victories at 14, Chuo University is set to receive an infusion of the Olympic spirit. source article: https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20180322-00000165-sph-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner photo © 2012 Dr. Helmut Winter, all right...

The Tenmaya women's corporate team announced on Dec. 19 that two-time World Championships marathoner and 2012 London Olympian Risa Shigetomo , 30, will retire from competition at the end of the season in March next year. A press conference is scheduled for Dec. 21. As a third-year at Okayama's Kojokan H.S. in 2005 Shigetomo led the team to win its first-ever National High School Ekiden Championships title. She joined the Tenmaya team the following spring after her graduation. With a powerful stride driven by her tall 168 cm frame, Shigetomo won the 2012 Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2:23:23 to qualify for the London Olympic team. At the Olympics she finished only 70th in 2:40:06. This year Shigetomo won Osaka for the second time in 2:24:22, earning a return trip to London for this summer's World Championships where she finished 27th in 2:36:03. Translator's note: Shigetomo also ran in the 2015 Beijing World Championships, where she was 14th in 2:...

Priding itself on having one of the flattest courses in the country, the 37th Tsukuba Marathon took place Nov. 26 at Tsukuba University in Ibaraki. Just four weeks after a course record-setting win at the Toyama Marathon, 2012 London Olympics marathoner Arata Fujiwara , 36, won the men's race in 2:18:08. With a 4th-place finish on the anchor stage of last year's Hakone Ekiden to his name, Akihiro Kaneko led a group of six through 30 km before the action began. "I didn't want to fall apart mid-race, so I was careful to keep it conservative and stay in the group," Fujiwara said post-race. At 39 km he suddenly took off without warning, running alone the rest of the way to the finish line. "I think my last kilometer was about 2:50," he said. His experience showed in the ease with which he put away the 23-year-old Kaneko and other younger athletes. "The time wasn't great, but it gives me hope for the future," Fujiwara smiled. With regard...

London World Championships women's marathon team member Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) held an open training session for members of the media June 27 in Okayama. Of her second-straight World Championships appearance she said, "I want to produce good results. My goal is top eight." Since the end of May Shigetomo has done two training camps in Shobara, running on a cross country course as she focused on base mileage. With the trouble she experienced with her right heel last year having improved, the training went off without problems. "Before my marathons up to now I haven't been able to do the right mileage [due to injuries] but this time I've been getting in the tough training," she said. Shigetomo will now begin to focus on speed training. At the open training session she did three 1000 m repeats. "I want to sharpen up," she said. "Right now I'm tired and not moving well, but I'm excited to see where things go from here."...

text and photos by Tsukasa Kawarai translated and edited by Brett Larner 2012 London Olympian  Arata Fujiwara  (Miki House) has had some of his greatest races at the Tokyo Marathon, finishing 2nd three times: an explosive 2:08:40 breakthrough there in 2008, 2:12:34 in sleet and strong wind in 2010, and his 2:07:48 PB in 2012 to make the London team. He has also done some of his worst marathons there, running 2:29:21 in 2011, dropping out in 2013, 2:30:58 in 2014, 2:19:40 in 2015 and 2:20:23 last year. The blindfolded-shot-in-the-dark quality of Fujiwara’s history in Tokyo has always made him unpredictable but entertaining. In preparation for this year’s Tokyo Marathon Fujiwara trained in Kenya for nearly two months.  Tsukasa Kawarai  spent time at Fujiwara’s training camp in January, and ahead of Sunday’s race he wrote a report for JRN on what he saw of Fujiwara’s preparations. Starting in mid-December last year Arata Fujiwara trained in Iten, Kenya for abou...

by Brett Larner photos by Tsukasa Kawarai In a career teeming to overflow with double medals at the Olympics and World Championships and an unprecedented triple crown of Great North Run wins earned to varying degrees, Great Britain's Mo Farah staked the ultimate claim to the title of Greatest of All Time with the single most important victory of his career, a win at Saturday's Akasaka 5-Chome Mini Marathon . Running on a hilly 900 m four-loop course around and through broadcaster TBS' Akasaka studios as part of its semi-annual All-Star Kanshasai variety show, Farah overcame a 5 minute, 55 second handicap start to run down a cavalcade of Japan's finest models and comedians for the win, catching the last trio led by entertainer Kenji Moriwaki on the final uphill run up to the studio. 【オールスター感謝祭 TBS】 ファラー速い！💨💨💨🏃 やっぱりファラーはロードでも強かった！😊 pic.twitter.com/tFdpxEXT3K — NOBUKI T&F (@hagechabin123) October 8, 2016 Farah covered the 3.6 km cours...

http://news.goo.ne.jp/article/mainichi_region/region/mainichi_region-20160201ddlk40050396000c.html translated by Brett Larner Appearing at an event in Kurosaki as part of a campaign to revitalize the area through better health, London Olympics men's marathon 6th-placer Kentaro Nakamoto and other members of the local Yasukawa Denki corporate team spoke on the theme of "From Kurosaki to the World."  "My goal is to make the Rio Olympics," Nakamoto said with determination. The event took place in the Yasukawa Denki Headquarters Auditorium.  Appearing alongside Nakamoto were 2015 Sydney Marathon winner Hisanori Kitajima and 2012 Fukuoka International Marathon 5th-placer Bunta Kuroki , a graduate of Tsutsui Elementary School.  The trio spoke about the appeal of the marathon, their training, and their future goals. All three plan to run March's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, which will serve as the final Olympic selection race.  Nakamoto commented, "T...

