japan running news

The Paris Olympics have just ended and the Paralympics are set to kick off next week on the 28th, but the focus is already shifting to the Los Angeles Olympics 4 years down the road. International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach , 70, will step down from his position at the end of his term next June. The word is that IOC member Morinari Watanabe , 65, president of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), is planning to run in the election for Bach's successor in March. If elected, Watanabe would become the first Japanese head of the IOC. While Bach was a gold medalist in the men's fencing team competition at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Watanabe never competed at the Olympics let alone medaled. After joining the Jusco retail chain in 1984, he worked as a salaryman office worker for the Aeon Group, Jusco's renamed parent corporation and served as director of the Japan Gymnastic Association. In 2017 he became FIG's first Asian president. Under Watanabe...

At a signing ceremony in Tokyo on Jan. 23, Sony announced that it will enter into a sponsorship agreement with World Athletics for 2024 through 2026. Beginning with the Glasgow World Indoor Championships on Mar. 1 and running until the end of 2026, Sony will provide sponsorship support for all events in the World Athletics Series. Sony subsidiary Hawk-Eye will provide services to assist in referees' decision making, contributing to fair and impartial competition management. At the signing ceremony Sony president Hiroki Totoki commented, "Through the integration of World Athletics' knowledge and know-how with Sony technology we will bring all the excitement of athletics to a wider range of people than ever before, from hardcore fans to the kids." World Athletics top Sebastian Coe added, "It brings me great pleasure to announce signing this deal with one of the leaders in the history of technology and innovation. Thank you for believing in the sport of athletics...

It has been learned that the JAAF, which hopes to host the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, has changed its rules regarding competition facilities in order to make it possible to hold international competitions like the World Championships at the National Stadium, the main stadium for last year's Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. Under JAAF rules up to now, the National Stadium could not be recognized as a Class 1 Certified Athletics Facility eligible to host international competitions due to its lack of a warm-up track. Despite World Athletics head Sebastian Coe having said publicly that he had received assurances from Japanese officials that the warm-up track built for the Olympics and Paralympics would remain after the Games, within just a few weeks of the end of the Paralympics it was destroyed. The new rule change states, "Facilities that have been used to host the Olympic Games can be recognized as a Class 1 Certified Athletics Facility even without a warm-up track...

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe sat for an interview with the Asahi Newspaper. Coe indicated that the Tokyo Olympics, which came to a conclusion on Aug. 8, had reaffirmed to him the popularity of track and field in Japan. Indicating that he wanted to give something back to Japan, Coe hinted at the possibility of the World Championships returning to Tokyo.  At a press conference held Aug. 8 in conjunction with the closing of the Tokyo Olympics, Coe said, "I have tremendous gratitude to Japan for preparing a truly special stage on which our athletes could perform. I promise to bring athletics back to Japan at a time when everyone can be a part of it."  In the Asahi interview, Coe indicated that there is a possibility that Tokyo will be awarded the 2025 World Championships, the venue of which has yet to be decided. One reason he cited was Tokyo's new Olympic Stadium, for which the problem of a post-Games use looms large. At the Olympics the track and stadium earned...