japan running news

Eri Yamaguchi , Masako Chiba , Junko Ichikawa and more try to make it onto the 2000 Sydney Olympic team at the 1999 Tokyo International Women's Marathon. Parts 2~4 below.

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2014052300819 translated by Brett Larner On May 23 International Pacific University in Okayama announced that it has hired 2000 Sydney Olympics marathon 7th-place finisher Eri Yamaguchi , 41, as an assistant coach of its track and field team.  Yamaguchi will be responsible for the women's middle and long distance programs. Yamaguchi was named to the Sydney Olympics team after winning the 1999 Tokyo International Women's Marathon in 2:22:12, then the 2nd-fastest time in Japanese women's marathoning history.  Since retiring in 2005 her activities have included coaching work with her former corporate team, Tenmaya .

an editorial by Brett Larner The first Yokohama International Women's Marathon takes place this Sunday, Nov. 15. With a small field limited to women under 3:15, an innovative circuit course designed for fast times, a live nationwide TV broadcast, the defending Olympic gold and silver medalists and one of the best-performing domestic women of the year on the starting line organizers and media have hailed Yokohama, the replacement for the Tokyo International Women's Marathon, as a continuation of a proud tradition. Amid the fanfare one question has gone unanswered. Simply, why? When the Tokyo International Women's Marathon (TIWM) began in 1979 it was the world's first IAAF-sanctioned women-only marathon. Women lacked the same opportunities as men to race in large, competitive marathons, not least the Olympics, and Japanese women's marathoning was in a fledgling state. Following the model of the elite Japanese men's marathons such as Fukuoka International, Biwako ...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/090601/spg0906011939000-n1.htm http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20090601-501617.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Berlin World Championships women's marathon team member Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) left from Tokyo's Narita Airport on June 1 for a training camp in Boulder, Colorado. In late March Ozaki experience a setback to her preparations for Berlin when she began to experience pain in her hips which forced her to drop her training down to jogging. The 27 year old winner of last November's Tokyo International Women's Marathon commented, "In this training camp I just want to build up my base one more time. Speedwork will come in July and August." Ozaki has no plans to run any tuneup races prior to the World Championships or to go see the Berlin course, meaning she will run the race cold. "My goal right now is just to make it to the start line," she said modestly.

http://www.nikkei.co.jp/kansai/news/news005972.html http://sports.nikkei.co.jp/index.aspx?n=SSXKC0474%2021042009 http://www.plus-blog.sportsnavi.com/kmanabu/ translated and edited by Brett Larner Having already secured a place on the national team for August's World Championships in Berlin, Yuri Kano (30, Second Wind AC) will get an advance taste of world-class competition when she lines up among most of the world's best women for the first time at the Apr. 26 London Marathon. Kano thought she would win last November's Tokyo International Women's Marathon but she was 2nd after being outrun by Yoshimi Ozaki (27, Team Daiichi Seimei), the younger sister of her Second Wind teammate Akemi Ozaki. Following the final domestic selection race last month, Kano's place on the World Championships team was announced on Mar. 23. "I felt like, 'Finally!'" Kano says. Now, as she faces her first overseas marathon, she is confident. "My training hasn't gon...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20090318-472737.html http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2009/03/19/12.html translated and edited by Brett Larner 2009 Berlin World Championships marathoner and 2008 Tokyo International Women's Marathon winner Yoshimi Ozaki (27, Team Daiichi Seimei) returned to Japan from a month-long training camp in New Zealand, arriving at Tokyo's Narita Airport on Mar. 18. The first two weeks of the training camp were as part of Rikuren's first national marathon training camp program while the second part was sponsored by her team Daiichi Seimei. "I did a lot of work on the roads," Ozaki told reporters. "It went much better than we expected." As part of her preparations for the World Championships Ozaki plans to run the Berlin Half Marathon on Apr. 5. In May Rikuren is planning a training camp in Boulder, U.S.A. for the members of the World Championships marathon team. Ozaki had originally planned to take part b...

by Brett Larner The Mar. 15 Matsue Ladies Half Marathon will serve up a spectacular rematch of the 2nd through 4th place finishers from last November's Tokyo International Women's Marathon. Defending Matsue champion Mara Yamauchi (U.K.) will return this year, fresh from a 1:08:29 PB win at February's Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon and in preparation for April's London Marathon. Facing Yamauchi is the runner she defeated in Marugame, 2008 Sapporo International Half Marathon and Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon San Jose winner Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC). Kano lost to Yamauchi in Marugame by nearly a minute, but with a PB of 1:08:57 from her Sapporo win last summer she will be in a position to offer Yamauchi another stiff challenge. Kano is also preparing for London and is likely to be named to the national team for this summer's World Championships. Bringing an element of chaos to the matchup is 10000 m national record holder and 2000 Matsue winner Yok...

