japan running news

Via an online post-race press conference on Aug. 8, Olympic team long distance and marathon head coach Tadasu Kawano discussed the condition of Yuma Hattori , 27. Hattori placed 73rd in the men's marathon earlier in the day. "After he finished he had a body surface temperature reading of over 40˚C," Kawano said. "There's no doubt that he was exhibiting symptoms very much like those of heat stroke."  In the first half of the race Hattori ran alongside eventual 6th-placer  Suguru Osako  near the front and middle of the lead pack. But near the midway point he lost contact. He collapsed after finishing, medical staff in the finish area rushing to his assistance and taking him away in a wheelchair. In the last straight to the finish line Hattori appeared to be dragging his left lag, stopping at one point to walk and hold his left leg in apparent pain. "Muscle cramping and convulsions can occur during heat stroke," said Kawano. "I think that may ha...

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...

Speaking on the subject of the course to be used for the 2020 Olympic marathon now that the IOC has decreed it be relocated to Sapporo, JAAF long distance and marathon director Tadasu Kawano gave his honest opinion at a JAAF press conference on Nov. 5. "I don't see any issue with using the Hokkaido Marathon course as a base, but I don't think we can use the Shinkawa-dori section due to security and other issues," he said. He went on to say that that portion of the course would likely be made up using a loop segment. "I'm not in a position to say what might be good or bad about the course," Kawano said, but with regard to the 13 km straight out-and-back section of the Hokkaido Marathon course along Shingawa-dori he said, "The security and medical access issues are difficult problems. Preventing spectators from accessing the course would be difficult. The IAAF will probably find it unacceptable." The organizing committee is examining chang...

Marathon national record holder Suguru Osako (27, Nike Oregon Project), aggressively criticized the JAAF on his personal Twitter account on Apr. 23 after not being allowed to enter the National Championships without a qualifying time. Osako had sought entry to next month's National Championships 10000 m under a clause in the qualifying rules that lets the JAAF's high performance committee admit people who haven't hit the Nationals A-standard, but said his request was turned down because it might hurt other athletes' chances of qualifying for the World Championships and Olympics. He criticized the selection criteria. The same day the JAAF gave a public statement on its position, leading Osako to post a further string of tweets in response. 日本選手権、[本連盟強化委員が特に推薦する本連盟登録競技者] という枠で出場しようと試みましたが、叶いませんでした.....。 陸連強化委員からの[大迫くんが日本選手権でいい走りをするとそれに負けた選手のランキングが下がり、不平不満が出るから]という理由でした。すごい理由だな。笑笑 pic.twitter.com/VX074DzGO1 — suguru osako (@sugurusako) April 23, 2019 Osako ...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2016/11/14/kiji/K20161114013722210.html translated by Brett Larner With the major corporate league women giving it a miss due to the conflict with ekiden season, Sunday's Saitama International Marathon had predictably disappointing results .  Newly appointed leader of the JAAF's long distance and marathon development project Toshihiko Seko commented, "You might call it old-fashioned, but they're simply not training enough.  We need people who can run tough in both the marathon and the ekiden."  Articulating the sense of crisis, development project director Tadasu Kawano warned, "We won't necessarily be filling all three spots [on the national team for next summer's London World Championships marathon] ." Translator's note: In an interview moderated by JRN , Takayuki Nishida , a former Seko-coached athlete who ran 2:08:45, told Finnish writer Tuomas Zacheus , "Seko is a great man. What should ...

