japan running news

by Brett Larner Click here for JRN's sprints, hurdles and field events preview. This weekend's 96th Japanese National Track & Field Championships in Osaka double as Japan's Olympic Trials for the 2012 London Olympics.  Any athlete holding an A-standard Olympic qualifying mark who wins his or her event will be guaranteed a place in London, with the remaining spots decided through federation consideration within the constraints of a maximum of three A-standard entrants or one B-standard entrant in any one event.  The complete Olympic team lineup for individual events will be announced on Monday following the Trials, meaning that the only time chasing that will be allowed after the Trials is by people already on the team in one event looking to double.  For most, there will be no other chance. It's no secret that Japanese middle distance is far below the level of both its long distance and sprinting systems.  The extent to which that's due to athletes being ...

by Brett Larner This weekend's main track action came at regional high school championships across the country as Japan's best young distance athletes sought places at the July 29-Aug. 2 National High School Track & Field Championships  in Niigata.  The most noteworthy results came in the girls' 3000 m, where three regions saw the top pair go under the meet record.   Miyuki Uehara  (Kagoshima Joshi H.S.) made headlines with a prefectural record 9:06.91 MR at the Kagoshima regional meet, the fastest time of the weekend.  Uehara was so dominating that runner-up Misuzu Nakahara  (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.), the only other woman to go under 9:20 this weekend, was also under the old meet record but nearly 10 seconds behind. Uehara certainly looks like the favorite for this summer's national meet, despite the best efforts of rivals Sakiko Naito  (Funabashi Shiritsu H.S.), who set a MR 9:21.60 at the Chiba regional meet, and Miki Hirai  (Shiroishi H....

http://www.townnews.co.jp/0104/2012/05/31/146074.html translated and edited by Brett Larner At the May 13 Sendai International Half Marathon, Team Panasonic's Asami Kato  (21) made news when she won in a PB of 1:11:21.  A week later her teammate Mika Yoshikawa  (27) convincingly won the 5000 m at the East Japan Corporate Track & Field Championships.  We talked to these two women who represent the 2011 National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships runner-up Panasonic's talented group based in the Saedocho of Yokohama. Set on the Olympics Yoshikawa won five-straight national 1500 m titles.  Switching her focus to the 5000 m and 10000 m last year, she is the Panasonic team's star runner.  Winning the 54th East Japan Corporate Track & Field Championships women's 5000 m on May 20 in a time of 15:33.48, she was awarded the meet's fighting spirit award. "I was focused on placing well to help me visualize Nationals in June," she says, look...

Hayward Field, Eugene, OR, 6/1/12 click here for complete results 1. Wilson Kiprop - 27:01.98 - PB 2. Moses Ndiema Masai - 27:02.25 3. Bitan Karoki (Team S&B) - 27:05.50 - PB 4. Emmanuel Kipkemei Bett - 27:07.90 5. Geoffrey Kirui - 27:08.44 6. Lucas Kimeli Rotich - 27:09.38 7. Eliud Kipchoge - 27:11.93 8. Mark Kosgei Kiptoo - 27:18.22 9. Micah Kemboi Kogo - 27:23.04 10. Mike Kipruto Kigen - 2723.75 - PB 11. Paul Kipngetich Tanui (Team Kyudenko) - 27:27.56 12. Denis Masai - 27:32.79 - PB 13. Josphat Kipkoech Bett - 27:39.65 14. Kevin Chelimo - 27:46.10 15. Titus Kipjumba Mbishei - 27:59.15 Pre-race Athletics Kenya announced that the top two finishers would earn guaranteed places on the Kenyan Olympic team, with the third spot decided at a later date.  Saitama-based Karoki's PB run was thus not enough to assure that he will make it to the London. In the women's 10000 m, Aomori Yamada H.S. graduate and former Suzuki team member Lucy Kabuu Wangui  dropped ...

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/0005100503.shtml translated by Brett Larner The hope of the junior high world, Chikashi Ikeda  (Kakogawa Yamanote J.H.S.) is in great shape.  At a time trial meet at Baycom Field in Amagasaki on May 25 he ran 8:21.22 for 3000 m, breaking the seven-year-old J.H.S. national record.  Following closely behind a star runner from the illustrious Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. team, he ran with determination and surprised even himself when he crossed the finish line.  "Did I really run that fast?" he asked in open shock. Throughout the run Ikeda tailed Keisuke Nakatani  (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.).  "He threw is some wild surges but I stuck with him," said Ikeda.  The pair split 2:50 through 1000 m and 5:38 through 2000 m, with Ikeda running a 2:43 final 1000 m.  With each lap Ikeda's turnover increased as the pace got faster and faster from what was planned.  He ran out of gas with one lap to go, taking 70 seconds fo...

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000059044&story_title=Tanui-arrives-in-Eugene-for-Kenya-Olympics-trial-

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/okayama/news/20120530-OYT8T01297.htm?from=topics_p_osaka translated by Brett Larner The Bizen Municipal Track & Field Association held a public pilgrimage from City Hall to Ebisu Shrine starting at midnight on May 30 to pray for the fortunes of locally-born London Olympics marathoner Risa Shigetomo  (24, Team Tenmaya).  Held at the unusual starting time in order to coordinate with the TAFISA World Challenge Day international amateur sports and physical fitness promotion event, the 1.2 km pilgrimage was billed by organizers as "The earliest walk in Japan."  37 members of the Bizen City Junior Track & Field Club, to which Shigetomo belonged during her days a student at Bizen J.H.S., took part. Participants arrived at Ebisu Shrine roughly 20 minutes after leaving City Hall, their journey ending with a climb up steep stone steps to the shrine leaving them a little out of breath on their arrival.  Shigetomo's former coach a...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120530-959350.html translated and edited by Brett Larner The highlight of the first half of track season, the 96th National Track and Field Championships , is getting set to kick off June 8-10 at Osaka's Nagai Stadium.  Doubling as the Japanese Olympic Trials, any athlete holding an Olympic A-qualifying mark who wins their event at Nationals will earn their place on the Olympic team then and there.  The day after the Championships, June 11, the complete Olympic team apart from relay squads will be announced. Having failed in her bid to make the marathon squad, multiple national record holder Kayoko Fukushi  (30, Team Wacoal), will seek for her third-straight Olympic 5000 m and 10000 m double.  If she is anywhere near her normal strength there is almost no chance she will lose the 10000 m. If anyone can score an upset it will be Hitomi Niiya  (24, Team Universal Entertainment).  In her 10000...