japan running news

The Route Inn Hotels women's ekiden team has announced that 1996 Atlanta Olympian Masako Chiba has joined its coaching staff as of Apr. 1. Chiba graduated from Kyoto's Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. before joining the Asahi Kasei corporate team. At the Atlanta Olympics she was 5th in the 10000 m, following up a year later at the Athens World Championships with a bronze medal in the 10000 m. After changing focus to the marathon, she won the bronze medal at the 2003 Paris World Championships to become the first woman in history to medal on both the track and road. Since her retirement Chiba has been active as a race commentator and guest runner at races, as well as helping guide amateur running clubs. "I was an athlete for 15 years and a race commentator for 15 years, and now I've found a new dream to pursue! The opportunity to take on coaching is the culmination of a life in athletics, and it feels like an exciting adventure to be heading into my third career like this,...

It's the end of an era, really. Two months shy of her 40th birthday, Kayoko Fukushi  retired yesterday after running the Osaka Half Marathon . Five of the other legends of Japanese women's long distance, Akemi Masuda , Yuko Arimori , Naoko Takahashi , Masako Chiba  and Mizuki Noguchi , were there to celebrate a career spanning national records that have stood for over 20 years, still-standing championship ekiden stage records, possibly the most spectacular elite marathon debut in history, a World Championships marathon medal , and four-straight Olympic appearances.  For all that success, it always seemed to be there in the background that she wasn't able to break Yoko Shibui 's 10000 m NR, and she seemed like a reluctant marathoner, at least until it was too late. In interviews Fukushi was always interesting, dropping in her sharp, dry wit whenever she could, and with any luck we'll be getting more of that in the commentary booth for years to come. Since the start...

Eri Yamaguchi , Masako Chiba , Junko Ichikawa and more try to make it onto the 2000 Sydney Olympic team at the 1999 Tokyo International Women's Marathon. Parts 2~4 below.

http://mytown.asahi.com/iwate/news.php?k_id=03000001008260003 translated by Brett Larner One of the greats of Japanese distance running, 1996 Atlanta Olympian Masako Chiba (34), gave a talk before 74 5th graders at Hagiso Elementary School in Ichinoseki, Iwate on Aug. 25. Chiba appeared at the school as part of the "Classroom of Dreams Project" sponsored by the Japan Soccer Federation. As part of the opening session with students in the school's gymnasium, Chiba talked about the techniques behind running faster, the right way to train, speedwork, making use of her experience to set an example for the children. She showed students how changing your arm carriage affects your stride, a demonstration that had many students calling out, "Wow!" Changing venues to a classroom, Chiba talked about her 15 year-long career as one of the world's top distance runners. She told students about finishing 5th in the Atlanta Olympics 10000 m and showed them her two World...

by Brett Larner 1984 Olympic marathon gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson (U.S.A.) took time out from her preparations for next month's New York City Marathon to appear on Japanese broadcaster TBS' All-Star Kanshasai variety game show on Oct. 3. On the biannual five-hour show, a panel of 200 celebrities compete for cash prizes by trying to predict the winners in a series of contests starring other celebrities. Samuelson appeared on the Akasaka Go-Chome Super Ekiden segment running a relay with two-time World Championships medalist Masako Chiba and marathon great Mari Tanigawa before running in the show's climax, the Akasaka Go-Chome Mini-Marathon. A handicap race on a hilly 3-loop course around and through TBS' Akasaka studio, the Mini-Marathon saw Benoit Samuelson square off against Chiba, Tanigawa, defending champion and two-time Olympic marathon medalist Erick Wainaina (Kenya), Wainaina's 'Zeitoku Marathon' TV spot co-star Hiroshi Neko, 'Running Man...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20090806k0000m050098000c.html translated by Brett Larner The organizing committee of the Miyazaki Women's Road Race announced on Aug. 5 that they plan to bring the event to a close following its 30th anniversary edition in January, 2010. The committee's press release cited the proliferation of high-quality races and the resulting difficulty in attracting top talent in explaining its decision. Since its inception in 1981 the Miyazaki Women's Road Race has been known for being the first women's distance competition of the year. Past winners in the half marathon included Athens Olympics marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi and two-time World Championships bronze medalist Masako Chiba.

by Brett Larner 1964 Tokyo Olympic 800 and 1500 m gold medalist Peter Snell of New Zealand delivered a lecture at Tokyo Kaiyo University on Mar. 27 as part of a lecture tour of Japan to promote his research into the physiologocial basis of the training system designed by Snell's coach and mentor Arthur Lydiard. Audience members in the full auditorium included marathon great Masako Chiba, Japanese men's 1500 m national record holder Fumikazu Kobayashi, national 800 m champion Masato Yokota, and a variety of coaches and other athletes. After an introduction by the Lydiard Foundation's Nobby Hashizume, Snell gave his lecture, then fielded questions from audience members including Kobayashi and Yokota. His exchange with Yokota turned into an extended debate over the merits of jogging as part of a middle distance runner's training. Snell's tour was scheduled to continue over the weekend in Gunma Prefecture with a workshop featuring panelists such as Olympic marathoner T...

by Brett Larner With exactly one month to go until race date the Tokyo Marathon released details on the field of elites who will be competing in the 2nd of Japan's Olympic selection races. The domestic field is easily headlined by Team Nissin's Toshinari Suwa, a 2:07 marathoner who competed in the Athens Olympics and Osaka World Championships. Suwa had previously announced he would run March's Biwako Mainichi Marathon but he has evidently changed strategy in his attempt to qualify for the Beijing Olympic marathon team. Other domestic contenders include Team Kanebo's Satoshi Irifune who competed in the Helsinki World Championships, veteran Olympian Kenjiro Jitsui also of Team Nissin, and younger runners Kenichi Kita and Kazushi Hara. Several strong runners are not among the elite field but have entered as individuals, including Team Chugoku Denryoku's Teruto Ozaki and Kurao Umeki, Team Nissin's Kazuyoshi Tokumoto, and Team JAL Ground Service's Takayuki Nishid...