japan running news

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201408/2014081500449&g=spo translated by Brett Larner On Aug. 15 it was announced that middle-distance runner Ruriko Kubo (25) will leave the Edion corporate women's team at the end of this month.  In 2011 Kubo ran 2:01.90 to become the second-fastest Japanese woman in history, going on to win the 800 m at the 2012 Japanese National Championships.  According to an Edion spokesperson, Kubo explained the decision by saying "I want to re-examine myself."

by Brett Larner Click here for JRN's sprints, hurdles and field events preview. This weekend's 96th Japanese National Track & Field Championships in Osaka double as Japan's Olympic Trials for the 2012 London Olympics.  Any athlete holding an A-standard Olympic qualifying mark who wins his or her event will be guaranteed a place in London, with the remaining spots decided through federation consideration within the constraints of a maximum of three A-standard entrants or one B-standard entrant in any one event.  The complete Olympic team lineup for individual events will be announced on Monday following the Trials, meaning that the only time chasing that will be allowed after the Trials is by people already on the team in one event looking to double.  For most, there will be no other chance. It's no secret that Japanese middle distance is far below the level of both its long distance and sprinting systems.  The extent to which that's due to athletes being ...

2011 Joensuu Games Loppukilpailu, Finland, 7/27/11 click here for complete results Men's 5000 m 1. Lewis Korir (KEN) - 13:33.64 2. Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta) - 13:38.39 3. Yusuke Takabayashi (Team Toyota) - 13:53.50 4. Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) - 13:56.03 5. Kazuya Deguchi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 14:14.30 Women's 1500 m 1. Zoe Buckman (Australia) - 4:06.06 2. Erin Donohue (U.S.A.) - 4:07.04 3. Natalia Koreyvo (Finland) - 4:08.31 4. Karin Storbacka (Finland) - 4:13.66 5. Ayako Jinnouchi (Japan) - 4:14.70 6. Ruriko Kubo (Japan) - 4:15.88 ----- 10. Minori Hayakari (Kyoto Koka AC) - 4:18.97

by Brett Larner 2010 National University Women's Ekiden champions Bukkyo University rounded out their season by knocking nearly a minute and a half off course record at the five-stage, half marathon-distance 25th anniversary Chugoku Women's Ekiden , Feb. 13 in Hiroshima. 10000 m national collegiate record holder Hikari Yoshimoto led Bukkyo off with a stage record of 18:58 for the 5.83 km First Stage, and Bukkyo runners took stage best on three of the four remaining legs including an anchor stage record by Shiho Takechi . Only the professional Team Deodeo 's Fourth Stage runner Ruriko Kubo broke Bukkyo's domination, running a stage record 7:33 for the 2.4 km Fourth Stage, but even there Bukkyo's Sairi Maeda took second-best. Deodeo took 2nd in 1:09:29, only four seconds off the course record, but Bukkyo was so strong that they were nearly a minute and a half ahead in 1:08:08. Bukkyo's perennial rivals Ritsumeikan University were a distant 3rd in 1:10:11. 201...

by Brett Larner On what will no doubt be one of the last summery days of the season, the 2010 Super Meet in Kawasaki took place under sunny skies on Sept. 19. Many of the major international stars including high jumper Blanka Vlasic (Croatia) and sprinter Christophe Lemaitre (France) duly picked up late-season wins, while all but two of the top Japanese entrants fell short of 1st. A summary of the results: 2010 Super Meet in Kawasaki - Top Results click here for complete results click event headers for video Women's 800 m 1. Elena Kofanova (Russia) - 2:00.46 2. Tetiana Petliuk (Ukraine) - 2:01.01 3. Ruriko Kubo (Team Deodeo) - 2:03.09 Men's 400 m 1. Nery Brenes (Costa Rica) - 46.14 2. Sean Wroe (Australia) - 46.27 3. Yusuke Ishitsuka (Team Mizuno) - 46.30 Men's 100 m 1. Christophe Lemaitre (France) - 10.26 2. Wallace Spearmon (U.S.A.) - 10.47 3. Ramil Guliyev (Azerbaijan) - 10.50 Women's 100 m 1. Tianna Madison (U.S.A.) - 11.32 2. Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido HiTec AC)...

http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=54887.html

by Brett Larner The final meet in the 2009 Hokuren Distance Challenge series took place July 20 in Abashiri, Hokkaido, the last domestic opportunity for athletes to qualify for the Japanese national team for this year's World Championships. Ironically, the only athlete to pick up a Berlin ticket was Ethiopian Yakob Jarso (Team Honda). Jarso set the Ethiopian national record of 8:13.47 in the 3000 m steeplechase at last summer's Beijing Olympics where he was 4th. This spring Jarso attempted to move up to the 5000 m and 10000 m but missed the times he needed to make the Ethiopian team at those competitive distances. Resigned to running the steeple again after a year's absence, Jarso had to set an A-standard time to illustrate to the Ethiopian federation that he is ready to go for Berlin. The Abashiri Meet organizers were generous enough to organize a steeplechase heat for Jarso, but when he came to the starting line he found only Sapporo Gakuin University's Masashi Takem...

by Brett Larner The fifth meet in the 2009 Hokuren Distance Challenge series took place July 15 in Kitami, Hokkaido, producing three significant results. 1500 m and 5000 m national champion Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) continued his winning streak, taking the men's 3000 m. His time of 8:09.03 was 12 seconds off his best but the win showed that Ueno is maintaining his competitive edge as he trains in Hokkaido for the World Championships 5000 m. In the women's 5000 m Kenyans Doricah Obare (Team Hitachi) and Christine Muyanga (Team Panasonic) went 1-2 with Obare on top in 15:42.36. The surprise came in 3rd place, as World Championships marathon team member Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) came in just a step behind Muyanga. Earlier in the season Fujinaga had said she wanted to focus on her speed during the track season. While her earlier results had been unimpressive, her run in Kitami suggests she is rounding into form in time to peak in Berlin. The men's 5000 m featured thre...

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/sports/Sp200805180258.html translated by Brett Larner and Mika Tokairin On the 2nd day of the Chugoku Jitsugyodan Track and Field Championships, held May 17th at Miyoshi Sports Park in Miyoshi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Joseph Gitau of Team JFE Steel won the men`s 10000 m in a time of 28:16.07. Beijing Olympics men`s marathon team members Atsushi Sato and Tsuyoshi Ogata, both of Team Chugoku Denryoku, also ran. Sato was 2nd in 28:16.94, while Ogata was 5th in 28:51.59. Team Uniqlo`s Danielle Filomena won the women`s 10000 m in 32:38.66, completing a successful double after winning last week`s 5000 m. Ruriko Kubo of Team Deodeo set a new meet record of 57.63 in the women`s 400 m. While Ogata was content to run with a relaxed pitch at the head of the second pack, Atsushi Sato was again aggressive. As in his winning run in last week`s 5000 m, Sato led from the start together with Gitau. Although Sato claims his fitness is only at about 60%, he ran with high pace an...