japan running news

On June 12 the JAAF announced that it is withdrawing its team from the IAAF World U18 Championships [formerly World Youth Championships] scheduled to be held in Nairobi, Kenya in July. In light of security concerns about Kenya and the situation regarding other countries' participation, the JAAF executive committee made the decision to pull out on the 12th. The United States had previously announced it would not participate due to the dangers of crime and terrorism perpetrated by Islamic extremists. Great Britain, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand are also not participating for the same reasons. At the last edition of the Championships in Cali, Colombia in 2015, Japan's Hakim Sani Brown attracted global attention when he won the 100 m and 200 m. Source article:  http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20170612/ath17061219110005-n1.html translated by Brett Larner

https://www.minpo.jp/news/detail/2015090825188 translated and edited by Brett Larner video by 遠藤清也 Just a month after his 17th birthday, Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. 2nd-year Hyuga Endo ran 8:01.95 for 3000 m at the Sept. 5 Premium Games in Sakata time trial meet in Sakata, Yamagata, breaking the Japanese high school and youth national records.  Endo's time, a PB by more than 15 seconds, took nearly 4 seconds off the 8:05.82 high school national record set 11 years ago by Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin, then Saku Chosei H.S.) and almost 7 seconds off the 8:08.57 youth national record set in 2010 by Kazuto Nishiike (Team Konica Minolta, then Suma Gakuen H.S.). Endo was paced by his Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. 3rd-year teammates Kazuyoshi Tamogami and Hiroki Abe until 1500 m where he went out front alone.  Keeping the high pace, he kicked hard over the last 400 m to the finish line to break both records. Endo ran the 3000 m at July's World Youth Championships where he was over...

by Brett Larner video by Sport in HD After winning the 100 m in World Youth Championships record time earlier in the week, Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.) fully arrived on the international scene on the Championships' final day, breaking Usain Bolt 's 200 m meet record to win gold in 20.34.  Running into a moderate headwind, Sani Brown had pressure from South Africa's Kyle Appel on the curve, but hitting the straight he pulled away steadily to take the win by a margin of over 0.2 seconds.  Sani Brown's time bettered his PB by 0.22 seconds, cleared Bolt's 20.40 record from the 2003 World Youth Championships and moved him up to all-time youth #2 behind only Bolt.  It also cleared the Beijing World Championships qualifying standard of 20.50, and with a 2nd-place finish in the 200 m at last month's National Championships behind him it means Sani Brown is a lock for the Beijing team at age 16.  Give him 5 more years and Tokyo 2020 should be interesti...

by Brett Larner videos by Akiko Sani Brown After setting boys' 400 m hurdles world youth leads in the heats and semifinals at the World Youth Championships, Japan's Ryusei Fujii (Kokura Kogyo H.S.) and Masaki Toyoda (Rakunan H.S.) added to the country's medal total in the final to cap the fourth day of competition.  Both delivering PB performances, Fujii and Toyoda were unable to match a brilliant world youth leading 49.11 from Norman Grimes (U.S.A.) but took silver and bronze, Fujii in 50.33 and Toyoda in 50.53.  4th placer Rivaldo Leacock (Barbados) likewise turned in a PB of 51.13, an indication of how good the competition up front was. The other Japanese performance of the day came in the boys' 200 m semifinals.  Despite a 1.7 m/s headwind, 100 m gold medalist Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.) ran 20.62 to win his semifinal, just 0.06 seconds off his best and 0.12 seconds off the Beijing World Championships qualifying standard.  His nearest c...

