japan running news

by Brett Larner Alongside its post-National Championships announcement of the 41-member Japanese team for August's Moscow World Championships, the Japanese Federation announced the teams it has selected for July's Asian Athletics Championships in Pune, India and October's East Asian Games in Tianjin, China. 26 men and 26 women will make up the Asian Athletics Championships team, with sprinters Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tec AC),  Yuzo Kanemaru  (Team Otsuka Seiyaku), Yuichi Kobayashi  (Team NTN) and Kei Takase  (Team Fujitsu), hurdlers Yasuhiro Fueki  (Team Aima), Satomi Kubokura  (Niigata Albirex RC) and Hitomi Shimura  (Saga T&F Assoc.) and high jumper Miyuki Fukumoto  (Konan Gakuen AC) doubling there and in Moscow. The East Asian Games team includes 30 men and 28 women, led by 2013 national champions Yuki Ebhiara  (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC),  Sota Hoshi  (Team Fujitsu),  Shota Iizuka  (Chuo Univ.), Sho Kawam...

by Brett Larner 2010 World Junior Championships men's 200 m gold medalist Shota Iizuka  (Chuo Univ.) and London 400 m hurdles Olympian Takayuki Kishimoto  (Team Fujitsu) joined the small ranks of athletes to earn guaranteed places on the Japanese team for the Moscow World Championships, winning their events with A-standard times on the final day of the 2013 Japanese National Track and Field Championships . Iizuka led five men under the 20.52 A-standard, winning in 20.31 (+0.9) to secure his position.   Yuichi Kobayashi (Team NTN) ran a PB 20.46 in 2nd and  Kei Takase (Team Fujitsu) clocked 20.48 for 3rd, both putting themselves into solid consideration for the team.  Kishimoto had a mid-race scare from the ascendant Yasuhiro Fueki  (Team Aima) who overtook him on the back curve only to fall victim to Kishimoto's closing speed.  Kishimoto took 1st in 49.08 with Fueki 2nd in an A-standard PB 49.31, like Kobayashi and Takase getting onto the shortli...

by Brett Larner Stanford University's Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational has a long history of being an important spring meet on the Japanese track calendar, the site of multiple national records including both the current men's and women's 10000 m records. This year's meet features a large contingent of Japanese athletes, particularly in the men's 10000 m where virtually all of the current top men will be shooting for World Championships and Olympic qualifying times. Below is a quick preview to the Japanese athletes in each event. The meet will be webcast live by Flotrack beginning at 10:45 a.m. Japan time on May 2. Click here for more info on the meet and webcast . Men's 3000 mSC - Section 1 #13 - Aoi Matsumoto (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - PB: 8:30.49 (2010) #21 - Hiroyoshi Umegae (Team NTN) - PB: 8:34.96 (2010) With the departure of national record holder Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu) from the steeple for longer events, Matsumoto and Umegae are the to...

by Brett Larner 2010 National T&F Championships - Top Finishers click here for complete results Men's 1500 m - final 1. Yasunori Murakami (Team Fujitsu) - 3:45.76 2. Masahiro Takaya (Team JR Higashi Nihon) - 3:45.81 3. Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) - 3:46.15 Women's 1500 m - final 1. Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) - 4:18.68 2. Saori Yamashita (Team Hokuren) - 4:19.91 3. Yukari Nomura (Chuo Univ.) - 4:20.98 Women's 400 m - final 1. Chisato Tanaka (Fukuoka Univ.) - 54.46 2. Sayaka Aoki (Team Natureal) - 54.56 3. Asami Chiba (Team Natureal) - 54.64 Men's 200 m - final (+1.2 m/s wind) 1. Kenji Fujimitsu (Team Seiren) - 20.38 - PB 2. Mitsuhiro Abiko (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.74 3. Shinji Takahira (Team Fujitsu) - 20.80 Women's 100 m - final (+0.9 m/s wind) 1. Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido HiTec AC) - 11.30 2. Momoko Takahashi (Heisei Kokusai Univ.) - 11.39 3. Mayumi Watanabe (Team Natureal) - 11.66 Men's 3000 mSC - final 1. Tsuyoshi Takeda (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 8:47...