japan running news

by Brett Larner The men's 4x400 m relay team added one more to what looks like Japan's most successful medal haul on the final day of the 2014 World Junior Championships.  With the U.S.A. inevitably ahead for the win in 3:03.31, the Japanese team featuring 400 m silver medalist Nobuya Kato ran an Asian junior record 3:04.11 to again beat Jamaica for silver. Japanese athletes made the top ten in three other events as the Championships wrapped up.  In the men's triple jump Ryoma Yamamoto cleared 15.89 m for 7th and Yugo Takahashi 15.76 m for 9th.  In the men's javelin throw Shu Mori 's 69.73 m was good for 8th, Takuto Kominami joining him with a throw of 67.07 m.  In the men's 3000 mSC Kazuya Shiojiri ran a large PB of 8:45.66 for 9th after finishing only 10th in his qualifying heat. At the Championships' end, the Japanese medal tally was: Daisuke Matsunaga : gold, men's 10000 m race walk Nobuya Kato : silver, men's 400 m silver, men...

by Brett Larner Men's 100 m bronze medalist Yoshihide Kiryu and teammate Takuya Kawakami joined 200 m 4th and 6th-placers Yuki Koike and Masaharu Mori to outrun Jamaica for silver in the men's 4x100 m relay final at the World Junior Championships.  With the U.S.A. taking first in 38.70, Japan's 39.02 was just enough to beat Jamaica, which took bronze in 39.12.  Japan also beat Jamaica in the men's 4x400 m relay, where 400 m silver medalist Nobuya Kato and finalist Kaisei Yui powered the team to win Heat 2 in 3:05.40, Jamaica next in 3:06.25 and Bahamas picking up the final qualifying spot in a junior national record 3:07.03.  The women's 4x100 m team lacked the same punch, 6th among six finishing teams in the final in 45.40. IAAF World Junior Championships Day Five Eugene, U.S.A., 7/26/14 click here for complete results Men's 4x400 m Relay Heat 2 1. Japan - 3:05.40 - Q 2. Jamaica - 3:06.25 - Q 3. Bahamas - 3:07.03 - NJR - q 4. Germany - 3:1...

by Brett Larner Day three of competition at the IAAF World Junior Championships was a big one for Japan, with two individual medals and a near miss on a third.  In the men's 400 m Nobuya Kato and Kaisei Yui made history with their runs, the first time two Japanese athletes had qualified for a world-level final, and Kato took it one step further when he ran 46.17 for silver behind winner Machel Cedenio (Trinidad and Tobago).  Yui, who ran a PB 46.68 to make the final, was 7th in 47.08 between two American athletes.  In the men's long jump, Shotaro Shiroyama (Japan) jumped 7.83 m to unexpectedly win bronze, with teammate Kodai Sakuma 5th in 7.71 m.  Chinese athletes Jianan Wang and Qing Lin went 1-2, Wang winning with a jump of 8.08 m.  In the women's 3000 m Nozomi Musembi Takamatsu , the daughter of Japanese and Kenyan parents, ran a 6-second PB of 9:02.85 but came up just over 2 more seconds short of the podium as she was beaten by American Mary Cain i...

by Brett Larner photo courtesy of David Monti, Race Results Weekly Asian junior record holder Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) brought Japan its first medal of the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships, taking bronze in 10.34 (-0.6) behind Americans Kendal Williams and Trayvon Bromell .  Kiryu gave the nation a scare by barely making it to the final when he finished 4th in his semi-final.  In both the semi and final he displayed problems with the second half of his race, but what he had on the day proved enough for him to get on the podium and join past World Juniors medalists like Shota Iizuka and Genki Dean in the Japanese books. Further history was made when both Nobuya Kato and Kaisei Yui got through the semis to make the men's 400 m final, the first time two Japanese athletes have ever made a world-level final.  Both won their opening heats yesterday.  In semi-final 1, Yui ran a PB 46.68 to get into the final on time.  Kato, running semi-final 2, came...

by Brett Larner The men's 10000 m rounded out the day as the only final on the first day of competition at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene, U.S.A.  After a slow first lap Keisuke Nakatani of 2013 National University Ekiden champion Komazawa University went to the front to get the race moving, tailed only by 2014 Hakone Ekiden winner Toyo University 's Hazuma Hattori .  Ranked 6th and 7th in the field by PB, the two Japanese athletes, both stage winners at January's Hakone Ekiden, were initially ignored by the faster Africans, allowing them to open a lead that at one point maxed at around 100 m.  Despite the gap, the pair's pace was never unrealistic as Nakatani held close to 29:10 pace, roughly 20 second slower than his best.  His projected finishing time based on his splits through 6000 m show how steadily he ran: 1000 m: 29:18.70 2000 m: 29:15.55 3000 m: 29:13.57 4000 m: 29:09.53 5000 m: 29:10.54 6000 m: 29:11.73 The slight su...