japan running news

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201303/2013032900798&g=spo translated by Brett Larner The Fujitsu track and field team announced on Mar. 29 that men's 3000 m steeplechase national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu , 33, will leave the team at the end of March and retire from competition. Beginning April 1 he will take a position as an assistant coach with the Shiseido women's team. Iwamizu ran in both the Athens and Beijing Olympics. Beginning in 2001 he competed in five-straight World Championships, setting the Japanese national record of 8:18.93 at the 2003 Paris World Championships.

by Brett Larner Update: Half-marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku) has withdrawn with an injury to his left thigh.  Invited athlete Satoshi Yoshii  (Team Sumco) withdrew earlier in the week. Note for Canadian readers: My ability to cover Dylan and Steve live will be pretty limited, but I'll do what I can. Official Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon course preview video. This Sunday's  Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon  is the last chance for Japanese men to make the London Olympics marathon team.  With strong times of 2:07:48 and 2:08:38 from the top two Japanese men at last weekend's Tokyo Marathon and good conditions in the forecast we should see the top Japanese contenders gunning for Kazuhiro Maeda 's 2:08:38 Tokyo mark to have a shot at picking up an Olympic ticket.  If two of them do it Maeda will likely be left on the sidelines come August. Biwako, as the race is universally known in Japan, will be broadcast live and comm...

by Brett Larner Right on schedule the organizers of the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon , the last chance for Japanese men to make the London Olympics marathon team, have announced the complete field for this year's race.  Coming on Mar. 4 just a week after the Tokyo Marathon, Biwako, as the race is known in Japan, has managed to put together a strong international field, both at the front end and further back at the level where people will be trying to meet their countries' Olympic qualification times.  The clear favorites in the first category are 2:06 Kenyan Nicholas Manza  and 2:07 Ethiopian Bekana Daba , but with Japan based Kenyans Gideon Ngatuny  (Team Nissin Shokuhin) and Samuel Ndungu  (Team Aichi Seiko) on the list to make their debuts the lead pack could be deeper than usual.  Biwako has always been good to Spanish marathoners, and with sub-28 runner Ayad Lamdassem entered for an apparent debut it is possible that this year could see another one f...

by Brett Larner photos by Daniel Seite Suguru Osako, 2010 Ageo City Half Marathon winner. Waseda University first-year Suguru Osako ran his biggest performance yet Nov. 21 at the Ageo City Half Marathon, winning his half marathon debut in a new junior national record and junior Asian record of 1:01:47. Running in perfect conditions the 19 year-old Osako, who holds a 5000 m PB of 13:47.29 and a 10000 m PB of 28:35.75, battled it out with Kenyan Cosmas Ondiba (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) for 16 km ahead of a large chase pack before dropping a hard surge with 5 km to go and pulling away for the win with the largest margin of victory in Ageo history, 57 seconds. Following the race he told the Yomiuri newspaper , "That didn't feel like it was very long at all." Cosmas Ondiba (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) leads Osako and 3000 mSC national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu) at 3 km. Osako became only the third man to break 1:02 at Ageo and the fastest-ever Japanese runner to...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/flash/KFullFlash20101118070.html http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20101119k0000m050060000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On Nov. 18 Rikuren announced the elite field for this year's Fukuoka International Marathon scheduled for Dec. 5, the first of the domestic selection races for the 2011 World Championships marathon in Daegu, Korea. Beijing Olympics silver medalist and two-time World Championships gold medalist Jaouad Gharib (Morocco) leads the overseas invited field while a large group of Japanese elites will vie for a World Championships berth. The domestic field includes 2005 World Championships marathon bronze medalist Tsuyoshi Ogata (Team Chugoku Denryoku), 2009 World Championships marathon team member Satoshi Irifune (Team Kanebo), 5000 m and 30 km national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta), and in his marathon debut 3000 mSC national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu). Gharib will be run...

