Skip to main content

Federation Announces Strict Qualifying Times for 2013 World Championships Team

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120612-966393.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Rikuren, the Japanese athletics federation, announced on June 12 the criteria for selection for Japan's team for next year's Moscow World Championships.  To encourage Japanese athletes to get faster, the qualification times announced for the marathon are far higher than in previous years, while track and field events will see their first-ever specific qualifying marks.

Five men and five women can run the marathon in Moscow.  To make the team, men must run 2:07:59 or better and women 2:23:59 or better at any of the three major domestic men's and women's marathons.  Any athlete who clears these times at one of five specified overseas races will also be a candidate for the team.

The domestic races for men are the Fukuoka International Marathon, the Tokyo Marathon and the Biwako Mainichi Marathon, while for women the races are the Yokohama International Women's Marathon, the Osaka International Women's Marathon and the Nagoya Women's Marathon.  The five international races are the World Marathon Majors, Berlin, Chicago, New York, Boston and London.  If no athletes clear the criteria, the top three Japanese finishers at the above domestic races as well as the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon  for men and the Hokkaido Marathon for women will be considered.

In each track and field event the criteria will be: 1. Any athlete who clears the A-standard mark specified by Rikuren and wins their event at the National Championships, or 2. Any athlete who has cleared Rikuren's qualification mark and makes the top eight at the National Championships.  The qualification marks will be announced at a later date, but according to Rikuren official Mitsugi Ogata, "The Federation will base the marks on the world top twelve rankings.  For track events this will be faster than the A-standard, while for field events it will be around the same as the A-standard."

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Chesang and Kipkoech Win Hot Gifu Half

Hot conditions held back fast times at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon Sunday, where Ugandan Stella Chesang and Kenya Hillary Kipkoech took the top spots over last year's winners Dolphine Nyaboke Omare and Amos Kurgat . In the women's race Chesang, Omare and Kenyan-born Bahraini Eunice Chebichii Chumba went out as a trio, Japan-based Hellen Ekarare with them initially but eventually dropping out. After a 15:39 opening 5 km Chumba started to slip off, and by 15 km Chesang was on her own. Chesang won in 1:07:59, solid given the conditions, with Omare 2nd in 1:08:31 and Chumba 3rd in 1:09:10. Rinka Hida was the first Japanese woman, 5th overall in 1:12:06 behind Australian Genevieve Gregson . A lead men's pack of 11 went through 5 km in 14:31, but by 10 km it was down to Kipkoech, Kurgat, , Timothy Kiplagat , Ugandan Stephen Kissa and Japan-based Kenyans Patrick Mathenge Wambui and Anthony Maina . At 15 km in 43:40 only Kurgat and Kipkoech were left, and over the last 5

Okumoto and Kondo Score Silver and Bronze - U20 Asian Championships Day One

The U20 Asian Athletics Championships started Wednesday in Dubai, U.A.E. Narumi Okumoto (Hitachi) and Nozomi Kondo (Meijo Univ.) scored Japan's first two medals in the women's 3000 m, running behind leader Yaxuan Li of China over the first 1000 m. Kondo lost touch after the first 1000 m, while Okumoto lasted another 1000 m with Li. Li took gold in 9:12.79, Okumoto silver in 9:25.19 and Kondo bronze in 9:38.91. In qualifying rounds: Both Yuri Nishida (Ritsumeikan Univ.) and Sari Kameda (Kyoto Kyoiku Univ.) won their women's 800 m heats and advanced to the next round, Nishida in a PB 2:07.36 and Kamei in 2:10.87, also a PB. Shota Fuchigami (Waseda Univ.) won his 400 mH heat in a PB 50.19 to make the final. Hiroto Shogomori (Chuo Univ.) was 2nd in his 400 m heat in 47.37, yet another athlete to run a PB, moving on to the semifinals. The lone female sprinter on the Japanese team, Misaki Morimoto (Sonoda Joshi Gakuen Univ.) won her 100 m heat in 12.20 (-1.4) and advance

Drury and Mashiko Lead Four Japanese Golds - U20 Asian Championships Day 4

The closing day of the Dubai U20 Asian Athletics Championships saw Japan go out big, with four gold medals led by dominant runs by Sherry Drury (Tsuyama H.S.) and Yota Mashiko (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.). Making her international debut, the 16-year-old Drury led start to finish in the women's 1500 m final, grinding down the rest of the field and putting over 4 seconds on runner-up Sandilea Vinod of India over the last 300 m to win in 4:21.41. Drury's splits: 1:11-2:24-(3:19)-3:35-4:21. There's still a long way for Drury to go, but in terms of form and confidence this was the best she has looked since her legendary breakthrough CR at last year's National Women's Ekiden, and you could see more than a glimmer of what everyone is hoping is really there. Mashiko was even more dominant in the men's 3000 m. Coming out on the front end of some pushing and shoving in the first 50 m, Mashiko led the entire way. By 300 m he had a measurable gap that never got smaller, and af