japan running news

After representing Japan in last fall's Doha World Championships women's marathon, on June 16 it was learned that Madoka Nakano , 28, has left the Noritz corporate team and signed with the Iwatani Sangyo team. Nakano joined Noritz in 2010 after graduating from Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin High School . She placed 4th at last year's Osaka International Women's Marathon to make the Doha team, where she was 11th overall in the World Championships marathon. Iwatani Sangyo was founded in 2017 and is based in Mino, Osaka. Its head coach is Hisakazu Hirose , 54, who helped coach Mizuki Noguchi to the gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics marathon. Joining the team on the 16th, Nakano was optimistic, saying, "In this new environment I want to work hard to get to the national team level again. I want to make an impact in the ekiden too." source article: https://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/202006/0013428450.shtml translated by Brett Larner photo © 2019 Brett...

On Oct. 24 it was learned that 1996 Atlanta Olympics marathoner and former 10000 m Japanese national record holder Izumi Maki died of breast cancer Oct. 18 at her home in Mino, Osaka. She was 49 years old. Her coach during her days at the Globally and Wacoal corporate teams, Nobuyuki Fujita , 78, said that he last saw Maki in July at a reunion event for Wacoal alumni. "She didn't seem well at the time," he recalled. "I had heard that she was anti-cancer drug treatment, but it is still a shock." Hisakazu Hirose , 53, assistant coach to Maki in those days and currently head coach of the Iwatani Sangyo team, visited to mourn her death on the day she passed away. Hirose last saw her in March, but at that time, he said, "She seemed totally normal. She wasn't the sort of person who would have just given up. When I saw her after she passed away it looked as though she was only sleeping, that if you called out to her she would answer. I couldn't bel...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20170330/ath17033017380002-n1.html translated by Brett Larner The Iwatani Sangyo corporation held a press conference in Osaka on Mar. 30 to announce the launch of its new women's ekiden team on Apr. 1.  Head coach Hisakazu Hirose , who guided Mizuki Noguchi to the 2004 Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medal, spoke of his ambitions for the team, telling the media, "There are three years left until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  I want to try for it." Nanami Aoki , who stood at the peak of the high school and university ekiden scene as part of the Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. and Ritsumeikan Univ. teams, and the other members of the initial squad of six were introduced along with the team's orange uniform.  The team dormitory in its home base of Mino, Osaka is set to be completed in September.  Coach Hirose commented, "Our first competition will be May's Kansai Jitsugyodan Track and Field Championships.  My goal is to cul...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20120930-OHT1T00281.htm translated by Brett Larner 2004 Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medalist and marathon national record holder Mizuki Noguchi  (Team Sysmex) ran at a half marathon in Lisbon on Sept. 30, finishing 4th in 1:12:20.  Having run her first marathon in four years at March's Nagoya Women's Marathon, the 34-year-old Noguchi ran the race as a training run with an eye toward making the team for next year's World Championships in Moscow.  Noguchi's coach Hisakazu Hirose  commented, "Her race showed that there are still some issues to work out, but as an indication of her condition at this stage I'd say it was OK."

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/news/120122/oth12012219000029-n1.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner In the backdrop to west of Boulder, Colorado are the Rocky Mountains.  Looking at the line of snow tens of thousands of years old painted red by the post-workout evening light, the surge of unexpected feeling is almost enough to bring tears to the eye.  "I can train hard again now," says 2004 Olympic marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi  (Team Sysmex).  "It's good to be back." The last time Noguchi put on a show of bravado in the marathon was at the Nov. 2007 Tokyo International Women's Marathon, where she set the course record of 2:21:37.  Overcoming a blank slate of four years, two months, Noguchi is now once again ready to stand on the start line and face the full 42.195 km.  This Sunday, Jan. 29 she will race the Osaka International Women's Marathon in search of a ticket to the London Olympics. Noguchi pulled out from her planned Olym...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2011/12/19/kiji/K20111219002272200.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Having pulled out of the Dec. 18 National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships, marathon national record holder Mizuki Noguchi  cheered for her Sysmex teammates at the Third Stage handoff point and at the stadium finish.  After nearly winning their regional qualifier, without Noguchi at the National Championships Sysmex finished only 15th. Following the ekiden Noguchi announced that she will run the Dec. 23 Sanyo Women's Road Race half-marathon as a tune-up for the Jan. 29 Osaka International Women's Marathon.  It will be Noguchi's first individual race since the 2008 Sendai International Half Marathon, but, she says, "I'm not going to set a time goal.  I'm just going to run based on my condition that day." Half-marathon national record holder Kayoko Fukushi  (Team Wacoal) also announced after the ekiden that she will run Osaka ...

