japan running news

by Brett Larner Japanese athletes were thin on the ground on the sixth day of athletics at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.    Men's javelin national champion Ryohei Arai (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) threw 84.16 m on his first qualifying round throw to make the final, the Japanese performance of the day, short and sweet.  His Suzuki teammates Akihiko Nakamura and Keisuke Ushiro ended the first day of the decathlon ranked near the bottom of the field, Nakamura 24th with 3899 points and Ushiro 25th with 3886. On the track in the men's 5000 m heats, 10000 m national record holder Kota Murayama (Team Asahi Kasei) echoed his run in the 10000 m final.  Ranked 17th of 25 in Heat One, Murayama ran up front early with Richard Ringer (Germany) before fading to 22nd in 14:26.72.  5000 m national record holder Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) was ranked 8th of 26 on PB in Heat Two, giving him a chance of becoming only the second Japanese man post-war to make an Olympic 500...

Birmingham, U.K., 2/21/15 click here for complete results Men's 2 Miles 1. Mo Farah (Great Britain) - 8:03.40 - WR 2. Paul Koech (Kenya) - 8:13.46 3. Bernard Lagat (U.S.A.) - 8:17.05 4. Suguru Osako (Japan/Nissin Shokuhin) - 8:25.76 5. Thomas Farrell (Great Britain) - 8:26.01 6. Philip Hurst (Great Britain) - 8:26.56 7. Tom Lancashire (Great Britain) - 8:30.79 8. Jonny Hay (Great Britain) -  8:31.69 9. Rob Mullett (Great Britain) - 8:32.50 10. Florian Carvalho (France) - 8:32.87 DNF - Dale Clutterbuck (Great Britain)

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/201501/0007673131.shtml translated and edited by Brett Larner 1500 m national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi (26, Toyota Jidoshokki), a Beijing Olympian over 5000 m, will retire at the end of this season due to a series of injuries according to an announcement on Jan. 19.  After her retirement she plans to make a living on the lecture circuit and making guest appearances at major races across the country. Kobayashi became a middle distance star while at Asahigaoka J.H.S. in Ono, Hyogo.  While at Suma Gakuen H.S. she won the National Championships and National High School Championships, setting the 1500 m national record of 4:07.86 in 2006.  Later the same year she won the National High School Ekiden's Second Stage to help Suma Gakuen win the national title.  After graduating she joined the Toyota Jidoshokki team, making the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2009 Berlin World Championships teams.  She later spent time living ...

by Brett Larner I was asked to give a speech at the welcoming reception the night before this year’s Ageo City Half Marathon about the JRN-arranged invite for the top two Japanese university finishers in Ageo to run March’s NYC Half Marathon. Guests in the audience included Ageo mayor Minoru Shimamura , KGRR chairman and Hakone Ekiden race director Yoshiyuki Aoba , Waseda University head coach Yasuyuki Watanabe and other Hakone university teams’ head coaches, and 1999 World Championships marathon silver medalist Ari Ichihashi . I decided not to prepare anything and just freestyle it. This is a translation of what I can remember saying. Good evening everybody. If you ever have to give a speech in a foreign language I would advise against drinking sake beforehand. The words don’t come out right. I’m not that strong with honorific language, so if I say things in a rude way I apologize in advance. That is not my intention. To begin with, congratulations to Mayor Shimamura and e...

By Chris Lotsbom (c) 2013 Race Results Weekly , all rights reserved NEW YORK (14-Mar) -- Running Sunday's NYC Half feels like the opportunity of a lifetime for Kenta Murayama and Kento Otsu . For the tandem from Japan, the 21.1 kilometer race through Manhattan represents much more than a typical competition; it is a chance for the student-athletes to gain experience against some of the sport's best, including their idol, Bernard Lagat . Back home in Japan, Murayama and Otsu are rivals on the collegiate circuit, representing Komazawa University and Toyo University, respectively. Having finished first and second at the Ageo City Half-Marathon last November, the pair earned invitations into Sunday's race as part of a program between the New York Road Runners and the Ageo City organizers. "As a university student, to be invited to run abroad is a very important chance for me," said Otsu, 21, through a translator. "I am very happy about that. In terms of f...