by Brett Larner video by Akiko Sani Brown Day Three of the World Youth Championships was relatively quiet for the Japanese contingent.  Of the two finals featuring Japanese athletes, Yuki Shibata (Kitakyushu Municipal H.S.) had better luck, placing 7th in the girls' 2000 mSC in 6:48.41, seconds out of the top 5 but 30 seconds behind winner Celliphine Chepteek Chespol (Kenya).  After running a 46.85 PB in the boys' 400 m semifinals, Minato Sasaki (Morioka Minami H.S.) struggled in the final, finishing last in 47.54. Two of Japan's gold medal contenders moved on through the opening rounds without problems.  100 m gold medalist Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.) won his 200 m heat in 21.19, jogging down the home straight with ease, while boys' pole vault favorite Masaki Ejima (Eda H.S.) likewise advanced after clearing 4.95 m.  Kazuki Tamura (Shimonoseki Shogyo H.S.) also advanced in the boys' 200 m, with Takaaki Yoshida (Kanonji Chuo H.S.) joining...

by Brett Larner Haruka Kitaguchi (Hokkaido Asahikawa Higashi H.S.) unexpectedly became the second Japanese gold medalist of the World Youth Championships , the only athlete in the girls' javelin throw to go over 60 m with a PB of 60.35 m for the win.  Virtually unknown going into the competition, Kitaguchi opened with a PB 56.42 m throw to immediately go into 1st ahead of #3-ranked Laine Donane (Latvia) and #4-ranked Stella Weinberg (Norway).  On her third throw Weinberg delivered a PB of her own, 57.11 m, to move into 1st, but Kitaguchi was quick to respond with a 60.35 m best on her fifth throw to seal gold.  Weinberg stayed in silver, while Donane took bronze with her opening throw of 56.15 m. Kitaguchi was the only Japanese medalist of the day, but from 400 m through 3000 m Japanese athletes performed well, moving on into the finals almost across the board.  Both Masaki Toyoda (Rakunan H.S.) and Ryusei Fujii (Kokura Kogyo H.S.) won their boys' 400 mH sem...

by Brett Larner Japan's Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.) was the undisputed star of the first day of the World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia, turning in three championships record performances in three runs to win gold in the boys' 100 m.  With a 0.1 m/s headwind in his opening heat Sani Brown turned in a record 10.30 to tie his PB.  In the semifinals he again ran 10.30, but this time into a 1.2 m/s headwind.  No less a commentator than Ato Bolden was impressed, comparing Sani Brown to Usain Bolt in a Twitter exchange with Sani Brown's mother. @hakimom he should be. His first 2 rounds looked like Bolt’s Beijing Olympic 100m final. I’m predicting his winning time will be 10.15 WR — Ato Boldon (@AtoBoldon) July 16, 2015 The headwind was down to 0.4 m/s for the final, but while a clumsier than usual start cost him his chance at Yoshihide Kiryu 's 10.19 youth WR Sani Brown still had no trouble at all peeling away for the win in a new champion...

by Brett Larner Japan has entered a team of 41, 22 boys and 19 girls, for this week's World Youth Championships .  Its best medal chances come in the four events where it has the #1-ranked athlete, but 14 Japanese athletes factor into the top ten rankings in nine events to offer hope of a little more action. Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.) comes into the World Youth Championships ranked #1 in both the boys' 100 m and 200 m hot off finishing 2nd in both distances at last month's Japanese National Championships , the first Japanese high schooler post-war to make the podium in both.  Daisuke Miyamoto (Rakunan H.S.), from the same high school as 2014 World Junior Championships 100 m bronze medalist Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) joins Sani Brown in the top ten rankings in the 100 m, but for Sani Brown the main focus will be the 200 m where his best of 20.56 from Nationals last month is just off the Beijing World Championships qualification standard 20.50.  Should...

by Brett Larner Despite several close calls, Japan went empty-handed for the first three days of the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine.  Not until the July 13 race walks did its fortunes turn around.  In the women's 5000 m race walk, far behind Russian winner Olga Shargina 's world-leading 22:13.91,  Momoko Mizota  narrowly held off Noemi Stella  (Italy) for silver in a PB 22:42.77. Less than an hour later, Toshikazu Yamanishi  turned in Japan's only gold medal of the championships with a PB 41:53.80 in the men's 10000 m race walk, ten seconds ahead of silver medalist Maksim Krasnov  (Russia) and bronze medalist  Diego Garcia  (Spain).  Just behind in 4th, Yuga Yamashita  clocked a PB 42:07.94 but could not match Krasnov and Garcia on the final lap. On the final day of competition, both the women's and men's medley relay teams picked up bronze, the women behind the U.S.A. and, by a step, British Virgin Is...

