japan running news

On June 25 the JAAF announced that director Mitsuki Ogata is stepping down and will be replaced by vice-chair Yuko Arimori . A two-time Olympic marathon medalist, Arimori will be both the first woman and first Olympian to lead the JAAF. Arimori was born in 1966 in Okayama. In 1985 she graduated from Shujitsu H.S. and entered Nittai University . After graduating in 1989 she joined the Recruit corporate team under the leadership of head coach Yoshio Koide . In January, 1990 she ran 2:32:51 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon, at the time a debut marathon national record. The next year she placed 4th at the Tokyo World Championships, then took the silver medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Four years later Arimori followed that up with a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She retired from competition in 2007. After retiring, Arimori became active in a wide range of area, including as chair of Special Olympics Japan, a sports organization for intellectually-challen...

On July 14 World Athletics announced that the 2025 World Championships in Athletics will be held in Tokyo at the National Stadium used for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will be Tokyo's 2nd time to host the World Championships, 34 years after the last time in 1991. It will also be Japan's 3rd time following the 2007 Osaka World Championships, making it the first country to host the World Championships three time. JAAF director Mitsugi Ogata commented, "It's a great honor, but with it comes great responsibility." World Athletics hopes to have the Championships take place in late August, but in view of the hot conditions at the Tokyo Olympics and its road events having been moved to Sapporo, he said, "we are thinking in terms of mid-September. In terms of both athlete safety and the potential for top-level performances, from the beginning we have to face the fact that mid-September is the ideal timing in Japan.  We also very strongly want to have...

On Mar. 14 the JAAF, Fukuoka Athletics Association and Fukuoka Prefectural Government announced that the Fukuoka International Marathon, discontinued after its 75th running last year , will return in a revamped form this year on Dec. 4 under the tentative name "Fukuoka International Marathon 2022." The new version of the race will inherit the history and tradition on which the curtain came down so shockingly last December. The Fukuoka International Marathon began in Kumamoto in 1947 as the "Kanakuri Prize Asahi Marathon" in honor of the father of Japanese distance running, Shizo Kanakuri . In its early years it was held in different cities across the country, first coming to Fukuoka in 1951 and settling there for good in 1964. It took the name Fukuoka International Marathon at its 28th running in 1974, and with numerous course changes over the years continued to be held under that name. Most of the world's best runners competed there, and in the 1970s and 1980s...

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...

Following the success of the Marathon Grand Championship single-race Olympic marathon trials, in which the top finishers in the trials race earned spots on the Olympic team, the JAAF will again use the MGC format for deciding the 2024 Paris Olympics marathon teams. At an Apr. 17 JAAF board meeting done via video conferencing, executive Mitsugi Ogata said, "We will keep the same basic format in order to choose the Olympic team with transparency and fairness, with a multi-year qualifying period from 2021 to 2023. We will consider the exact mechanics of the process, for example whether the trials race should determine one or two people for the team. This time it was for a home-soil Olympics, so I think it will be difficult to do it exactly the same way next time." Up to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the results of a number of designated qualifying race in the season leading up to the Olympics were considered in choosing Olympic team members, but for the Tokyo Olympics...

Following the announcement of the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to 2021, the athletes already named to the women's and men's marathon teams are expected to retain their positions as national representatives at the Olympics. A day after the Olympic announcement, JAAF marathon development project leader Toshihiko Seko confirmed that the project team is thinking in that direction. "I want to protect the rights of the six athletes already on the team," he said. "Their places on the team are something they earned themselves through a three-year process. We do not intend to take that away. This morning one of their coaches called me and asked, 'What's going to happen to my athlete?' All of them are worried that their places on the Olympic team will be annulled. I can tell them that thanks to the MGC process we have confidence in them as our national representatives. The final word, however, is that of the JAAF board of directors." Oth...

JAAF director Mitsugi Ogata , 60, spoke to the media Mar. 19 following an executive board meeting in Tokyo. Amidst widespread fears of the spread of the novel coronavirus, Ogata told reporters that April's elite track and field schedule would go ahead as planned, saying, "At the present time we plan to stage everything on schedule so as not to cause inconvenience to our athletes." The JAAF is planning a major Tokyo Olympics test event at the new Olympic Stadium in May. Ogata indicated that this would also be held as planned, saying, "Because track and field is an outdoor event the situation is quite different from that of an indoor event. We have received advice from infectious disease experts and can ensure a reasonable degree of safety." With regard to whether the Olympic test event might be held without spectators Ogata said, "I cannot comment on that. At the present that is not something we are considering." He did, however, indicate that it wo...