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/news/111001/oth11100118140010-n1.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner Having taken national record holder Mizuki Noguchi  to a marathon gold medal at the Athens Olympics, Nobuyuki Fujita  (70) retired as advisor to the Sysmex corporate women's team on Sept. 30.  Fujita retired as head coach at Sysmex last October and has served in an advisory role since then.  Fujita's departure leaves head coach Hisakazu Hirose  in the leadership role at Sysmex.  According to Sysmex officials, Fujita had the option to renew his contract but after one year as an advisor opted instead for retirement. Fujita has been a leader in Japanese distance running since 1968, helping to develop Olympians including Atlanta women's marathoner Izumi Maki  and Noguchi.  Athletes he has coach have set Japanese national records at distances ranging from 400 m to the marathon. Fujita intends to focus upon the Fujita Running Academy progra...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2010/10/25/18.html translated by Brett Larner On Oct. 24 Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi (32, Team Sysmex) made a comeback from injury troubles that have plagued her since her withdrawal from the Beijing Olympics, running her first race in 2 years and 5 months at the 6-stage, 42.195 km West Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden in Fukuoka prefecture. Noguchi placed 5th on the 10.5 km Third Stage, running a credible time of 34:15. Her team Sysmex placed 3rd overall to qualify for the Dec. 19 National Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden Championships in Gifu prefecture. Team Daihatsu won the West Japan ekiden for the second-straight year, running 2:17:53. Noguchi ran like a bouncing rubber ball, looking as strong and resilient as she used to be. "Before I ran I was half nervous and half looking forward to it," she told reporters. "But once I started running I forgot everything about the long blank s...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/osaka/sports/article/news/20101015-OHO1T00115.htm Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi (32) is on the entry list her corporate team Sysmex has submitted for the six-stage, 42.195 km West Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden Championships to be held Oct. 24 in Fukuoka. Noguchi withdrew from the Beijing Olympics shortly before the race after sustaining an injury to her left leg. Should she run the ekiden it will be her first race since winning the Sendai International Half Marathon two years and five months ago.* Noguchi's condition has recovered to the point that she is able to handle 50 km a day of jogging, but she is not yet in shape to be able to do serious marathon training. Noguchi's trainer Hisakazu Hirose commented, "We can't say yet whether or not she will run the ekiden." Until the starting list is released on Oct. 23 the likelihood that Noguchi will remain only an alternate for the team is very hig...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2010/08/27/11.html translated by Brett Larner Back to full training for the first time since a left thigh injury knocked her out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, women's marathon national record holder and Athens Olympics marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi (32, Team Sysmex) announced on Aug. 26 that she plans to make a return this year with a half marathon. In July Noguchi went to Sugadaira, Nagano for her first full-effort gasshuku training camp since the injury. She is currently training in Hokkaido together with her teammates, where she has extended her long runs up to the 30 km level. Team Sysmex coach Hisakazu Hirose commented, "She's back to running like her old self. This fall or winter Mizuki will do a half marathon." Noguchi has not run a race since her victory at the Sendai International Half Marathon on May 11, 2008.* She has been talking discreetly with several domestic and overseas races to find the option best-suit...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2009061900932 translated and edited by Brett Larner Women's marathoner Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) began going to Tokyo's National Sport Science Center on June 19 to undergo muscle-strengthening work and rehabilitation for the left leg problem which has plagued her since last summer when she abandoned her Olympic gold medal defense shortly before the Beijing Olympics. Unable to train seriously, Noguchi has indefinitely postponed plans of a comeback race. Noguchi's trainer Hisakazu Hirose told reporters, "It's not that she can't run at all, but when we put any serious strain on the weakened muscles the pain comes back. The balance of muscles on her left and right side has deteriorated, so we're just going to wait until it seems 100% healed." Noguchi's group has given up on hopes of an autumn comeback and is resigned to a long wait. She most recently began jogging again in May but gave up when the pain returne...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20090108-447916.html http://www.47news.jp/CN/200901/CN2009010701000863.html http://www.sponichi.co.jp/osaka/spor/200901/08/spor216432.html http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/flash/KFullFlash20090107050.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Mizuki Noguchi (30, Team Sysmex) returned to Kyoto on Jan. 7 from a training camp on Amami Oshima island after carrying out her first full training since withdrawing from the Beijing Olympics women's marathon with an injury to her right thigh. "I did everything that was on the schedule," commented Noguchi. Since her original injury on July 25 the pain in Noguchi's leg has come back each time she has restarted her training. Prior to the training camp her longest daily mileage since the injury had been 18 km. Noguchi described her training while on Amami, saying, "Both the time and distance I've been able to run have increased. I got up to about 40 km a day." All of her...

