japan running news

On Mar. 31 the Fujitsu corporate team announced that 2008 Beijing Olympics men's 4x100 m relay silver medalist Naoki Tsukahara , 34, now a team advisor, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Under medical guidance Tsukahara was hospitalized Mar. 30 at a health center specializing in treatment of infectious disease. He is the first Olympic medalist to have been publicly revealed to have the coronavirus. Tsukahara took part in a track and field training program with over 70 participants in Suzuka, Mie as a guest speaker on Mar. 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. At 6:00 p.m. he went to a local hospital after beginning to feel unwell and coming down with a fever. When his fever did not come down the following day, a PCR test was conducted by the hospital under the guidance of the specialized health center. His infection with the coronavirus was confirmed on the 30th. Following the positive result, the Fujitsu corporation disinfected its entire Kawasaki factory, where Tsukah...

https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-relays/news/iaaf-world-relays-yokohama-2019-day-2

On Dec. 11 the Japan Olympic Committee announced that Japan's 2008 Beijing Olympics men's 4x100 m relay team has been officially elevated from the bronze medal position to silver. The leading runner for former gold medalists Jamaica, Nesta Carter , tested positive for prohibited substances in an antidoping test, leading to the IOC stripping the Jamaican team of its medals. Carter appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but lost the appeal in June this year. The International Olympic Committee released a statement on the official change in status on Dec. 7. A medal ceremony will be held for the four team members at a later date. The Japanese national team ran 38.15 at the Beijing Olympics. Its four members in running order were Naoki Tsukahara , Shingo Suetsugu , Shinji Takahira and Nobuharu Asahara . Their bronze medal was only the second Japanese Olympic medal on the track in history, the first coming 80 years earlier at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics whe...

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/news/111004/oth11100418530007-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner After a long period of time away from the sport, 200 m national record and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Shingo Suetsugu  (Team Mizuno) ran his first race in three years when he ran a time trial in Kumamoto on Oct. 1.  The race marked the beginning of a serious effort to make a comeback to full racing capability ahead of next year's London Olympics. The 31-year-old Suetsugu ran the 100 m at the Oct. 1 time trial, clocking 10.87 in the first heat racing against university students.  After winning the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics as part of Japan's 4x100 m relay team he took an "indefinite leave of absence" from competition to deal with accumulated fatigue.  Since then he has been based in his native Kumamoto, and beginning in February he started rebuilding and training toward regaining his full strength. Having heard directly from his former pupil, federation...

Suntory's 'Zeitaku Marathon' ad for its Boss Coffee was released on June 1. http://www.suntory.co.jp/softdrink/boss/cm_press/index3.html The commercial includes actors Atsushi Ito and Hiroshi Neko along with running greats Erick Wainaina, Shigeru Soh, Shingo Suetsugu, Dai Tamesue, Yoshio Koide and Akemi Masuda. JRN's Brett Larner is runner #808. Click here for a direct link to the 30-second version of the commercial.

Here's a preview clip of the commercial I was in a couple of weeks ago. I'm number 808. The actual commercial starts at 3:16, although this is apparently just a short version. Click photo for video. Some still photos are also available here . That's me on the left in the bottom picture.

Sorry for not posting much this week, but I've been on the set of a TV commercial shoot the last few days. The cast of the commercial included celebrities Atsushi Ito and Hiroshi Neko, marathon legends Shigeru Soh, Akemi Masuda and Erick Wainaina, Olympic and World Championships bronze medalist sprinter Shingo Suetsugu, two-time World Championships bronze medalist hurdler Dai Tamesue, famed marathon coach Yoshio Koide, three-time Japanese national duathlon champion Yuya Fukaura, a World Championships race walker whose name I didn't catch, several Hakone Ekiden runners, my training partner Jason Lawrence, me, a few others, and several hundred extras. If it becomes available on YouTube I'll post a link.

