The Beijing Olympic Games are drawing near, so I want to introduce its articles.
While Takayuki Matsumiya has made his mark in the 5,000 meters, he'll be going
to the Olympics in the 10,000.
Matsumiya clinched a place on Japan's team to
this summer's Beijing Olympics by winning the men's 10,000 title at the Japan
Championships at Todoroki Stadium on Thursday.
"I came here [to qualify] for
the Olympics and I made it, so I'm really happy," said Matsumiya, the two-time
defending champion in both the 5,000 and 10,000.
Matsumiya pulled away from
rivals Ryuji Ono and Yu Mitsuya with three laps to go and won in 27 minutes
51.27 seconds. Ono finished second in 27:55.16 with Mitsuya third in 27:58.63.
"There's a big difference between first and second places, so I was
concerned more with where I finished than the time I ran," said Matsumiya, who
last year set the Japan record in the 5,000.
With the victory, Matsumiya
became the first athlete to fulfill the Japan federation criteria for automatic
selection by anyone who wins the national title and has achieved the Olympic "A"
qualifying standard.
Matsumiya topped the "A" mark of 27.50.00 when he
clocked 27:41.75 at the Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., on May 4.
The Olympic team will be announced Monday following the four-day meet.
One athlete who earlier this year might not have thought he would make that
list is two-time world bronze medalist hurdler Dai Tamesue, who overcame his
first barrier in an attempt to make it to Beijing.
Tamesue, running just the
second race of an injury-delayed season, advanced to the final of the men's
400-meter hurdles by winning his semifinal heat in 50.87.
"It was a relief
to finally run," said Tamesue, who pulled out of several meets earlier this
season due to problems with both calves and his left Achilles tendon and has run
just once.
"My body felt good, although given what I've gone through, I was
wondering if that feeling was wrong," Tamesue said. "After I took my first step,
I thought everything was OK."
Kenji Narisako, who won the 2006 title when
Tamesue skipped the meet, posted the fastest time of the round of 49.99.
Both Tamesue and Narisako have achieved the Olympic qualifying "A" standard,
meaning both will likely go if they finish one-two.
In other events,
two-time defending champion Shingo Suetsugu and Shinji Takahira each won their
qualifying races to make the final of the men's 200 meters.
Suetsugu, the
2003 world bronze medalist, won his heat in 20.67 seconds, while Takahira took
it easy down the stretch to finish first in his race in 20.81.
Four of the
women's field event titles were decided, but no Olympic places.
Yuka
Murofushi won the hammer throw over two-time defending champion Masumi Aya,
winning with a throw of 62.98 meters for her third title and first in three
years.
Disaster struck the women's pole vault, in which Japan record-holder
Ikuko Nishikori and defending champion Takayo Kondo both failed to clear a
height, each missing three times at 4.10 meters.
That opened the door for
Doshisha University's Tomomi Abiko, the lone vaulter to clear 4.10, to win her
first title. Mami Nakano, the 2006 champion, placed second at 4.00.
Other
winners were Yuki Ebihara, who won the javelin with a toss of 56.71 meters, and
Fumiyo Yoshida, who leaped 13.12 meters to capture the triple jump.
(Jun.
27, 2008)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20080627TDY24302.htm
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