japan running news

The men's marathon aside, the third day of competition at the London World Championships was largely a bust for the Japanese team. Out of thirteen athletes in five disciplines only two advanced out of the opening rounds. In the men's 110 m hurdles National Championships 3rd-placer Genta Masuno advanced to the semifinals with a time of 13.58 (+1.3 m/s) for 4th in his heat, but unable to better that performance in his semi he failed to make the final. 400 m hurdles national champion Takatoshi Abe did better, taking 2nd in his heat in 49.65 to move on to Monday's semifinals. London World Championships Day Three Japanese Results London, England, 8/6/17 click here for complete results Men's 110 m Hurdles Heat 1   (-1.2 m/s) 1. Omar McLeod (Jamaica) - 13.23 - Q 2. Balazs Baji (Hungary) - 13.35 - Q 3. Eddie Lovett (Virgin Islands) - 13.41 - Q ----- 7. Shunya Takayama (Japan) - 13.65 Men's 110 m Hurdles Heat 2   (+1.3 m/s) 1. Devon Allen (U.S.A.) - 13.26 ...

After some last-minute qualifications and IAAF invitations, Japan will field a team of 50 including three alternates for next week's London World Championships . Javelin throw national record holder Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) was named captain of the women's team of 14, with marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) captaining the men's team of 36. The complete Japanese roster with best times within the London qualifying window: Men's Sprints Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) -  100 m / 200 m  10.05 / 20.32 Shuhei Tada (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) -  100 m - 10.08 Aska Cambridge (Nike) -  100 m - 10.08 Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) -  200 m - 20.40 Takamasa Kitagawa (Juntendo Univ.) -  400 m - 45.48 Additional Relay Members Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) -  4x100 m - 10.04 Kenji Fujimitsu (Zenrin) - 4x100 m - 20.47 Kazushi Kimura (Yondenko) -  4x400 m - 45.54 Kentaro Sato (Fujitsu) -  4x400 m - 45.67 Yuzo Kanemaru (...

At a JAAF event at the British Embassy in Tokyo on July 21, marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (30, Saitama Pref. Gov't) was named men's captain of the Japanese national team for next month's London World Championships. Javelin throw national record holder Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) was chosen as women's captain. In a wide-ranging and impassioned speech 4 minutes and 20 seconds long, Kawauchi stoked the team's morale as he told attendees, "I think that there are athletes here today who look at London as just a checkpoint along the way to the Tokyo Olympics. But as a representative of Japan it is not enough just to be there competing. I feel it strongly. You must produce results at this event, the London World Championships. This is the task assigned to each and every one of us. It is critical that we work seriously to achieve our goals. The Japanese people want nothing less. What can we as athletes do for them? More than just wearing the uniform, each of us...

The JAAF has made a series of announcements over the last week confirming additions to its small team for next month's London World Championships. Along with previously announced rosters for track and field events, combined events and road events, the following athletes have been added to the Japanese team. Relay members are pending IAAF confirmation. The final complete team roster is expected next week. Men's 400 m Hurdles Ryo Kajiki (Josai Univ.) - 49.33 Yusuke Ishida (Waseda Univ.) - 49.35 Men's 3000 m Steeplechase Hironori Tsuetaki (Fujitsu) - 8:29.05 Men's 4 x 400 m Relay Yuzo Kanemaru (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 45.76 Kosuke Horii (Sumitomo Denko) - 45.88 Women's Javelin Throw Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 61.95 m © 2017 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

by Brett Larner 20-year-old Miyuki Uehara (Team Daiichi Seimei) became only the second Japanese woman ever to qualify for an Olympic 5000 m final, boldly fruntrunning her heat to make it through on the fifth day of athletics competition at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.  Just 6th at June's National Championships, her 15:21.40 PB was enough to put her on the Olympic team over three athletes ahead of her without the Olympic standard.  Pre-race her coach Sachiko Yamashita , the 1991 Tokyo World Championships marathon silver medalist and 1992 Barcelona Olympics marathon 4th-placer, told her simply , "Be aggressive."  Uehara took that to heart. Rocketing out at sub-15 pace close to the Japanese national record while the rest of the field completely ignored her, she quickly had a lead of at least 50 m. It's been relatively common in recent years to see Japanese runners frontrun on the track at world-level championships but rarely so dramatically.  Leading past 3000 m w...