http://www.47news.jp/CN/200812/CN2008121501000321.html http://www.asahi.com/sports/spo/TKY200812160248.html http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/news/20081215-OYT1T00389.htm?from=navr translated and edited by Brett Larner On Dec. 15 Rikuren announced a wide range of changes to its regulations and procedures for the upcoming in the 2009-2010 season. Potentially the largest change is the removal of its ban on the use of a title sponsor's name in the names of large marathons and ekidens and the relaxation of advertising regulations. Elimination of these restrictions will make it easier for races to secure sufficient sponsorship funds. Another of Rikuren's new policies is the introduction of mandatory drug testing for all athletes setting Japanese national records in sports included in the Olympics. Under previous rules such testing was not obligatory. Rikuren has also modified its financial support system for Japanese runners, reducing the number of C-rank athletes from 68 to 40 but ba...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20081207-437857.html translated by Brett Larner Marathoners Yoko Shibui and Reiko Tosa returned from Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo's training camp in Kunming, China, arriving at Tokyo's Narita International Airport on Dec. 7. The two athletes had been training together in preparation for the Dec. 14 All-Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden in Gifu Prefecture. After finishing 4th in November's Tokyo International Women's Marathon following a blazing first half, Shibui plans to try again to make the Japanese national marathon team for next summer's World Track and Field Championships in Berlin. She will skip over January's Osaka International Women's Marathon , aiming instead for the Nagoya International Women's Marathon in March.

http://dailynews.yahoo.co.jp/fc/sports/takahashi_naoko/?1226906024 translated by Brett Larner After retiring from professional running in October, 2000 Sydney Olympic women's marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi appeared at a Nov. 17 event in Tokyo to promote the release of the 'Chronicles of the Narnia Pt. II: The Tale of Prince Caspian' DVD. The previous day Takahashi made her debut as a television announcer at the Tokyo International Women's Marathon; her appearance at the Narnia promotion marked her first turn as a celebrity personality at an 'arts event.' "It's strange to see myself being discussed on the celebrity gossip shows," Takahashi commented. She views her new career as a fresh start, saying, "Outside of running, I'm a rookie at everything. I want to find something that only I can do."

by Brett Larner photo by Shoji Shimomitsu Little-known Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) ran a race of genius in only her 2nd marathon, coming up from 4th place to overtake favorites Mara Yamauchi (U.K.), Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) and Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) for a 2:23:30 victory in the 30th and final edition of the Tokyo International Women's Marathon . Ozaki missed being selected for the Beijing Olympics after running 2:26:19 to finish 2nd in her debut, March's Nagoya International Women's Marathon, but her Tokyo victory gives her the honor of being the 1st woman to secure a spot on the Japanese women's team for the 2009 Berlin World Championships marathon and her time puts her into the all-time Japanese women's top 10. photo by Kazuo Chiba In their own ways, all of the top 4 women ran brilliant races, aided by overnight and early morning rain which brought misty conditions on race morning with average temperatures of 15 degrees and almost no w...

by Brett Larner The 30th and final edition of the Tokyo International Women's Marathon takes place this Sunday, Nov. 16, starting and finishing at Tokyo's National Stadium. TIWM was the world's first women-only elite marathon at the time of its inception in 1979, a time when Japan's male marathoners were among the most dominant in the world and there were no world-class Japanese women in the marathon scene. 30 years, two Olympic gold medals and a world record later, Japan's women are its most respected distance runners both domestically and worldwide. The list of TIWM winners contains many of the sport's great names, historical and modern. Joyce Smith, Katrin Doerre, Rosa Mota, Valentina Yegorova, Joyce Chepchumba, Derartu Tulu, Elfenesh Alemu, Naoko Takahashi, Reiko Tosa and Mizuki Noguchi all won. The birth of the Tokyo Marathon in 2007 brought the big city major marathon to Japan; with the addition of an elite women's field for the 2009 Tokyo Marathon, ...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2008111300642 translated by Brett Larner The Tokyo International Women's Marathon announced on Nov. 13 that elite overseas entrant Elfenesh Alemu (Ethiopia) has withdrawn from this year's race, scheduled to take place Nov. 16 at Tokyo's National Stadium, after sustaining an injury to her left buttock. Alemu defeated Naoko Takahashi to win the 2003 edition of the Tokyo International Women's Marathon.

http://www.sportinglife.com/others/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=others/08/11/12/manual_200828.html