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20090424-486487.html translated by Brett Larner Japan's bronze medal-winning men's 4 x 100 m relay team from the Beijing Olympics is in the process of changing both its lineup and running order Rikuren has announced following a committee meeting at Tokyo's National Training Center in Ota Ward. Longtime anchor Nobuharu Asahara retired last fall, and second leg runner Shingo Suetsugu is taking the season off, necessitating the changes in the leadup to this summer's World Championships in Berlin. Sprint Division director Shunji Karube commented, "We're aiming to make the final at the World Championships, but there is much to do before then. With half our regular team gone we're in a tough position. We haven't made any decisions about the team's lineup or running order yet but will watch this spring's Grand Prix series and see who's who." The new team is expected to be announced following the...

by Brett Larner event videos listed at bottom The 36 year old anchor of Japan's Beijing Olympics bronze medal-winning men's 4 x 100 m relay team, Nobuharu Asahara (Team Osaka Gas), was the main attraction at the 2008 Seiko Super Track and Field Meet in Kawasaki , a near sellout crowd filling Kawasaki's Todoroki Stadium to witness Asahara's final run before his retirement. Despite the cancellation of several stars including men's 110 m hurdles world record holder Dayron Robles, Japanese fans were treated to a bonus in the unpublicized surprise guest appearance by Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt, who came out to greet fans during the opening ceremonies. Usain Bolt and the Japanese Olympic men's 4 x 100 m team. In the field events, women's long jump national record holder Kumiko Ikeda (Team Suzuki) fouled on her first three jumps before finally getting on the scoreboard. She ultimately finished 2nd behind Russian Tatiana Lebedeva, a two-time Olympic medalist an...

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080922-00000031-jijp-spo.view-000 trans lated and edited by Brett Larner Japan's Olympic bronze medal-winning 4 x 100 m team reunited at the Seiko Super Track and Field Meet in Kawasaki pre-meet press conference on Sept. 22. The four athletes, all of whom will compete in the meet, struck a group baton pass pose for photographers. From left to right are Nobuharu Asahara (Team Osaka Gas), Shinji Takahira (Team Fujitsu), Shingo Suetsugu (Team Mizuno) and Naoki Tsukahara (Team Fujitsu). The meet will be the 36 year-old Asahara's final race before his retirement.

by Brett Larner Men's 4 x 400 m Relay - Heats After Japan's ace runner Yuzo Kanemaru pulled out of the men's 4 x 400 m heats just 30 minutes before the race, veteran 400 m hurdler Dai Tamesue was brought in as a replacement to the mostly young, inexperienced team. Mitsuhiro Abiko handed off to Tamesue in last place, and Tamesue was unable to make up any ground on the rest of the field. Yoshihiro Horigome almost caught 7th place, but it was up to anchor Kenji Narisako, also a hurdler, to move Japan into its final position of 6th, catching Greece and the Dominican Republic in the home stretch. Japan finished in a season best 3:04.18 but failed to advance to the final. Men's 4 x 100 m Relay - Final Japan's team of Naoki Tsukahara, Shingo Suetsugu, Shinji Takahira and Nobuharu Asahara ran a season best 38.15 to finish 3rd, winning Japan's first-ever men's medal in an Olympic track race and the country's first Olympic track medal in 80 years. Click here for ...

by Brett Larner After finishing 4th in the 2004 Athens Olympics and 5th at the 2007 Osaka World Track and Field Championships, the Japanese men's 4 x 100 m relay team scored Japan's first Olympic medal in a track event since the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, running a season best 38.15 to take bronze behind gold medalist Jamaica's world record 37.10 and silver medalist Trinidad and Tobago's 38.06. Of the four members of the team, only first-leg runner Naoki Tsukahara, the 2008 100 m national champion, had run well in individual competition in Beijing, making the semi-final of the men's 100 m. Tsukahara was again solid, delivering a strong start against Jamaica's Nesta Carta. A flawless handoff to 200 m national record holder and three-time Olympian Shingo Suetsugu on the second leg maintained Japan's position. Suetsugu performed another impeccable handoff to 2008 200 m national champion Shinji Takahira; while inevitably losing ground to Jamaica's Usain Bolt T...

by Brett Larner Men's 4 x 100 m Relay - Heats Japan's 4 x 100 m relay team of Naoki Tsukahara, Shingo Suetsugu, Shinji Takahira and Nobuhara Asahara survived a wild heat which saw four of the eight competing teams drop the baton to finish 2nd in a season-best 38.52. This was the third-fastest time among the teams which made the final, giving Japan a legitimate chance for its first track and field medal of the Beijing Olympics. The same Japanese team set the Asian record of 38.03 in finishing 5th at last summer's World Track and Field Championships in Osaka. Of the teams which beat Japan at the World Championships, only Jamaica finished ahead of Japan in the Olympic heats, winning its heat in 38.31, with the teams from the U.K. and U.S.A. eliminated after dropping their batons. Japan finished well ahead of the Brazilian team which had placed 4th at the World Championships. Trinidad and Tobago, which did not make the World Championships final, won the heat against Japan in th...