http://www.nikkansports.com/olympic/rio2016/athletics/news/1679300.html translated by Brett Larner On July 15 JAAF Development Committee Chariman Kazunori Asaba announced that the JAAF's target for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics is "one medal and five top eight finishes."  The JAAF expects "at least one medal" from among the men's 4x100 m relay, 20 km race walk, 50 km race walk and women's marathon.  He cited the women's 10000 m and other events as possibilities for top eight placers.  In response to questions from reporters about why the goals were so modest Asaba answered uncomfortably, "Well, we're talking about the Olympics.  This is a realistic assessment." Pole vault national record holder Daichi Sawano (Team Fujitsu) was named captain of the men's team, with javelin throw national record holder Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) named women's captain.

by Brett Larner videos c/o JAAF click here for Day One results, video and report click here for Day Three results, video and report The prospect of seeing Japan's first sub-10 100 m packed the house on the second day of the Japanese National Championships , an almost sold-out crowd of over 26,000 braving rain to fill Nagoya's mostly uncovered Paloma Mizuho Stadium.  Athletes in the other events responded to the energy, and two university students went beyond themselves to find what it took to make it to Rio. The race of the day was the women's 3000 m steeplechase.  Right from the gun collegiate and junior national record holder Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) was out fast, going through 1000 m in 3:08 with a sizable lead over a chase group of four.  Chikako Mori (Sekisui Kagaku), winner of last month's East Japan Corporate Championships 3000 mSC, dropped the pack to chase Takamizawa down over the next 1000 m, making contact right at 2000 m in 6:24.  T...

Beijing, China, 8/28/15 click here for complete results Women's 20 km Race Walk 1. Hong Liu (China) - 1:27:45 2. Xiuzhi Lu (China) - 1:27:45 3. Lyudmyla Olyanovska (Ukraine) - 1:28:13 4. Ana Cabecinha (Portugal) - 1:29:29 5. Antonella Palmisano (Italy) - 1:29:34 ----- 25. Kumiko Okada (Japan) - 1:34:56 Men's High Jump Qualification Group A 1. Derek Drouin (Canada) - 2.31 m - Q 2. Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) - 2.31 m - Q 3. Brandon Starc (Australia) - 2.13 m - PB - Q ----- 15. Naoto Tobe (Japan) - 2.26 m 16. Takashi Eto (Japan) - 2.22 m Men's High Jump Qualification Group B 1. Guowei Zhang (China) - 2.31 m - Q 2. Bohdan Bondarenko (Ukraine) - 2.31 m - Q 3. Dimitrios Chondrokoukis (Cyprus) - 2.31 m - Q ----- 16. Yuji Hiramatsu (Japan) - 2.17 m Women's Javelin Throw Qualification Group A 1. Britney Borman (U.S.A.) - 64.22 m - Q 2. Christina Obergfull (Germany) - 64.10 m - Q 3. Sunette Vilioen (South Africa) - 63.93 m - Q ----- 9. Yuki Ebihara...

by Brett Larner On Aug. 4 the JAAF released the full Japanese team for the 2015 Beijing World Championships later this month.  Men's 20 km racewalk world record holder Yusuke Suzuki (Team Fujitsu) leads the team along with national record holders Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tec AC, women's 100 m and 200 m), Anna Doi (Daito Bunka Univ., women's 100 m Jr. NR), Asami Chiba (Toho Ginko, women's 400 m), Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project, men's 5000 m), Yuki Yamazaki (SDF Academy, men's 50 km racewalk), Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC, women's javelin throw) and Keisuke Ushiro (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC, men's decathlon) plus 2015 World Youth Games record-setting double 100 m and 200 m gold medalist Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.), at 16 the youngest-ever member of a Japanese World Championships team.  Full team roster: Sprints and Relays Men's 100 m, 200 m and 4x100 m Relay Kei Takase (Team Fujitsu) - 10.09 -0.1 m/s / 20.14 +1....