The IOC held an executive board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on Dec. 4. With regard to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics marathons and race walks, which the IOC decreed last month must be moved to north as an effort to combat expected high temperatures, the IOC's executive board turned down a plan from the Tokyo organizing committee for the marathon to be held on a two-lap course through the Sapporo city center. The board did accept an out-and-back race walk course along the major street in front of Sapporo Station. The schedule for the marathons was settled, with the women's marathon to be held Aug. 8 and the men's on Aug. 9. A start and finish point at Odori Park and a first lap consisting of 20 km were also finalized, but an agreement on the rest of the marathon course could not be reached. Tadashi Fukushima , head coach of the Fujitsu corporate team whose runner Shogo Nakamura won September's MGC Race Olympic marathon trials, called for a decision to be made as quick...

With regard to the ongoing problem of the improper use of iron injections to improve performance in long distance athletes, on May 22 JAAF director Mitsugi Ogata said that the federation is considering a plan in which following the introduction of blood testing at this year's National High School Ekiden Championships, the coaches of any athletes whose testing results indicated possible iron injection abuse would be called before a hearing to give an explanation. No penalty would be imposed. The JAAF intends to build up a database of the collected blood test results and monitor the trends in the situation. "It is important that we first get a handle on what the current situation actually is," commented Ogata. "We can then track changes and assess the effectiveness of our efforts to combat the problem." The JAAF's new guidelines prohibiting misuse of iron injections are scheduled to be released by the end of the month. When utilized as intended, the inje...

On Aug. 9 at a Tokyo-area press conference the JAAF announced that the MGC Race 2020 Olympic marathon trials scheduled for Sept. 15, 2019 will be split between two broadcasters, the men's race going to TBS and the women's race to NHK. At the press conference JAAF executive director Mitsugi Ogata explained that after communicating their terms and conditions for the event to the major broadcast companies the JAAF evaluated their proposals for the broadcast and its promotion. The selection committee then made its determination on which broadcasters would win the contract. Ogata commented, "The precise details have yet to be determined but we are considering a start time around 9:00 a.m. We would like to establish the difference in start time between the men's and women's races in consultation with the various parties involved." source article: https://www.daily.co.jp/general/2018/08/09/0011527373.shtml translated by Brett Larner

At the Nov. 12 Saitama International Marathon , Kenyan Flomena Cheyech Daniel won a sprint finish over Bahraini Shitaye Habtegebrel by 3 seconds to take her second-straight Saitama title in 2:28:39. On Dec. 11 race organizers announced that both runners' times had been annulled. In the midst of the pair's battle for the win, race officials misdirected the pair into the righthand lane on the final corner instead of the lefthand lane in which the finish line was located. Both ran over the curb dividing the two lanes and returned to the original course before finishing. At the time JAAF executive director Mitsugi Ogata said , "This was a mistake by the organizers and the athletes did nothing wrong. There was no effect on the finishing order and no advantage gained in terms of the distance run." After later consultation with JAAF officials, race organizers decided that Cheyech and Habtegebrel had not covered the complete distance and that their times should be an...

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/column/20170314-OHT1T50078.html an editorial by Yuji Hosono translated by Brett Larner After running 2:21:36 for 2nd at the Mar. 12 Nagoya Women's Marathon to become the all-time 4th-fastest Japanese woman, the name of 22-year-old Cinderella girl Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) is now synonymous with the slightly incongruous term "ninja running."  Her lower arms hanging loosely, barely moving, gaining forward propulsion through the strength of her legs, a unique form on display throughout her duel with Rio Olympics silver medalist Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain).  It just may be enough to bring the Olympic women's marathon gold medal back to Japan for the first time since Mizuki Noguchi in Athens in 2004. Ando's ninja running first caught my eye about a year ago at the May, 2016 Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon.  I had the impression that it seemed to be between Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal), who was expected to medal in the Rio Olympics...

