japan running news

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2009061900932 translated and edited by Brett Larner Women's marathoner Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) began going to Tokyo's National Sport Science Center on June 19 to undergo muscle-strengthening work and rehabilitation for the left leg problem which has plagued her since last summer when she abandoned her Olympic gold medal defense shortly before the Beijing Olympics. Unable to train seriously, Noguchi has indefinitely postponed plans of a comeback race. Noguchi's trainer Hisakazu Hirose told reporters, "It's not that she can't run at all, but when we put any serious strain on the weakened muscles the pain comes back. The balance of muscles on her left and right side has deteriorated, so we're just going to wait until it seems 100% healed." Noguchi's group has given up on hopes of an autumn comeback and is resigned to a long wait. She most recently began jogging again in May but gave up when the pain returne...

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2009061900760 http://sports.nikkei.co.jp/index.aspx?n=SSXKF0540%2019062009 translated and edited by Brett Larner On June 19 Rikuren released the elite field for this year's 52nd Sapporo International Half Marathon , to be held July 5. Headlining the men's field of 8 invited athletes is world record holder and Beijing Olympics men's marathon gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya. The domestic elite men's field includes Berlin World Championships marathoners Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku) and Arata Fujiwara (Team JR Higashi Nihon) as well as 2008 World Half Marathon 5th place finisher Yusei Nakao (Team Toyota Boshoku). The women's field of 11 is led by three of Japan's World Championships marathon squad, defending champion Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC), Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo), and Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido). Also in the field are Beijing Olympics marathoner Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya), 2008 Hono...

by Brett Larner Click here for photos from the 100 km World Cup. Japan's Yasukazu Miyazato upset defending world champion Giorgio Calcaterra of Italy to take the men's 100 km title at the 2009 IAU 100 km World Cup in Belgium on June 19. The Japanese men likewise took the team title thanks to Masakazu Takahashi's 5th place and Mitsuru Shinohara's 11th place finishes. All three Japanese men broke the 7 hour mark, and the team's 4th and 5th men Toru Sakuta and Shinji Nakadai were both in the top 25. The course consisted of five loops of approximately 20 km each. Brazil's Marcio De Oliveira took the early lead, covering the first loop in 1:28:17. A chase pack including Miyazato, Takahashi, Calcaterra, Daniel Oralek of the Czech Republic and Italian Antonio Armuzzi sat nearly a minute back. On the second loop De Oliveira accelerated while Oralek and the two Japanese runners held a steady pace. The two Italians lost contact with the chase pack. By the end of the thi...

by Brett Larner The 2009 Japanese National Track and Field Championships take place June 25-28 in Hiroshima. Winning athletes who hold a World Championships A or B qualifying mark will be automatically selected for the national team Japan will send to Berlin in August. Listed below are the top entrants in each event and the date and time of the finals. Athletes in red possess a valid World Championships A-standard, those in black a valid B-standard, and those in white have yet to qualify. Color marks in the PB column indicate whether the athlete has at some point in his or her career met the World Championships standards. Click on each list for a larger version. Click here for track event entry lists, here for complete entry lists in Japanese, or here for a complete timetable in Japanese. June 25, 10:00 a.m. - Men's Decathlon 100 m June 25, 11:00 a.m. - Men's Decathlon Long Jump June 25, 1:00 p.m. - Women's High Jump June 25, 1:00 p.m. - Men's Discus Throw June 25,...

http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=51194.html The headline of this article is mistaken. The article is actually a preview of the IAU 100 km World Cup.

by Brett Larner The 2009 Japanese National Track and Field Championships begin one week from today, and entry lists and a timetable are now available. As in past years, any athlete holding a World Championships A or B standard qualifying mark who wins his or her event will automatically be named to the national team for this summer's Berlin World Championships. Qualified athletes who do not win their event at Nationals will have to wait until the end of the qualification window later in the summer to find out whether they will be selected. A new element in this year's Championships is the inclusion of foreign-born athletes who reside in Japan, athletes who had in recent years been barred from taking part. Some noteworthy details include: The absence of women's 10000 m national record holder and defending national champion Yoko Shibui. Shibui is running the marathon in Berlin but has been sidelined from competition all spring with injuries. Men's 400 mH national record ...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20090613-OHT1T00006.htm http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/090612/spg0906121630002-n1.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner On June 12, Berlin World Championships marathoner Kazuhiro Maeda (28, Team Kyudenko) went to the Osaka headquarters of sporting goods manufacturer Mizuno to have measurements taken for the custom shoes he will wear in August's race in Berlin. The measurement process took two hours and included the creation of a mold of Maeda's feet, high speed camera recording of his stride pattern, and timing tests of various points of contact between his feet and the ground as he ran. "That was pretty tough," he laughed afterwards. In his debut marathon in Tokyo in March Maeda was the top Japanese finisher and 2nd overall against a field of international runners with best times as fast as 2:04. A proven speed runner with World Championships 10000 m track credentials to his name, Maeda is training with the expectatio...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/olympic/news/2009/06/16/03.html translated by Brett Larner Berlin World Championships women's marathoner Yoshiko Fujinaga (27, Team Shiseido) has received special permission from Rikuren's development committee to run in the National Track and Field Championships 10000 m on June 25 in Hiroshima. Fujinaga has not cleared the meet qualification standard of 32:30, but, said one of Rikuren's major officials, "in terms of potential for development she is a valuable athlete and came highly recommended." Fujinaga earned her spot on the World Championships marathon team by winning March's Nagoya International Women's Marathon in her debut over the distance. Since then she has focused on track work to improve her speed. She now stands in the position of being the athlete most strongly expected to make a significant jump in performance.