japan running news

by Brett Larner The favorite to win the women's 3000 mSC at the weekend's National University Track and Field Championships after her runner-up finish last year, 19-year-old Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) instead opted to head to France as part of the Japanese team for the Sept. 13 DécaNation meet at Paris' Stade Charléty.  On June 28 Takamizawa broke the junior national record with a 9:55.79 to win the National Championships in Niigata.  A month later on July 26 she was back in Niigata to break her own junior national record with a 9:54.95 at the Niigata Prefecture Championships.  In Paris Takamizawa did it again, running another junior national record of 9:53.72 for 4th.  Her Paris performance also just broke the 9:53.87 collegiate national record set by Mayuko Nakamura (Tsukuba Univ.) at last year's National Championships, establishing Takamizawa as Japan's leading current steepler.  The 9:33.93 Japanese national record set by the great Minori Hayaka...

by Brett Larner Athletics competition at the 2014 Asian Games got rolling today with medals handed out in three distance events.  The women's 10000 m started conservatively but ground steadily down to a pack of three, Alia Mohammed Saeed Mohammed (U.A.E.), Changqin Ding (China) and this year's #1-ranked Japanese woman, Ayumi Hagiwara .  Mohammed led much of the way except for a brief challenge from Ding late in the race, Hagiwara staying right behind them until Mohammed's bell lap kick got away from her.  All three broke 32 minutes, Mohammed winning in a PB 31:51.86.  2014 national champion Kasumi Nishihara never looked comfortable, struggling to keep herself at the rear of the lead pack before sinking to 8th in 32:41.49. The men's 5000 m likewise started slow until India's Suresh Kumar got impatient and took off at 800 m.  Leading on PB pace for the next 3000 m, Kumar took things from 2:49 to 2:42/km before the two pairs of Qatari and Bahraini men got to...