by Brett Larner Stanford University's Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational has long been a staple on the Japanese spring track calendar, with both the current men's and women's 10000 m national records set on the Stanford track. Beginning last year, however, the focus has shifted to include Berkeley's Brutus Hamilton Invitational thanks in part to the involvement of the NYRR Distance Carnival. This year the cream of the crop is headed north to Berkeley. The man to watch will be Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) in the 10000 m. At last year's Brutus Hamilton Invitational Sato ran his PB of 27:38.25, the all-time third-fastest Japanese men's time and just three seconds off the national record, after running 13:48.71 at the Mt. SAC Relays. At last week's Mt. SAC Sato ran a comfortable 13:44.70, kicking the last lap with ease. Taken together, an attempt on the national record of 27:35.09 looks likely if Sato has the competition to push him. Four other Japanese me...

by Brett Larner The Tokyo Marathon may be the biggest race happening in Japan on Feb. 28, but three other elite races also fall the same day. The most major of these is the Kumanichi 30 km Road Race in Kumamoto, Kyushu. The world's most competitive race at this distance, Kumanichi was until the last fall the site of the men's 30 km world record. In the field for this year's race are former marathon national record holder Atsushi Fujita (Team Fujitsu), steeplechase national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu), 2009 Ome 30 km winner Hirokatsu Kurosaki (Team Konica Minolta), Komazawa University ace Tsuyoshi Ugachi and New Year Ekiden winner Team Nissin Shokuhin member Bene Zama . The elite women's field is limited to three and is led by Chiharu Matsuo (Team Kyudenko). Further north in Aichi, the Inuyama Half Marathon has an interesting matchup between pro and university runners. Three members of 2009 and 2010 Hakone Ekiden winner Toyo University'...

Results: http://yabuinu2.blog18.fc2.com/ by Brett Larner Like everywhere track season is over in Japan, but with the major championship ekidens approaching over the next month for high schoolers, university runners and pros many top athletes spent this rare fall weekend without a major road race at one of the many track time trials held across the country. At the Hachioji Long Distance Time Trials in Tokyo's western suburbs, recently-graduated Masato Kihara (Team Kanebo) got back in the ring with a 28:09.38 to finish first in the 10000 m. Kihara joined Kanebo in April but was a DNS in every race he entered throughout the spring and summer. His pro debut came earlier this month with a so-so run at the East Japan Jitsugyodan Ekiden Championships, but with this 10000 m, just 3 seconds off his university-era PB, Kihara showed that he is back in form and ready to make the jump to pro running. In finishing 1st Kihara won by a margin of over 45 seconds and beat the likes of 5000 m and 30...

by Brett Larner Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) scored the silver medal in the women's marathon at the 2009 World Championships in a thrilling three-way battle against eventual winner Xue Bai (China) and bronze medalist Aselefech Mergia (Ethiopia), Japan's first silver medal at the World Championships since Mizuki Noguchi finished second to Catherine Ndereba in the 2003 Paris World Championships. Holding the fastest qualifying time on the Japanese team, 2:23:30 at last year's Tokyo International Women's Marathon, Ozaki was a question mark coming into Worlds after a spring of injury and an absence from media coverage, but her powerful, efficient form was clearly operating at 100% right from the start. When Russian Nailiya Yulamanova attacked after a moderately-paced first 30 km Ozaki was one of only three athletes to follow. Men's steeplechase national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu came to the rescue when Ozaki missed her special drink shortly afterwards. In th...

Click here to enter JRN's World Championships marathon prediction contest for a chance to win a 2009 Japanese national team singlet. by Brett Larner Japan made little impact on the second day of competition at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin as its sprinters came up flat. Click event in summaries below for complete results. -Beijing Olympics men's 4x100m relay bronze medalist Naoki Tsukahara had vowed to become the first Japanese sprinter to break 10.0 seconds in the open men's 100 m and to make the final at the World Championships. Despite making the semi final comfortably, Tsukahara had an off run as he finished last in his semi final heat in only 10.25. - Women's 100 m national record holder Chisato Fukushima became the first Japanese woman to advance to the quarter final in a world-level championships 100 m but just missed out on making the semi final by 0.03 seconds. 2009 national champion Momoko Takahashi did not advance past the first round of heats. - ...

