japan running news

There was something in the air Sunday at Yamanashi's Fujisan no Meisui Stadium as the 7th edition of the Fuji Hokuroku World Trials meet tuned into a festival of records that changed the situation for Japan's home team at next month's Tokyo World Championships. At the top of the list, Abigail Fuuka Ido (Toho Ginko) ran 22.79 (+1.0) to take 0.09 off Chisato Fukushima 's almost decade-old women's 200 m national record. Both she and 2nd-place Ami Takahashi (Tsukuba Univ.) were under the old meet record, Takahashi in 23.20. Ido still has a way to go to hit the 22.57 Tokyo standard, but having gone from a 23.59 (+0.6) PB last year to a 23.18 (+0.2) PB at Nationals last month to this 22.79 NR, it doesn't seem out of range. Injured since last year before coming back at Nationals with a 45.81 for 4th in the final, Yuki Joseph Nakajima (Fujitsu) came out of nowhere with a 44.84 PB and MR for the men's 400 m win, just clearing the 44.85 Tokyo standard. Fuga Sato...

The last day of the 104th National Track and Field Championships saw a short stack of new records across disciplines, mostly on the women's side. The biggest news came in the women's discus throw, where Maki Saito (Tokyo Joshi Taiiku Univ.) threw a new national junior record of 55.41 m on her fourth attempt and putting defending champ Minori Tsujikaw a (Uchida Yoko AC) into 2nd before coming back on her last to almost equal it. In the women's 100 m hurdles, it took a PB from Masumi Aoki (77 Ginko) to hold off national record holder Asuka Terada (Pasona Group) for the win, tying the meet record in 13.02 (-0.1). Taio Kanai (Mizuno) likewise held off national record holder Shunya Takayama (Zenrin), tying the meet record in 13.36 (-0.1) to win. Kanai and Takayama have alternated national titles for the last four years, with 13.36 their winning time for the last three. The women's 200 m saw the top three all drop PBs, Remi Tsuruta (Minami Kyushu Family Mart) u...