Skip to main content

Tosa Named Athlete of the Year by Japanese National Track and Field Association

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/flash/KFullFlash20071226041.html
http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2007122600835

Photo of Tosa, Fukushi and Noguchi at the Rikuren Awards in Tokyo, Dec. 26, 2007.

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Rikuren, the JAAF, held its 1st annual Athletics Awards on Dec. 26 in Tokyo. In attendance were 3 women who each have a chance to win the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics women`s marathon.

Reiko Tosa (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was named Athlete of the Year for her bronze medal performance in the women`s marathon at the World Championships, a run which has already secured Tosa a place on the Olympic team. "The home-country support I received from everyone during the Osaka World Championships truly pushed me to make the medals. I will do my best in Beijing to run a good race," Tosa told the audience with characteristic nervousness during her acceptance speech.

Also honored for her victory at the Tokyo International Women`s Marathon was Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex), who is almost certain to be named to the team. Tosa commented, "I don`t know whether Noguchi is my rival or ally. She is the [Athens Olympics] gold medalist and I am the challenger," couching her competitiveness in a mild tone of voice.

The 3rd woman to be recognized at the awards ceremony was Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal), who ran in both the women`s 5000 m and 10000 m at the World Championships. Fukushi will try to secure one ticket to Beijing when she runs her debut marathon at the Osaka International Women`s Marathon in January. "I want everyone to enjoy my race," Fukushi laughed.

Other athletes honored by Rikuren included World Championships men`s 400 m relay 5th place team members Naoki Tsukahara (Tokai University), Shingo Suetsugu (Team Mizuno), Shinji Takahira (Team Fujitsu) and Nobuharu Asahara (Team Osaka Gas). Men`s 400 m hurdler Dai Tamesue (Team APF) won a special award for outstanding social contributions for founding the Tokyo Street Track and Field organization to help children get involved in track and field.

The IAAF`s athletics awards are held in lavish settings in Monaco each year with top athletes appearing in formal dress. Rikuren`s awards were held with only 1 month`s planning in a relatively modest location, leading Tosa to joke, "Hmmn, I don`t know whether this ceremony is flamboyant or, uh, not so flamboyant....."

Update: 1/14/08: The IAAF reported this same story today.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Weekend Racing Roundup

  China saw a new men's national record of 2:06:57 from  Jie He  at the Wuxi Marathon Sunday, but in Japan it was a relatively quiet weekend with mostly cold and rainy amateur-level marathons across the country. At the Tokushima Marathon , club runner Yuhi Yamashita  won the men's race by almost 4 1/2 minutes in 2:17:02, the fastest Japanese men's time of the weekend, but oddly took 22 seconds to get across the starting line. The women's race saw a close finish between the top two, with Shiho Iwane  winning in 2:49:33 over Ayaka Furukawa , 2nd in 2:49:46.  At the 41st edition of the Sakura Marathon in Chiba, Yukie Matsumura  (Comodi Iida) ran the fastest Japanese women's time of the weekend, 2:42:45, to take the win. Club runner Yuki Kuroda  won the men's race in 2:20:08.  Chika Yokota  won the Saga Sakura Marathon women's race in 2:49:33.  Yuki Yamada  won the men's race in 2:21:47 after taking the lead in the final 2 km.  Naoki Inoue  won the 16th r

Japan's Olympic Marathon Team Meets the Press

With renewed confidence, Japan's Olympic marathon team will face the total 438 m elevation difference hills of Paris this summer. The members of the women's and men's marathon teams for August's Paris Olympics appeared at a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 25 in conjunction with the Japan Marathon Championship Series III (JMC) awards gala. Women's Olympic trials winner Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) said she was riding a wave of motivation in the wake of the new women's national record. When she watched Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) set the record at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon on TV, Suzuki said she was, "absolutely stunned." Her coach Sachiko Yamashita told her afterward, "When someone breaks the NR, things change," and Suzuki found herself saying, "I want to take my shot." After training for a great run in Paris, she said, "I definitely want to break the NR in one of my marathons after that." Mao

Takeuchi Wins Niigata Half in Boston Tune-Up

Running in cold, windy and rainy conditions, Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) warmed up for April's Boston Marathon with a win at Wednesday's Niigata Half Marathon . Takeuchi sat behind Nittai University duo Susumu Yamazaki and Ryuga Ishikawa in the early stages, then made a series of pushes to pick up the pace. Each time he tucked in behind whoever went to the front, while behind them others dropped off. Before 15 km only Yamazaki and Riki Koike of Soka University were left, and when Takeuchi went to the front the last time after 15 km only Koike followed. By 16 he was gone too, leaving Takeuchi to solo it in to the win in 1:03:13 with a 17-second negative split. "This was my last fitness check before the Boston Marathon next month, and my time was right on-target," he said post-race. "Everything went as planned. I'm looking forward to racing some of the world's best in Boston, and my goal there is to place in the single digits." Just back from tr