japan running news

http://www.nikkansports.com/olympic/rio2016/athletics/news/1688993.html translated by Brett Larner The three women of Japan's Rio de Janeiro Olympics marathon squad held a press conference at their training base at Princeton University in New Jersey on Aug. 3 local time, Aug. 4 Japan time. Kayoko Fukushi (34, Team Wacoal) arrived at the training base on Aug. 1 after training at altitude in Boulder, Colorado for the last month.  After experiencing pain in the fifth metatarsal on her right foot in June she cancelled plans to run in a tuneup half marathon, but, she said with a weary laugh, "Coach had me running plenty in Boulder.  I put in a truckload of training." Mai Ito (32, Team Otsuka Seiyaku) said, "I've run 11 marathons so far, and for all of them I prepared seriously.  This time is no different.  I think I'm ready." Tomomi Tanaka (28, Team Daiichi Seimei), looked relaxed from start to finish as she talked about her race plan, saying, ...

by Brett Larner video by Ekiden News The 2016 Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships wrapped up yesterday, highlighted by new high school national records in the girls' 4x400 m relay and boys' pole vault and meet records in those events and the boys' 5000 m race walk, boys' 4x400 m relay and boys' octathlon.  18 events saw athletes break into the all-time Japanese junior and high school top ten lists, a sign of the all-around high level of competition this year. The boys' 5000 mRW was unusually action-packed, with 12 boys breaking the meet record.  Girls' middle and long distance were also strong, with 7 girls under 2:08 in the 800 m, 9 under 4:20 in the 1500 m and 9 under 9:10 in the 3000 m.  In these and other events the top times were even good enough to get into and in some cases top  the U.S.A. high school top ten lists for the year . Below is a list of records and all-time top ten Japanese junior and high school marks set a...

On Aug. 3 the JAAF announced that 19-year-old Kazuya Shiojiri , a second-year at Juntendo University who placed 2nd in June's National Championships 3000 m steeplechase , has been added to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic team.  Shiojiri will race the 3000 mSC heats on Aug. 15.  A translation of the official press release: 31st Olympic Games (2016 / Rio de Janeiro) Addition to Japanese Olympic Team Following an invitation from the IAAF to run in the men's 3000 m steeplechase at the 31st Olympic Games to be held Friday, August 5 to Sunday, August 21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we wish to announce that Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo University) has been added to the Japanese Olympic Team. Kazuya Shiojiri: Born Nov. 8, 1996.  170 cm, 53 kg.   PB: 8:31.89 (2016) Comments from Shiojiri: This is all happening suddenly so I'm at a bit of a loss, but I'm very honored to get to run.   I will give it everything I have in the race.

by Brett Larner The Hokkaido Marathon has released the elite field for its 30th anniversary running on Aug. 28. The men's field features Masanori Sakai (Team Kyudenko), a 2:09:10 performer at the 2014 Tokyo Marathon but with little success since then, and Ryo Yamamoto (Team SGH Group), a member of the 2012 London Olympics marathon squad with a 2:08:37 best from 2012. An interesting dark horse is the Barcelona Olympics silver medalist Koichi Morishita -coached 2:13 man Yuki Oshikawa (Team Toyota Kyushu), winner of February's tough Ome 30 km and 2nd at last month's Shibetsu Half Marathon.  Something of an eyebrow raiser is Kenyan Cyrus Njui (SEV Sports), who underwent a six-month suspension after testing positive at last year's Hokkaido Marathon when he took cold medicine from a local pharmacists a few days before the race.  In today's environment it's hard to imagine many races inviting back someone who tested positive at the same race a year earlier, bu...

by Brett Larner videos by aoshin0507 and  Ekiden News The 2016 Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships wrapped up with a bang, the last three races delivering some of the best action seen in the meet's five days.  The girls' 3000 m final was out fast from the gun, a 68 second first lap immediately separating most of the field from a six-strong front pack that included Kenyans Helen Ekarare (Sendai Ikuei H.S.), Tabita Njeri Kamau (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.), Monica Margaret (Aomori Yamada H.S.) and Marta Mokaya (Oita Tomei H.S.) and Japanese runners Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu (Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) and Nozomi Tanaka (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.).  The front group stayed together through 2000 m, splitting 2:56 and 5:59 before Takamatsu, Tanaka and Mokaya slipped off the back. Ekarare, just 12th in the final last year, drove on to drop Kamau and Margaret for the win in 8:55.06, the 4th-fastest time ever by a foreign runner at a Japanese high school. ...

click here for five-channel live streaming of the 69th Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships by Brett Larner videos by aoshin0507 and  Ekiden News Sunday's Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships girls' 1500 m saw a breakthrough with three women running all-time Japanese high school top ten marks.  Another middle distance breakthrough came on day four of the championships in the girls' 800 m.  2016 national champion  Shoko Fukuda (Matsue Kita H.S.) ran the second-fastest time ever by a Japanese high schooler, 2:04.29, to lead four girls into the all-time high school top ten .  Both Fukuda and Airi Ikezaki (Funairi H.S.), 2nd in 2:04.85, also made the all-time Japanese junior top ten, with 3rd placer Ayaka Kawata (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.) clocking the fastest-ever time by a Japanese high school second-year, 2:05.03 and 4th placer Ayano Shiomi (Kyoto Bunkyo Gakuen H.S.) squeezing into the all-tiime top ...

click here for five-channel live streaming of the 69th Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships by Brett Larner The highlight of day three of the Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships came in an unexpectedly fast and furious boys' 5000 m race walk.  After a relatively benign first qualifying heat on day two won by Ryutaro Yamamoto (Toyama Shogyo H.S.) in 21:08.49, heat two exploded with action, Hiroto Jusho (Shikama Kogyo H.S.) led the top eight under the old National High School Championships record in 20:49.39.  The bar set high, qualifiers returned a day later for the final, and again the field delivered en masse.  Yamamoto fought off Taiki Naruoka (Iga Hakuho H.S.) and Masatora Kawano (Gotemba Minami H.S.) for the win in a close race, taking 35 seconds off Jusho's short-lived national record with a new mark of 20:14.63.  The top six all beat Jusho's record, with Jusho himself almost equalling it in 20:52.94 but com...

click here for five-channel live streaming of the 69th Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships by Brett Larner videos by Ekiden News #岡山インターハイ #okayama2016 男子棒高跳　江島雅紀　5m43　3回目に成功 日本高校新記録 ★ pic.twitter.com/ddslIjs0zf — EKIDEN News (@EKIDEN_News) July 30, 2016 Back in action after his 6th-place finish at last week's World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Masaki Ejima (Eda H.S.) cleared 5.43 m to win the 2016 National High School Track and Field Championships boys' pole vault July 30 at Okayama's City Lights Stadium.  Ejima's mark broke the meet record by 2 cm and his own high school national record set earlier this year by 1 cm. 8th in the Bydgoszcz girls' 3000 m and 2nd in June's National Championships 1500 m, Nozomi Tanaka (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) was likewise back in the 1500 m.  In a tight race with teammates Hina Takahashi and Yume Goto , Tanaka tried to frontrun her way to a national title but lost to Takahashi b...