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Japanese National Track and Field Championships Distance Preview

by Brett Larner

The 2008 Japanese National Track and Field Championships take place June 26-29 at Todoroki Stadium in Kawasaki. Tension is high this year as Olympic selection is at stake. Below we offer an event-by-event preview of the distance competitions.

6/26: Men`s 10000 m
By far the favorite to make the Olympic team is Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica-Minolta), the national 5000 m and world 30 km record holder. Matsumiya was on track for a 10000 m national record at this spring`s Cardinal Invitational before tying up in the final kilometer and finishing with only a PB of 27:41.75. His main rival, on paper at least, is Waseda University senior Kensuke Takezawa. Takezawa holds a PB of 27:45.59 and ran in the 2007 World Championships 10000 m. During the winter he suffered a series of injuries which have kept him out of competition since January. His appearance on the entry list comes as something of a surprise, but if he is anywhere near fit he will be a major contender. Ryuji Ono (Team Asahi-Kasei) and Satoshi Irifune (Team Kanebo) have also broken 28 minutes this season and will be likely challengers. Athens Olympics 10000 m team member Terukazu Omori (Team Shikoku Denryoku), Irifune`s teammate Takeshi Makabe, and Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) round out the list of sub-28 men in the field, but many other big names are also appearing and breakthrough performances are possible from Team Nissin rookie Satoru Kitamura, Team Toyota Kyushu ace Yu Mitsuya, and Chuo Gakuin University senior Masato Kihara. Regrettably absent is Japan`s other sub-28 minute university student, Tokai University senior Yuki Sato. Sato competed in the Stanford Cardinal Invitational 10000 m this spring but dropped out partway through and has not been seen in competition since.

6/27: Women`s 10000 m
The women`s 10000 m race is likely to be the most exciting in the meet. Leading the way is national 10000 m record holder Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo). Shibui has had a somewhat unusual career trajectory of late, returning to the top position in the track world after a stint as national record holder in the marathon. Her main challenger is all-time Japanese women`s 10000 m number two, Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal). Both runners come to the Nationals after failing to qualify for the Beijing Olympics in the marathon; the two facing off for Olympic slots is a dream matchup. Shibui has the stronger qualifying time by a considerable margin but also has a history of performing poorly in high-pressure situations. Also in the mix is up-and-coming star Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren), holder of the fastest half marathon of the year by a Japanese woman. The unknown Noriko Matsuoka (Team Suzuki) ran a sizeable PB earlier this month to qualify with a time almost identical to Fukushi`s. Her presence as a darkhorse adds to the drama. Also holding Olympic A-standard qualifying times are 2007 World Championships 10000 m team member Akane Wakita (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) and Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Oki). Sapporo International Half Marathon winner Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) is in excellent shape and may be a surprise contender, but like the men`s race the field is deep and any of the other big names could have a breakthrough day. Like Sato in the men`s 10000 m, the women`s race suffers from the absence of teenaged star Megumi Kinukawa (Team Mizuno), who competed in the 2007 World Championships 10000 m alongside Fukushi and Wakita but has not raced since last fall after contracting a virus which has shattered her health.

6/28: Women`s 3000 m SC and Men`s 5000 m
The women`s 3000 m steeplechase is expected to be a one-woman show as national record holder Minori Hayakari (Kyoto Koka AC) is the only woman to meet the Olympic A-standard. Her closest competition, Yoshika Tatsumi (Team Noritz) is just off the Olympic B-standard. Hayakari has recovered from the injuries sustained in her memorable fall at the 2007 World Championships and is reputed to be in excellent form.

The men`s 5000 m will see many of the same major contenders as the 10000 m, led again by national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya, Yu Mitsuya and Kensuke Takezawa. Only these three athletes have broken the Olympic A-standard within the qualification window, but none has done it this season. Kazuhiro Maeda, Terukazu Omori, Satoshi Irifune, Satoru Kitamura and others will also repeat in the 5000 m, but none has broken even the Olympic B-standard to date. They will be joined by others doubling in the 1500 m, including former Juntendo University star Yuki Matsuoka (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) and university aces such as Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Komazawa Univ.). Unlikely to figure into the competition but notable for being on the starting list is Takezawa`s teammate, first-year student Takuya Nakayama (Waseda Univ.), the son of legendary marathoner Takeyuki Nakayama.

6/29: Men`s 3000 m SC and 1500 m / Women`s 1500 m and 5000 m
Like the women`s steeplechase, the men`s 3000 m steeplechase is likely to be dominated by one runner, Yoshitaka Iwamizu (Team Fujitsu). He is the only runner in the field with an Olympic A-standard qualifying time, and no other runners in the field have cleared even the B-standard. A notable possible contender is Jun Shinoto (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko), who set an inspiring and unexpected stage record on the ninth leg of this year`s Hakone Ekiden as a senior at Chuo Gakuin University.

Shinoto`s teammate at Sanyo, Kazuya Watanabe, is the frontrunner in men`s 1500 m. Watanabe and national record holder Fumikazu Kobayashi are the only men to have cleared the Olympic B-standard within the qualification period. Close behind are Cardinal Invitational trampling victim Yasuhiro Tago (Team Chugoku Denryoku) and former university champions Yasunori Murakami (Team Fujitsu) and Yuki Matsuoka (Team Otsuka Seiyaku).

The only woman in the 1500 m field with a realistic chance of making the Olympics is national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki), no relation to the men`s national record holder. Kobayashi broke the Olympic B-standard once in setting the national record, 4:07.86, in 2006, but has yet to repeat within the qualification window. Going into the 1500 m Kobayashi has the second-fastest qualification time, 4:11.41, behind Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic), the top seed with 4:10.00.

Kobayashi is also the only woman to break the 5000 m Olympic A-standard this season. One hour and twenty minutes after the 1500 m final she will line up again in the 5000 m, facing the big three of national record holder Kayoko Fukushi, Yoko Shibui and Yukiko Akaba. Only Fukushi has run faster than Kobayashi within the qualification window, and only those two have met the Olympic A-standard. Shibui, Akaba and Kayo Sugihara (Team Denso) have met the Olympic B-standard, but only Shibui has done it this season. Many of the same faces from the 10000 m will reappear here, so some upsets are possible. Regardless, the expected duel between Kobayashi and Fukushi in the final event of the meet is anticipated to be another of the National Championships` highlights.

Complete men`s and women`s entry lists are available on the official meet website.

(c) 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

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