by Brett Larner click here for Day Two and Day Three results  videos by 陸上競技動画集 and naoki620 As expected, the men's 200 m brought a lot of the excitement to the opening day of the 2015 Japanese National Track and Field Championships.  The three favorites Kei Takase (Team Fujitsu), Kenji Fujimitsu (Zenrin) and Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) all won their heats, Fujimitsu bringing the fastest time of the day in 20.37 +0.9, but the biggest news came just behind Iizuka in Heat Three as 16-year-old Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.) ran a world youth lead 20.56 +1.4 for 2nd, making the final.  Sani Brown's time put him well ahead of teen sprint sensation Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) on the all-time world youth lists , coming in at #7.  And the final is yet to come. The women's 10000 m was another highlight as defending champion Kasumi Nishihara (Team Yamada Denki) kept her head through a turbulent race and letting the people who still needed to chase a Wor...

by Brett Larner videos by aoshin0507 With heavy rain and wind hitting most of the country, collegiate road 10 km national record holder Kasumi Nishihara  (Team Yamada Denki) moved up the ranks with her first national title, winning the women's 10000 m in 32:37.23 to cap the first day of competition at the 2014 Japanese National Track and Field Championships in Fukushima.  In a close and tactical race that included most of the favorites from last year's record-setting edition, Nishihara and Yamada Denki teammate Shiho Takechi didn't move clear until the final lap, racing each other to the line with Nishihara claiming the national title by 0.46 seconds.  Favorite Ayumi Hagiwara (Team Uniqlo), showing vulnerability in recent races after a very strong winter season, was unable to match the YD pair's closing speed as she took 3rd in 32:41.56 with 4th through 11th places within ten seconds of her. In the day's only other distance event, 2007 men's 3000 mSC...

by Brett Larner click here for live streaming With the Japanese Federation getting serious about this fall’s Asian Games as Japan’s buildup to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gets underway, Fukushima plays host to the 98th edition of the National Track and Field Championships this weekend. Several events have seen national records fall this season, and there is the potential for more including one key distance record. Friday Friday’s main long distance race is the women’s 10000 m. Last year Hitomi Niiya lapped the entire field to set a meet record of 31:06.67 for the win, but with Niiya apparently serious about her retirement last year’s 2nd through 4th-place finishers will have a go at succeeding her for the national title. 2013 runner-up Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Kagaku) made a decent marathon debut at London in April and will be returning to the track for her first major race since then. Ayumi Hagiwara (Team Uniqlo) has run big for most of the year since finishing 3rd behing...

by Brett Larner On the seventh day of competition at the 2013 Moscow World Championships, national champions Hitomi Shimura  (Saga T&F Assoc.) and Yuki Ebihara  (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) were both eliminated in the opening rounds of the women's 100 m hurdles and women's javelin.  200 m men Kei Takase  (Team Fujitsu) and Yuichi Kobayashi  (Team NTN) were likewise cut out in the heats, Kobayashi run down in the final meters of Heat Four after running virtually even with world record holder Usain Bolt  (Jamaica) coming off the curve.  2010 world junior champion Shota Iizuka  (Chuo Univ.) took 3rd in Heat Six to advance to the semi-finals, but with only a slight improvement there he was unable to advance to the final.  Iizuka remains the anchor of the Japanese men's 4x100 m relay team, but the team's hopes have been dimmed by the withdrawal of ace Ryota Yamagata (Keio Univ.) with a hamstring injury sustained in the 100 m heats. Moscow World ...

by Brett Larner photos by Mika Tokairin videos by okukon Reaching all-time Japanese #3 for 10000 m with a 30:59.19 at the London Olympics, last year's 5000 m women's national champion Hitomi Niiya  (Team Universal Ent.) took her first 10000 m national title in aggressive style June 7 at the first day of the Japanese National Track and Field Championships , lapping the entire field as she soloed a meet record 31:06.67 to secure a place on the Moscow World Championships team and earn the #2 spot in the world so far this year, less than two seconds behind Beijing Olympics bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan 's 31:04.85. Running in the lead pack through 3000 m in 9:32, Niiya dropped a 3:00 split for the fourth km to blow the race apart and go it alone.  Pushing on, she ran alone right on national record pace for the final 7000 m split, picking off the rest of the field one by one and, in the home straight, kicking past eventual 2nd, 3rd and 4th-place finishers Yuko Shimizu ...