by Brett Larner Despite Japan's outstanding record of three gold, four silver and five bronze medals in the marathon over the last nine World Championships, there is no escaping the harsh reality that Masako Chiba's bronze in the women's 10000 at the 1997 Athens World Championships is its only track distance event hardware. There may be little chance of any of the eight runners Japan will send to the 5000 m, 10000 m and 3000 mSC at this year's Berlin World Championships finishing in the medals or even making the finals, but the team nevertheless features several compelling young athletes worth keeping an eye on. Below is a quick guide to the members of the Japanese distance squad listed by event. All times and dates listed are local Berlin time. Women's 3000 mSC - Heats: 10:50 a.m., 8/15 - Final: 8:30 p.m., 8/17 Nearly 37, Minori Hayakari is the oldest runner in the field by a wide margin but has continued to improve over the last few years, a memorable fall at t...

by Brett Larner Berlin World Championships marathoner Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) scored her first national track title on June 25, winning the women's 10000 m in 31:57.44 on the first day of the 2009 Japanese National Track and Field Championships. With Japan-based foreigners allowed to run in Nationals for the first time in eight years, Kenyan high school sensation Bitan Karoki (Sera H.S.) wiped the track with the field of top professional and university runners to win the men's 5000 m in 13:35.39, while national record holder and seven-time national champion Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu) added another notch to his belt with an 8:36.17 win in the men's 3000 m steeplechase. Runners-up Yukari Sahaku (Team Aruze) and Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) also scored headlines by gaining places on the World Championships team in the women's 10000 m and men's 5000 m, while aces Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) and Kensuke Takezawa (Team S&B) fell flat. In field events, the l...

by Brett Larner The middle distances are where Japan falls the shortest at the international level, highlighting its runners' lack of pure speed in the gap between the elements of technique in the sprints and endurance in the longer events. Nevertheless, at the national level there have been some strong performances in recent years' championships. No athletes hold World Championships qualifying marks in either the men's or women's 800 m. Student runner Masato Yokota (Keio Univ.) is by far the fastest in the men's 800 m and should pick up the national title, but his best of 1:47.16 comes up short of the B-standard. In the women's 800 m too no one is likely to challenge Ayako Jinnouchi (Team Kyudenko), but with a best time of 2:03.42 she will be staying home with her national title come August. The women's 1500 m may feature a good battle between defending national champion Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) and national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi (Tea...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2009060600345 translated and edited by Brett Larner At the first of the six Hokuren Distance Challenge meets in Sapporo, Hokkaido on June 6, Japanese national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu) was 2nd overall and top Japanese in the men's 3000 m steeplechase in a time of 8:34.95. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) won the men's 1500 m in 3:46.64. Berlin World Championships 50 km race walker Atsushi Yamazaki (Team Hasegawa) won the men's 5000 m race walk in 19:31.11. World Championships women's 20 km race walker Masumi Fuchise (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) won the women's 5000 m in 21:37.25.

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20090204k0000m050050000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Rikuren has announced the lineup for the Chiba International Cross Country Meet to take place Feb. 15. As a selection race for the Japanese national team for this year's Jordan World Cross Country Championships in March, the Chiba XC Meet has attracted a range of top athletes looking to represent their nation. The men's 12000 m race includes 3000 m steeplechase Olympian Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu), 2009 Interprefectural Ekiden 7th stage winner Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku), two-time Olympic marathoner Jon Brown (Canada/U.K.) and 2009 Shibuya New Ekiden 1st stage winner Jason Lawrence (New Zealand). The women's 6000 m race features Beijing Olympics 5000 m runner Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki), 2007 World Championships 6th place finisher Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC), and veteran Harumi Hiroyama (Team Shiseido). In the junior men's 8000 m rac...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20081218k0000m050058000c.html translated by Brett Larner The Jitsugyodan Track and Field Federation released the entry lists on Dec. 17 for the upcoming 53rd New Year Ekiden , the championship event for Japan's professional male runners. This year's roster is packed with Beijing Olympians. Defending champion Team Konica Minolta's squad includes 5000 m and 10000 m runner Takayuki Matsumiya. 2007 winner Team Chugoku Denryoku will field marathoners Tsuyoshi Ogata and Sato Atsushi. The third Beijing marathoner, Satoshi Osaki, who withdrew from the Olympic marathon with an injury, is back in form to lead Team NTT Nishi Nihon. Team Fujitsu's lineup features 3000 m steeplechaser Yoshitaka Iwamizu, a newcomer to the team in 2008. Team Kanebo is led by Satoshi Irifune, who was the top Japanese finisher and 2nd overall at the Fukuoka International Marathon earlier this month, becoming the first man to be named to the Japanese national marathon ...