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20081030-424120.html translated by Brett Larner 2000 Sydney Olympics women's marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi (36, Team Phiten) will pay back her debt to the Tokyo International Women's Marathon on Nov. 16. Since announcing her retirement on Oct. 28, Takahashi's management office has booked her for over fifty appearances on TV and as a special guest at public events. It will all begin with Takahashi's debut as a television broadcast commentator at the Tokyo International Women's Marathon in which Takahashi was originally scheduled to compete. This year's 30th anniversary edition of the Tokyo Int'l will be the event's final, as next year it will relocate to Yokohama. To commemorate the occasion, organizers will host a symposium titled "Women Runners' Trail of Dreams." 400 people applied to hear Takahashi speak along with a panel including marathon legends Akemi Matsuda, Nanae Sasaki,...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20081029-424073.html translated by Brett Larner On Oct. 29 Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) returned with a teammates from a three-week training camp in Kunming, China. Shibui is in preparation for the Nov. 16 Tokyo International Women's Marathon. "I did everything [on the practice menu]," she commented. "I'm satisfied." Shibui saw news of Naoko Takahashi's retirement on TV. "It takes a lot of courage to say you're going to retire. It gave me many things to think about." Shibui also talked about her teammate Reiko Tosa, who dropped out of the Beijing Olympics marathon with a foot injury. "She basically back to regular jogging. Her foot doesn't really hurt any more," said Shibui. Both runners plan to compete in December's All-Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden. Translator's note: Last year Shibui returned from Kunming and ran a stage record on the 10 km anchor l...

http://www.daily.co.jp/general/2008/10/30/0001545657.shtml translated by Brett Larner Reiko Tosa (32, Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo), who after failing to finish the Beijing Olympics marathon announced her intent to retire, returned to Japan on Oct. 29 from a high altitude training camp in Kunming, China, telling reporters at the airport that she now wants to run one last marathon. "I want to have one more go [at 42.195 km]," Tosa said. She does not want her last memory of her running to be that of having dropped out of the Olympic marathon after injuring her foot, but hopes to make a more fitting end to her career. Tosa is not planning to run in a major international race but will most likely return to her roots and run her hometown Ehime Marathon in February, a race she won in her marathon debut in 1998. Asked for comments about Sydney Olympics marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi's retirement this week, Tosa replied, "I was really surprised. She is the pioneer of t...

by Brett Larner On Oct. 28 the Tokyo International Women's Marathon announced the elite field for the event's 30th and final running, to take place Nov. 16. Top domestic runners Yoko Shibui, Yuri Kano, Yoshimi Ozaki and others will face off for slots on the 2009 Berlin World Track and Field Championships marathon team while competing against foreign competition including 2008 Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Mara Yamauchi of the U.K., 2007 Tokyo IWM runner-up Salina Kosgei of Kenya, and 2008 London Marathon runner-up Russian Svetlana Zakharova. Aging Ethiopians Derartu Tulu and Elfenesh Alemu are also on the entry list along with newcomers Tetyana Filonyuk of Ukraine and Kenyan Magdaline Chemjor. Former marathon national record holder Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) had a career-worst run at last year's Tokyo but afterwards went on to experience a rebirth on the track, running the kind of performances not seen since her glory days over five years ago and ...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/f-sp-tp0-20081007-416611.html translated by Brett Larner Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) left Japan on Oct. 7 for a high-altitude training camp in Kunming, China where she will prepare for the Nov. 16 Tokyo International Women's Marathon. Other members of her team will also be at the training camp as they get ready for the Nov. 3 East Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden. Since running the 10000 m at the Beijing Olympics Shibui has ramped up her training, doing a 40 km training run on Oct. 6 as she looks toward her first marathon in a year. "I want to focus on distance this time," Shibui told reporters. "[In Kunming] there will be three 40 km runs on the menu."

http://www.plus-blog.sportsnavi.com/kmanabu/article/98 translated by Brett Larner photo by Manabu Kawagoe On October 5th, Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) won the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in San Jose, California. With an early morning start at 8:00 a.m. temperatures were low. Kano ran a comfortable first half, treating the second half of the race as a practice run for next month's Tokyo International Women's Marathon. Running together with Ethiopia's Masresha Azalech until the 10 km mark, Kano sustained a higher pace over the second half, launching a final spurt to seal her lead with 2 miles to go. For Kano, her finishing position in this race was the most important thing. Splits: 5 km: 16:36 10 km: 33:17 10 miles: 53:35 finish: 1:10:03 Translator's note: Kano won June's Sapporo International Half Marathon in a PB of 1:08:57 and finished 3rd in July's New York City Half Marathon.