Tokyo 2020 Olympics Athletics Day Seven Japanese Results – Brett Larner

The women’s team performed up to ability, delivering a season best 43.44 to finish 7th in their heat and not advancing to the final. The men’s 4×100 m team has faced more pressure in the lead-up to this Olympics than anybody except maybe Japan’s marathoners, so much so that the official Japanese broadcaster has been airing ads for the men’s 4×100 m final all throughout the last week and a half on the assumption that the Japanese men would be there.

They will be, but barely. Japan finished 3rd in the first heat in 38.16 to take an auto-qualifying spot by 0.02 over France. With the two time qualifying spots going to Germany and Ghana in the second heat in 36.06 and 36.08 it was closer than anyone would have liked to a major embarrassment, and with Japan the slowest of the eight qualifiers for the final they’ve got a serious uphill climb ahead of them.

Much of that depends on national champ Shuhei Tada and national record holder Ryota Yamagata, both of who were flat on the first two legs compared to solid runs from third and fourth men Yoshihide Kiryu and Yuki Koike.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics Athletics Day Seven Japanese Results – Brett Larner – Japan Running News

Japan’s women’s and men’s 4×100 m relays were the only ones in action in the morning session on the seventh day of track and field competition at the Tokyo Olympics.

author: GRR