by Brett Larner Men's 3000 m SC Heats National record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu ran 8:29.80 in the first heat, just 0.05 seconds off his winning time from June's National Track and Field Championships but far from his national record of 8:18.93. Iwamizu finished 9th in his heat and did not advance to the final. Women's 400 m Asami Tanno was Japan's first woman in an Olympic 400 m in 44 years. She ran 52.60 in the fifth heat, finishing 4th but failing to advance to the next round. Men's 100 m 2008 National Champion Naoki Tsukahara ran against big names Asafa Powell of Jamaica and Tyson Gay of the U.S.A. in the second heat of the men's 100 m semifinal. Tsukahara ran a season best 10.16, just 0.01 off his personal best, but finished 7th and did not advance to the final. Women's 100 m In Beijing Japan fielded its first woman in an Olympic 100 m in 56 years. Chisato Fukushima ran 11.74 in the 5th heat, a time she called, "no good at all" in a post-ra...

by Brett Larner Men`s 3000 m SC Yoshitaka Iwamizu Born: June 20, 1979, Aichi Prefecture Team Affiliation: Fujitsu Olympic Event PB: 8:18.93, 2003 – NR Season Highlights: -6th place, Memorial Leon Buyle 3000m: 7:55.90, 7/26/08 -12th place, DN Galan 3000m SC: 8:34.05, 7/22/08 -National Champion, 3000m SC: 8:29.75, 6/29/08 -Top Japanese finisher, World XC Championships, 4/5/08 Career Highlights: -NR, 3000m SC: 8:18.93, 2003 -Asian Champion, 3000m SC, 2005 -National Champion, 3000m SC, 2001-2005, 2007-2008 -Athens Olympics, 3000m SC, 2004 -World T&F Championships, 3000m SC, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 -World XC Championships, 2004, 2006, 2008 Like Minori Hayakari in the women`s steeplechase, Yoshitaka Iwamizu is the undisputed master of the Japanese men`s 3000m SC world. The national record holder and former Asian champion, Iwamizu has competed in the last four World Championships, the Athens Olympics, and has won the National Championships every year but one since 2001. Although he won ...

by Brett Larner Men`s 3000 m steeplechase national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu) competed in the DN Galan track and field meet in Stockholm, Sweden on July 22nd. Iwamizu had a weak performance, finishing 12th of 14 competitors in a time of 8:34.05. His time was over 4 seconds slower than his winning time at last month`s National Track and Field Championships and well off his national record of 8:18.93. Iwamizu now enters his final training for next month`s Beijing Olympic Games. Complete results are available here . (c) 2008 Brett Larner all rights reserved

by Brett Larner Men`s 1500 m National record holder Fumikazu Kobayashi (Team NTN) won the 1500 m final thanks to a bizarre accident in the final meters of the race. After an extremely slow 65 second first lap, Makoto Fukui (Team Fujitsu) ran away from the field, running 62 and 60 for the second and third laps and opening a sizeable lead. With 300 m to go, first Yasuhiro Tago (Team Chugoku Denryoku), then Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) and finally Kobayashi started to kick, quickly reeling Fukui in. All three passed him just before the home straight, with Watanabe pulling away and Tago just behind. Meters from the finish, Watanabe abruptly appeared to succumb to sudden exhaustion, losing his balance over the course of several steps and falling flat just before the line. Tago had to jump over the fallen Watanabe, losing his balance just long enough for Kobayashi to duck past. Kobayashi`s time of 3:49.96 was nowhere near the Olympic A or B-standards, but his B-standard qualify...