japan running news

by Brett Larner



On what will no doubt be one of the last summery days of the season, the 2010 Super Meet in Kawasaki took place under sunny skies on Sept. 19. Many of the major international stars including high jumper Blanka Vlasic (Croatia) and sprinter Christophe Lemaitre (France) duly picked up late-season wins, while all but two of the top Japanese entrants fell short of 1st. A summary of the results:

2010 Super Meet in Kawasaki - Top Results
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Women's 800 m
1. Elena Kofanova (Russia) - 2:00.46
2. Tetiana Petliuk (Ukraine) - 2:01.01
3. Ruriko Kubo (Team Deodeo) - 2:03.09

Men's 400 m
1. Nery Brenes (Costa Rica) - 46.14
2. Sean Wroe (Australia) - 46.27
3. Yusuke Ishitsuka (Team Mizuno) - 46.30

Men's 100 m
1. Christophe Lemaitre (France) - 10.26
2. Wallace Spearmon (U.S.A.) - 10.47
3. Ramil Guliyev (Azerbaijan) - 10.50

Women's 100 m
1. Tianna Madison (U.S.A.) - 11.32
2. Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido HiTec AC) - 11.48
3. Gloria As…

by Brett Larner

Yuzo Kanemaru wins the men's 400 m at the 2009 World University Games. Click photo for larger version.

What's in a name? Five-time 400 m national champion Yuzo Kanemaru (Hosei Univ.) scored his first world-level title at the 2009 World University Games on July 9th. Kanemaru, whose name can be translated as 'gold circle,' won his heat in each round before taking the final in 45.68, half a second ahead of Austrian Clemens Zeller and Canadian Daniel Harper. In a post-race interview Kanemaru said, "Winning here was the least of my goals, but I'm still feeling it. I don't need any silver or bronze. To me if it isn't gold it doesn't mean anything. This win opens the door to Worlds." Kanemaru will run the 400 m at next month's World Championships in Berlin and hopes to achieve his goal of a sub-45 clocking this season.

Hurdler Kazuaki Yoshida turned in another solid run in the men's 400 m hurdles, finishing 2nd in the semifinal i…

by Brett Larner

Just over a week after making the top ten in the Japanese Nationals 10000 m, Bukkyo University ace Kasumi Nishihara brought the Japanese team its first gold medal of the 2009 World University Games, outclassing the field in the women's 10000 m on the first day of track and field competition. The youngest in the field, Nishihara held the best PB coming into the race and ran like it as she beat runner-up Tatiana Shutova of Russia by over 15 seconds to win in a relatively modest 33:14.62. In a post-race interview Nishihara commented, "It was an easy win, so I was pretty surprised. I didn't just want to run in an international meet but to go home with a medal."

Meijo University's Seika Nishikawa, the second-fastest woman in the field by PB, was less solid, finishing 4th in 33:56.62. Nishihara will double in the 5000 m, with Nishikawa scheduled to run in the half marathon.

Japan's sprinters dominated the first and second round of heats. Five-time nati…