Japanese Olympic Long Distance Event Rankings – by Brett Larner – Japan Running News

Entry lists for track and field events at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics were publicly released yesterday on the IAAF website.  Start lists are due to be released later this week and are bound to include scratches.

 Based on the current entry lists, below are Japanese long distance athletes' ranking in their events by best time within the Olympic qualifying window.  Rankings will be revised based on updated start lists.

Ranked 5th in the women's marathon field of 160, Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) looks like Japan's best chance at a distance medal, with 8th-ranked Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei) an outside contender.  Ranked 9th in the women's 10000 m, Ayuko Suzuki (Team Japan Post) is the only other Japanese athlete in the top 10 in their event.  

Beating her ranking would give her the best Japanese women's 10000 m Olympic placing in 20 years.  Three other athletes, Hanami Sekine (Team Japan Post) in the women's 10000 m, Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) in the women's marathon and Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) in the men's marathon, are ranked in the top 12 and could have chances of top 8 finishes.

National record holder Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) is ranked 17th in the men's 5000 m with Suzuki ranked 18th in the women's 5000 m.  The challenge for both of them will to become just the second Japanese man and woman post-war to make an Olympic 5000 m final.  

For young collegiate steeplers Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.), ranked 53rd of 55 in the women's 3000 mSC, and Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.), 43rd of 45 in the men's race, the challenge will be to finish as far ahead of their rankings as they can.

Women's 10000 m – Aug. 12
Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) – 31:18.16 – 9th of 42
Hanami Sekine (Japan Post) – 31:22.92 – 11th of 42
Yuka Takashima (Shiseido) – 31:35.76 – 17th of 42

Men's 10000 m – Aug. 13
Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) – 27:29.69 – 14th of 34
Yuta Shitara (Honda) – 27:42.71 – 19th of 34
Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) – 27:45.24 – 23rd of 34

Women's 3000 mSC – Heats: Aug. 13 / Final: Aug. 15
Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama University) – 9:44.22 – 53rd of 55

Women's Marathon – Aug. 14
Kayoko Fukushi (Wacoal) – 2:22:17 – 5th of 160
Tomomi Tanaka (Daiichi Seimei) – 2:23:19 – 8th of 160
Mai Ito (Otsuka Seiyaku) – 2:24:42 – 12th of 160

Men's 3000 mSC – Heats: Aug. 15 / Final: Aug. 17
Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo University) – 8:31.89 – 43rd of 45

Women's 5000 m – Heats: Aug. 16 / Final: Aug. 19
Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) – 15:08.29 – 18th of 37
Misaki Onishi (Sekisui Kagaku) – 15:16.82 – 27th of 37
Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei) – 15:21.40 – 32nd of 37

Men's 5000 m – Heats: Aug. 17 / Final: Aug. 20
Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) – 13:08.40 – 17th of 51
Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) – 13:19.62 – 34th of 51

Men's Marathon – Aug. 21
Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) – 2:08:56 – 12th of 159
Hisanori Kitajima (Yasukawa Denki) – 2:09:16 – 14th of 159
Suehiro Ishikawa (Honda) – 2:09:25 – 17th of 159

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

by Brett Larner – Japan Running News