2011 World Youth Games - Day Five Japanese Results Lille, France, 7/10/11 click here for complete results Boys' 3000 m Final 1. William Malel Sitonik (Kenya) - 7:40.10 - MR 2. Patrick Mutunga Mwikya (Kenya) - 7:40.47 - PB 3. Abrar Osman Adem (Eritrea) - 7:40.89 - PB ----- 9. Yuki Hirota (Japan) - 8:13.65 - PB 10. Yusuke Uchikoshi (Japan) - 8:14.91 - PB Boys' 200 m Final 1. Stephen Newbold (Bahamas) - 20.89 - PB 2. O'Dail Todd (Jamaica) - 21.00 - PB 3. Ronald Darby (U.S.A.) - 21.08 ----- 4. Akiyuki Hashimoto (Japan) - 21.21 Boys' Sprint Medley Relay Final 1. U.S.A. - 1.49.47 2. Japan - 1:50.69 - PB 3. France - 1:51.81 - PB Boys' Pole Vault Final 1. Robert Renner (Slovenia) - 5.25 m - PB 2. Melker Svard Jacobsson (Sweden) - 5.15 m 3. Jacob Blankenship (U.S.A.) - 5.05 m ----- 9. Ryohei Noda (Japan) - 4.80 m (c) 2011 Brett Larner all rights reserved

by Brett Larner Japan picked up its second medal of the 2011 IAAF World Youth Championships July 9 in Lille France, when hurdler Takahiro Matsumoto  ran a PB of 51.26 to win bronze in the boys' 400 mH.  Teammate Aya Takizawa  came close to equalling Matsumoto in the girls' 400 mH, where she ran a PB of 58.80 to finish 4th. In the sprints, Akiyuki Hashimoto  advanced to the boys' 200 m final with a 21.20 for 2nd in his semi, while the Japanese boys' sprint medley team won their heat easily to advance to the final where they should be in contention for a medal.   Masumi   Aoki ran a PB of 24.64 in the girls' 200 m but finished only 6th and did not advance. In other strong performances on the second-to-last day of competition, Shiho Takeda  ran a PB of 4:20.62 to finish 8th in the girls' 1500 m and Ryo Miyata  threw a PB of 63.29 in the boys' javelin semifinal but did not advance after finishing only 13th in his group. 2011 World Youth Champi...

2011 World Youth Championships - Day Two Japanese Results Lille, France, 7/8/11 click here for complete results Boys' 400 m Final 1. Arman Hall (U.S.A.) - 46.01 - PB 2. Alphas Leken Kishoyian (Kenya) - 46.58 3. Patryk Dobek (Poland) - 46.67 - PB 4. Machel Cedenio (Trinidad & Tobago) - 46.89 - PB 5. Takuya Fukunaga (Japan) - 47.16 - PB 6. Andre Wells (Bahamas) - 47.22 7. Brendon Restall (Canada) - 47.34 DNF - Sadam Suliman Koumi (Sudan) Boys' 110 mH Final 1. Andries van der Merwe (South Africa) - 13.41 2. Joshua Hawkins (New Zealand) - 13.44 - PB 3. Wilhem Belocian (France) - 13.51 - PB 4. Omar McLeod (Jamaica) - 13.61 - PB 5. Takumi Takahata (Japan) - 13.71 6. Tyler Mason (Jamaica) - 13.74 - PB 7. Mousa Mohammed Al Subyani (Saudi Arabia) - 13.81 - PB 8. Vyacheslav Shvydkyy (Ukraine) - 13.94 Girls' 5000 m Race Walk Final 1. Kate Veale (Ireland) - 21:45.59 - PB 2. Yanxue Mao (China) - 22:00.15 - PB 3. Nadezhda Leontyeva (Russia) - 22:00.84 - PB ...

