japan running news

On Sept. 9 the JAAF announced that January's National Women's Ekiden Championships and National Men's Ekiden Championships have been canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Officials cited the events' unique format, which brings together top junior high school, high school, university and pro athletes on teams representing each prefecture, as the key factor in the decision, saying that it made countermeasures difficult and increased the potential impact were someone to get infected. JAAF executive Mitsugi Ogata commented, "These events allow athletes to run for their home prefectures. If, for example, one university had five athletes in the race, they would each return to the prefecture they were from. This would immediately elevate the risk of widespread exposure. Under the current circumstances of the coronavirus crisis, what makes these races special is precisely what makes them too risky." The 39th National Women's Ekiden Championships...

On July 13 the JAAF officially confirmed earlier reports that the Seiko Golden Grand Prix meet originally scheduled to have been held in May will take place Aug. 23 at Tokyo's new Olympic Stadium. It will be the first track and field events staged at the rebuilt Olympic Stadium. As part of the World Athletics Continental Tour the Golden Grand Prix hosts some of the world's top international athletes every year, but amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis that is not possible this year and participants will be limited to athletes within Japan. Instead, the JAAF will offer some of the country's highest-potential high school talent the chance to compete in the meet against some of the biggest domestic names in hopes of making up for the cancelation of this year's National High School Championships. The meet program is still be finalized and will be announced when ready. The Golden Grand Prix will be held without spectators, but it will be broadcast by TBS and a livestr...

IAAF executive and JJAF chairperson Hiroshi Yokokawa told media that at the Dec. 4 IAAF Council meeting in Monaco there had been no specific discussion of the proposal to conclusively fix the start time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics marathons at 6:00 a.m. He said that the IAAF will implement a comprehensive schedule for the entire athletics competition, including the marathons, in consultation with each director. "The next Council meeting is not until next March," he said. "The decision has to be made before then, so the talk was that we would work on it as soon as possible. There will probably be a lot of discussion and decision making done via email." In the meantime, there are increasing calls for further countermeasures against the extreme heat expected at the Tokyo Olympics, and the Organizing Committee is continuing to review plans for event start times. source article: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/201812050000156.html translated b...

The  JAAF Board of Directors met Sept 27 to set the bonus structure for medals at the 2019 Doha World Championships. Athletes who place on the podium will be well-rewarded, with a gold medal earning 10,000,000 yen [~$88,000 USD] , a silver medal 5,000,000 yen [~$44,000}  and a bronze 4,000,000 yen [~$35,000]. Top eight finishes will also be recognized. 4th place will be worth 1,500,000 yen [~$13,000] , 5th and 6th place 1,000,000 yen [~$9,000] , and 7th and 8th place 800,000 yen [~$7,000] . For relay events the payout will be half the amount for individual events, will all team members who competed in the qualifying rounds and finals eligible for remuneration. At the 2013 Moscow World Championships the gold medal bonus was 4,000,000 yen. It was increased to the current amount for the 2015 Beijing World Championships and remained at that level for last year's London World Championships. Following the Board meeting, chairperson Hiroshi Yokokawa  also talked to the m...

http://www.nikkansports.com/general/news/1522682.html translated by Brett Larner Despite strong demands from JAAF officials for a permanent sub-track to be included in forthcoming revised plans for the New National Stadium that will be the flagship venue of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, on Aug. 13 it was confirmed that only a temporary sub-track will be built. On July 29 JAAF officials including chairman Hiroshi Yokokawa and executive board member Naoko Takahashi visited Olympic Games Committee executive Toshiaki Endo to confirm the status of the plans for a sub-track and stress the importance of a permanent one from a former athlete's point of view.  However, multiple government officials told them that there were no plans for a permanent sub-track, saying, "There is no land nearby [for a permanent sub-track] , so there is no chance but to stick with the original plans for a temporary sub-track." Without a permanent sub-track the new stadium wil...

http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/sports/471674.html http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20130605-00000060-nksports-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner 2000 Sydney Olympics women's marathon gold medalist and former world record holder Naoko Takahashi , 41, named to the JAAF's board of directors, took part in a Federation executive board meeting for the first time June 5 in Tokyo.  "I hope that my 23 years of experience in athletics will help to nurture and develop the next generation of junior athletes," she told reporters.  Takahashi made reference to issues of intimidation and sexual harassment in Japanese athletics, saying, "I think there are people who don't have anyone they can talk to and don't know what to do.  I'd like to be there for them, nearby and accessible, someone who could be a friend our female athletes could turn to as if I were an older sister." She also indicated that she plans to get married before the end of the y...

http://sports.nikkei.co.jp/flash.aspx?n=117381 translated by Brett Larner Following a meeting of its executive board on Apr. 4, Rikuren has announced some changes to the board's membership. Director Keisuke Sawaki (65) will remain in his current position, while former national soccer director Takeo Hirata (49) will join the board as a special advisor. Both positions will last two years. Former marathon aces Toshihiko Seko (52) and Yuko Arimori (42) have left the Rikuren board, while Osaka Gas vice-president Hiroshi Yokokawa (61) and Hiroshima Track and Field vice-director Katsuji Miyake (65) will join. Like Sawaki, special committee director Susumo Takano (47) and executive director Yohei Kono (72) will keep their current positions. The board also selected Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture as the site for the 2011 National Track and Field Championships.