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.tulip-tv.co.jp/news/detail/?TID_DT03=20151101165718 http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASHC154GFHC1PUZB008.html translated and edited by Brett Larner 14,000 runners took part in the 2015 Toyama Marathon on Sunday, making it the largest full marathon race in the prefecture of Toyama.  The Toyama Marathon was launched to celebrate the opening of the new Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line linking Toyama with the rest of the country.  A total of 14,000 people from around the nation came together to run in the full marathon and shorter distances.  Runners in the full marathon division ran across the historic Shinminato Bridge and through the traditional townscapes of Yamachosuji in Takaoka on the way to the finish line in Toiwa Kansui Park.  Of the 12,000 starters in the full marathon, 10,483 people finished.  First to make it there was local London Olympian Arata Fujiwara (Miki House), winning the marathon in 2:17:05.  Azusa Nojiri (Hiratsu Lea...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/1546509.html translated by Brett Larner At a meeting of its board of directors Sept. 30 in Tokyo, the JAAF made the decision to establish a new Strengthening Promotion Committee.  The new committee will have authority over the existing Strengthening Committee.  JAAF executive director Mitsugi Ogata , 56, commented, "Up to now our strengthening activities have focused on producing the best performances at a particular time, but from now on we want to consider strategy through a variety of eyes and minds." Citing the Japanese performance at August's Beijing World Championships, where the national team's total of one bronze medal and two top eight performances fell far short of JAAF projections, the board approved the resignation of Strengthening Committee chairman Yasuhiro Harada .  The promotion of vice-chairman Kazunori Asaba was also approved pending the outcome of committee restructuring.  Along with Toshihik...

http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/9997814/ translated and edited by Brett Larner The civil servant runner plans to step down from the dream stage where the world's fastest men run.  On April 12 Yuki Kawauchi (28, Saitama Pref. Gov't) ran as a special guest at the local Honjo Waseda no Mori Cross Country Race and Half Marathon in Saitama, winning the half marathon in 1:07:47.  Afterward he told reporters that following the 2017 London World Championships he will "retire" from competing to be on the Japanese national team.  "My plan is to win a medal at the London World Championships and then to really say sayonara to the national team," he said. At the time of the 2013 Moscow World Championships Kawauchi also suggested he would remove himself from consideration for future world level national teams, but he continues to work hard in anticipation of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.  To Kawauchi, who has struggled in hot weather races in the past,...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201502/2015022200087&g=spo translated by Brett Larner Having had one timely comeback to make the London Olympics team, Arata Fujiwara , now 33, fell to 37th at the Tokyo Marathon.  Around 20 km his legs began to grow heavy.  "I gave it my best, but my body just wouldn't move," he said, shoulders dropping.  "It felt like I was running in water." Unable to pull out of his slump even in the familiar environment of a race where he had twice run PBs in the past, he said, "It feels like my competitive edge in the race has gone dull."  Asked about his future plans he indicated his drive to make the Rio de Janeiro Olympic team is undiminished, earnestly responding, "In terms of what's inside me, I'm going to give it everything I've got for one more year."

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201501/2015012600546&g=spo translated by Brett Larner On Jan. 26 the organizers of the Feb. 1 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon announced that elite athlete Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) has withdrawn from the race with pain and nerve problems in the gluteus and quadraceps of his left leg.  Nakamoto was 6th in the men's marathon at the 2012 London Olympics and 5th in the 2013 Moscow World Championships marathon.  In December he ran the Fukuoka International Marathon to make the 2015 Beijing World Championships marathon team but finished only 12th in 2:11:58.

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20141126-1401292.html translated by Brett Larner Rosters for the 26 teams entered in the Dec. 14 National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships were announced Nov. 26.  Both 2014 Yokohama International Women's Marathon winner Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei) and 2013 Moscow World Championships women's marathon bronze medalist Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) feature on the entry list. Also entered are 2012 London Olympics marathoners Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) and Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya), along with 19-year-old Reia Iwade (Team Noritz), who finished 3rd in Yokohama on Nov. 16 in her marathon debut.  2004 Athens Olympics marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi was not entered on the Sysmex team roster. The National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships will be held on a six-stage, 42.195 km course from the Matsushima Culture and Tourism Exchange Center to Sendai Municipal Field.