by Brett Larner On the second day of the 2011 IAAF World Youth Championships , top-seeded sprinter Kazuma Oseto  delivered Japan's first medal of the games, winning silver in the boys' 100 m.  Oseto came to the Championships with the fastest PB in the field, but after a shaky semifinal he was just clipped in the final by Jamaica's O'dail Todd , who ran a PB 10.51 to win gold over Oseto's 10.52. Michael-Meba Zeze  of France rounded out the medals with a 10.57 for bronze.  The only other Japanese athlete of the day to make a final, Ai Yamauchi , finished last in the women's javelin throw where Germany's Christin Hussong threw a meet record 59.74 m for gold. In semi-final, heat and qualification round action, both Yuki Hirota  and Yusuke Uchikoshi  ran PBs to advance to the boys' 3000 m final on time, each finishing 5th in his heat.  Hurdlers Aya Takizawa , Shota Madokoro ,  Takahiro Matsumoto  and Takumi Takahata  likewise ran PBs to m...

by Brett Larner The Japanese team at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Lille, France by and large performed well on the first day of competition, with 15 of the 21 athletes competing in heats and qualification rounds advancing to the next stage.  Particularly strong were hurdler  Shota Madokoro , who won his heat of the boys' 400 mH in a PB of 53.46 and sprinters Anna Doi , Kazuma Oseto  and Kazuma Tsukamoto , all of whom won their 100 m heats.  Hurdlers Takahiro Matsumoto  and Ikumi Iida  also clocked new PBs to advance in their events. In the only final of the day to feature Japanese athletes, top high school runners Katsuki Suga  and Tomoka Kimura  turned in strong performances but were unable to break into the medals.  Kimura dictated the early pace, leading the race through a quick 2:58.83 first kilometer before team tactics led to a slow 3:07 second km.  In the blazing 2:51 final kilometer both Japanese runners lost touch a...

by Brett Larner click here to watch the IAAF World Youth Championships live online The IAAF World Youth Championships get underway tomorrow, July 6, in Lille, France. As is to be expected, Japan's best medal chances among its team of 37 come in the sprints and long distances. Kazuma Oseto (Ogura Higashi H.S.) comes to the boys' 100 m as the #1 seed, his PB of 10.39 leading the field. His teammates Kazuya Tsukamoto (Heisei H.S.) and Tatsuro Suwa (Yotsukaichi Kogyo H.S.) are also in the top eight on the entry list by PB, making the chances of at least one medal very good. All three runners are also on the list for the sprint medley relay, where the Japanese team is ranked 4th by a slim margin behind South Africa. Akiyuki Hashimoto (Sensatsu Seishukan H.S.) is ranked 3rd in the men's 200 m with a best of 20.91, Oseto and Suwa entered to double with marks not far off Hashimoto's. In the girls' 100 m Anna Doi (Saitama Sakae H.S.) is ranked 3rd by PB, 11.6...

by Brett Larner The identical twin Kyuma sisters Haruka and Moe made up the Japanese contingent in the girls' 3000 m on the first day of the 2009 World Youth Championships in Sudtirol, Italy. Moe Kyuma, who made a memorable impression with her dynamic performance at January's National Interprefectural Women's Ekiden, challenged the lead pack of Kenyans Purity Cherotich Rionoripo and Jackline Chepngeno and Ethiopians Genet Yalew and Emebet Anteneh. Unable to sustain what was for her and all but eventual winner Rionoripo a PB pace, Kyuma finished one second behind Anteneh in 5th, clocking 9:19.73. Haruka Kyuma, marginally the stronger of the sisters, had a weak showing as she finished second to last in 9:54.49. 2009 World Youth Championships - Top Finishers click division header for complete results Girls' 3000 m 1. Purity Cherotich Rionoripo (Kenya) - 9:03.79 2. Jackline Chepngeno (Kenya) - 9:05.93 - PB 3. Genet Yalew (Ethiopia) - 9:08.95 - PB 4. Emebet Anteneh (Eth...