japan running news

by Brett Larner In its third appearance at France's DecaNation Japan turned in its best team performance to date, placing 4th out of 6 teams.   Tomoka Kimura (Team Univ. Ent.) led the way in the women's 2000 m, taking over 6 seconds off the rarely-challenged national record with a 5:47.17 for 2nd, the best placing among any of the ten women on the team.  Her counterpart on the men's squad Masaki Toda (Team Nissin Shokuhin) went one better to win the men's 2000 m in 5:14.39.  Rio Olympian and 2016 national champion Julian Walsh (Toyo Univ.) likewise won the men's 400 m, running 46.09.  Five other men including Walsh's Toyo and Rio teammate Yoshihide Kiryu took 2nd in their events, coming ten points short overall of overtaking Ukraine to make the team podium. DecaNation 2016 Paris, France, 9/13/16 click here for detailed results Women 100 m - Ami Saito (Kurashiki Chuo H.S.) - 11.89 (-0.4 m/s) - 3rd 400 m - Seika Aoyama (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 54.2...

click here for five-channel live streaming of the 69th Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships by Brett Larner videos by aoshin0507 and  Ekiden News Sunday's Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships girls' 1500 m saw a breakthrough with three women running all-time Japanese high school top ten marks.  Another middle distance breakthrough came on day four of the championships in the girls' 800 m.  2016 national champion  Shoko Fukuda (Matsue Kita H.S.) ran the second-fastest time ever by a Japanese high schooler, 2:04.29, to lead four girls into the all-time high school top ten .  Both Fukuda and Airi Ikezaki (Funairi H.S.), 2nd in 2:04.85, also made the all-time Japanese junior top ten, with 3rd placer Ayaka Kawata (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.) clocking the fastest-ever time by a Japanese high school second-year, 2:05.03 and 4th placer Ayano Shiomi (Kyoto Bunkyo Gakuen H.S.) squeezing into the all-tiime top ...

by Brett Larner video by Akiko Sani Brown Day Three of the World Youth Championships was relatively quiet for the Japanese contingent.  Of the two finals featuring Japanese athletes, Yuki Shibata (Kitakyushu Municipal H.S.) had better luck, placing 7th in the girls' 2000 mSC in 6:48.41, seconds out of the top 5 but 30 seconds behind winner Celliphine Chepteek Chespol (Kenya).  After running a 46.85 PB in the boys' 400 m semifinals, Minato Sasaki (Morioka Minami H.S.) struggled in the final, finishing last in 47.54. Two of Japan's gold medal contenders moved on through the opening rounds without problems.  100 m gold medalist Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.) won his 200 m heat in 21.19, jogging down the home straight with ease, while boys' pole vault favorite Masaki Ejima (Eda H.S.) likewise advanced after clearing 4.95 m.  Kazuki Tamura (Shimonoseki Shogyo H.S.) also advanced in the boys' 200 m, with Takaaki Yoshida (Kanonji Chuo H.S.) joining...