http://dd.hokkaido-np.co.jp/sports/sports/marathon/1-0296687.html http://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye2828867.html http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/s/article/2016072401001248.html http://dd.hokkaido-np.co.jp/sports/sports/marathon/1-0296700.html translated and edited by Brett Larner The 30th anniversary Suffolkland Shibetsu Half Marathon   was held July 24 in Shibestu, Hokkaido.  Top-level Japanese athletes and amateur runners alike braved blazing sunshine to give it their best on the JAAF-certified course.  A total of 2136 runners including a large number of corporate league runners from Toyota and the Kansai region took part.  Special guest runners included ski jumper Sara Takanashi and the winner of the first Shibetsu Half women's race, Eriko Asai . In the men's half marathon, Kokushikan University assistant coach James Mwangi won by a second over  Yuki Oshikawa (Team Toyota Kyushu) in a course record 1:03:22.  Rio de Janeiro Olympics men's ma...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120416-935102.html translated by Brett Larner At an April 16 press conference in Tokyo to announce its 2012 support and strengthening program, the Japanese federation Rikuren announced that the three members of the London Olympics women's marathon team, Risa Shigetomo  (Team Tenmaya), Ryoko Kizaki  (Team Daihatsu) and Yoshimi Ozaki  (Team Daiichi Seimei) will break down the traditional barrier between different corporate teams and train for the Olympics together.  For two weeks lasting from late June through early July the trio will train at altitude in Flagstaff, Arizona.  Strengthening Committee head Tadasu Kawano  commented, "To be a true Team Japan, we want to make sure that they are in a position to be able to work together."

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/p-sp-tp0-20111205-872719.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20111204-872478.html http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20111205k0000e050130000c.html Nikkei Newspaper, 12/5/11 translated and edited by Brett Larner race-day photos by Dr. Helmut Winter Out cold on the ground as the media pile on 11 seconds after the finish. Star amateur runner Yuki Kawauchi  (24, Saitama Pref.) made a strong argument for his status as a contender for the London Olympic team at the first of three domestic selection races, the Dec. 4 Fukuoka International Marathon.  After falling behind once at 20 km he came back to hammer Masato Imai  (Team Toyota Kyushu) with astonishing relentlessness, a dead heat one-on-one race that saw Kawauchi emerge as the top Japanese finisher, 3rd overall in 2:09:57.  "It was really painful," he said of the battle with Imai, "but I love that kind of situation more than...

by Brett Larner A few months ago JRN had dinner with an executive member of an IAAF gold label overseas marathon.  "The World Championships marathon doesn't matter," this colleague told us.  "Nobody cares about it."  That may be true many places, but in Japan, where most athletes receive regular salaries and do not have agents pushing them into overseas big money races, patriotism still counts for more than the shot at a big payday and the country's best marathoners regularly line up for the chance to represent their country at the World Championships.  Even more so in years like this which precede an Olympics because if a Japanese athlete scores an individual marathon medal at Worlds their place on the Olympic team is secure.  The results speak for themselves.  In the last 20 years Japanese women have scored nine individual marathon medals at eight out of ten World Championships and the men at three along with team medals from both sides virtually every ...

http://lrn.london-marathon.com/japanese-runners-arrive-london/ For an explanation of how the World Marathon Majors rankings will be affected by this weekend's London and Boston Marathons, click here . Of the Japanese women in London and Boston, 2011 Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) has the best chance of making an impact on the WMM rankings.

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080726-00000092-sph-soci translated by Brett Larner and Mika Tokairin China announced on July 25th that it will be dramatically increasing the number of police on the street during the Olympic women`s marathon in order to protect Japanese athletes and fans, tripling the number of street patrols and course guards in areas which are expected to have large numbers of Japanese supporters. The government has taken this unusually strict action to prevent trouble during the women`s marathon in light of the fact that both Japan and China are fielding favorites for the gold medal. In the past Beijing has experienced large public demonstrations against Japan, and it is expected that the battle in the women`s marathon will lead to an even more heated clash between supporters off the course. The Japanese team features exceptionally strong members including Mizuki Noguchi, 30, who is going for her second straight gold medal. Large numbers of Japanese supporters a...

http://dailynews.yahoo.co.jp/fc/sports/takahashi_naoko/?1206421181 http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080325-00000004-sanspo-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner 2 weeks after finishing 27th in the Nagoya International Women's Marathon and missing her chance for the Beijing Olympics, Sydney Olympics women's marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi (35, Team Phiten) has found a new dream: she intends to run and win all three of the major elite women's marathons in Japan during next winter's season. Speaking at a press conference on Mar. 24, Takahashi announced that she plans to race the Tokyo International Women's Marathon on Nov. 16 this year, the Osaka International Women's Marathon on Jan. 25 next year, and the Nagoya International Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, also next year. She told reporters that she will be running to win each of the races. It may seem reckless for one person to try to run three marathons within four months, but Japan Rikuren has gi...