http://www.asahi.com/articles/DA3S12316787.html translated by Brett Larner The JAAF has decided to take measures against the widespread use of iron injections by long distance athletes to combat anemia, saying that they undermine the athletes' bodies.  Beginning this spring it is sending documents to high school, university and corporate teams under the governance of the various local prefectural athletics associations to warn of the risks posed by iron injections, following up with a survey to help understand the scale of the actual situation.  The JAAF considers this problem central to the stagnation of distance running and marathoning, particularly with regard to women's performances. Iron injections were already conventionally known to have deleterious effects upon athletes, but because there are situations in which the injections are a legitimate medical practice they have continued to be allowed.  However, amid a sense of crisis the JAAF has opted to take a st...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160301-00000065-dal-spo translated by Brett Larner On Mar. 1, the organizers of the Nagoya Women's Marathon, the final selection race for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics team, announced general division entrant Kayoko Fukushi (33, Team Wacoal) has withdrawn from the race, saying, "This was the overall judgment after case studies done by team management." Fukushi won January's Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2:22:17, clearing the JAAF's Olympic standard of 2:22:30.  Her position on the Rio team was virtually assured, but because the JAAF refused to confirm it she entered the final selection race in Nagoya. An unheard-of unwilling entry of a top-level prospective Olympian into a race, subsequent events like JAAF Strengthening Chairman Kazunori Asaba 's unusual statement, "We do not want her to run. We want to see her do rock-solid preparation for going after a medal," caused a swelling uproar in popu...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201601/2016011500412&g=spo http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201601/2016011500418&g=spo translated by Brett Larner In response to a statement in a report published by WADA on Jan. 14 saying that Tokyo had paid sponsorship money to the IAAF and others during its bid for the 2020 Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee spokesperson Hikariko Ono expressed the committee's view that, "What is written [in the report] represents is different from our understanding."  Ono stressed the legitimacy of Tokyo's bid activities, saying, "The plans Tokyo presented were evaluated as the best and that is why the IOC Assembly selected them." Former JAAF director Katsuyuki Tanaka , who served on the IAAF Council from 2007 until last summer, commented, "There's no doubt that former president [Lamine] Diack was sympathetic to Tokyo from the start, but I don't think what they have written is true."  With a large numbe...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/1546509.html translated by Brett Larner At a meeting of its board of directors Sept. 30 in Tokyo, the JAAF made the decision to establish a new Strengthening Promotion Committee.  The new committee will have authority over the existing Strengthening Committee.  JAAF executive director Mitsugi Ogata , 56, commented, "Up to now our strengthening activities have focused on producing the best performances at a particular time, but from now on we want to consider strategy through a variety of eyes and minds." Citing the Japanese performance at August's Beijing World Championships, where the national team's total of one bronze medal and two top eight performances fell far short of JAAF projections, the board approved the resignation of Strengthening Committee chairman Yasuhiro Harada .  The promotion of vice-chairman Kazunori Asaba was also approved pending the outcome of committee restructuring.  Along with Toshihik...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201508/2015080300858&g=spo translated by Brett Larner With regard to foreign media's allegations of suspicion of doping among a large umber of Olympics and World Championships track and field medalists, on Aug. 3 Japan Anti-Doping Agency ( JADA ) executive director Shin Asakawa commented, "I do not know specifically what abnormal values (that would suggest doping) there may be.  The risk is that by looking at them too hastily things may be judged to be violations just because they are unusual," recognizing that there should be no rush to judgment without understanding of the detailed data. British and German media reported that in the Olympic Games and World Championships from 2001 to 2012, the winners of 146 medals in endurance events had values that indicated a suspicion of doping, with test results indicating that 5% of Japanese athletes also returned abnormal values.  "We do not know what the reaction of the body may be with...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20141207-00000527-sanspo-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner photos by Dr. Helmut Winter Former world record holder Patrick Makau (Kenya) ran 2:08:22 to win the Dec. 7 Fukuoka International Marathon, the first domestic selection race for the Japanese team for next August's Beijing World Championships.  Japanese Federation executives who set the Beijing qualification standard at sub-2:06:30, a time only one Japanese man has ever run, were quick to express their disappointment at the 2:09:06 4th-place finish by 33-year-old Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) being the top Japanese placing. Executive Director Mitsugi Ogata , 55, expressed concern about the lead-up to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in two years and beyond to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, saying, "We must cultivate true star athletes.  We've still got a harsh road ahead of us."  Ogata praised 3rd place finisher Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Team NTN), 4th at October'...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120612-966393.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Rikuren, the Japanese athletics federation, announced on June 12 the criteria for selection for Japan's team for next year's Moscow World Championships.  To encourage Japanese athletes to get faster, the qualification times announced for the marathon are far higher than in previous years, while track and field events will see their first-ever specific qualifying marks. Five men and five women can run the marathon in Moscow.  To make the team, men must run 2:07:59 or better and women 2:23:59 or better at any of the three major domestic men's and women's marathons.  Any athlete who clears these times at one of five specified overseas races will also be a candidate for the team. The domestic races for men are the Fukuoka International Marathon, the Tokyo Marathon and the Biwako Mainichi Marathon, while for women the races are the Yokohama Internati...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/track/news/20090512k0000e050013000c.html http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/flash/KFullFlash20090511085.html http://www.kfb.co.jp/news/index.cgi?n=2009051212 translated and edited by Brett Larner On May 11 the Japanese University Athletics Association announced the 30-member team for July's World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. Among the young men and women on the team are a number of Beijing Olympians, among them 400 m runner Yuzo Kanemaru (Hosei Univ.), and sprinters Momoko Takahashi (Heisei Gakuin Univ.), Mitsuharu Abiko and Hitoshi Saito (both of Tsukuba Univ.). Racewalker Masumi Fuchise (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) will join the team as preparation for August's World Championships in Berlin, and popular Hakone Ekiden star Ryuji Kashiwabara (Toyo Univ.) will lead the men's long distance track contingent in the 10000 m. Sota Hoshi (Komazawa Univ.) will be the top Japanese man in the half marathon. National team head coach Mitsugi Og...