Originally published 10/12/08 in the Nikkei Newspaper translated by Brett Larner Mizuki Noguchi (30, Team Sysmex), who pulled out of the Beijing Olympics women's marathon after an injury to her left thigh, took part in a panel discussion at an event in Sado, Niigata Prefecture on Oct. 11, telling the audience through her tears, "I sincerely apologize [for pulling out of the race]. My big goal now is to be ready to run the London Olympics." It was Noguchi's first public appearance since her injury, and she sent a positive message with her mention of plans four years in the future. The panel discussion was part of an event organized by Noguchi's coach Nobuyuki Fujita. "Fujita Running Academy" is a program designed to support and develop elementary and junior high school student runners. Appearing as a special guest, Noguchi spoke publically about her injury for the first time while addressing the student audience. "Getting hurt was my own fault. ...

http://beijing.yahoo.co.jp/news/detail/20080810-00000057-jij-spo#0 http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080810-00000928-san-spo http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080810-00000936-san-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner Translator`s note: The section of quotes from the Aug. 10 press conference following the main article below has been updated and contains a fair amount of additional information. Speaking at a press conference in Kyoto on Aug. 10, Mizuki Noguchi`s head coach Nobuyuki Fujita and Rikuren official Keisuke Sawaki addressed the defending Olympic marathon champion's condition and the possibility that she may withdraw from the Aug. 17 Beijing Olympics marathon, saying, "No decision will be made for another two or three days." The press conference included Fujita, Sawaki, Noguchi's trainer Hisakazu Hirose and Rikuren marathon director Tadasu Kono. The conference began with an overview of Noguchi's situation by Sawaki, while Fujita followed with a furt...

http://sports.nikkei.co.jp/index.aspx?n=SSXKF0368%2027062008 http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/080628/oth0806282316038-n1.htm http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/080629/oth0806291819009-n1.htm http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/news/20080701-OHT1T00058.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex), on track to defend her Olympic marathon gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, travelled to Beijing on June 27 for a series of test runs on the Olympic marathon course. Noguchi reported that she would be doing the test runs at jogging pace to reconfirm her image of the course after viewing videos and previous test runs as well as to get an idea of the weather conditions in Beijing. At 4:00 p.m. on June 28 Noguchi ran 26 km of the course, accompanied by her coach Hisakazu Hirose and wearing the race shoes custom-made for her by Asics` master craftsman Hitoshi Mimura. The two covered the final 15 km of the Olympic course in one hour. Conditions during the test run we...

http://www.asahi.com/sports/spo/TKY200711130086.html translated by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner The golden singlet Mizuki Noguchi wears is fading into the sunset in the mountains of Kunming, China. A 40 km run at the end of October. Her training is almost at completion. At last April`s London Marathon, race organizers presented defending Olympic gold medalists Stefano Baldini of Italy and Mizuki Noguchi of Japan with golden singlets. Baldini wore his singlet during the race but Noguchi was not able to compete due to an injury to her left Achilles tendon which she suffered in January. She missed the opportunity to display this gift in a race and it became part of her training wear. Noguchi was also unable to run Berlin last year because of an unrelated injury to her left leg. This weekend`s Tokyo International Women`s Marathon will be her first marathon in 2 years, her first since setting the Japanese national record of 2:19:12 at the `05 Berlin. "I was shocked because I have ne...