Kazuyoshi Ishikawa (JPN) (© Getty Images)
Two late season track meets, the second annual Naoto Tajima Memorial and the 30th annual Gunma Relays, were held on Sunday 9 October, bringing to a close the 2005 track season in Japan.
The Naoto Tajima Memorial meet in Yamaguchi was inaugurated last year to honour Naoto Tajima, who won the Triple Jump at the 1936 Olympic Games. While Mikio Oda and Chuhei Nambu, the other Japanese Triple Jump Olympic gold medallists have for a long time been honoured with a memorial meeting with their name, Tajima was without such a distinction until last year.
In this year’s competition Kazuyoshi Ishikawa, the reigning national champion won the Triple Jump, the main event of the Tajima Memorial meet, in 16.64m. Ishikawa competed in the World Championships, and several other athletes who competed in Helsinki also were in action on Sunday. Nobuharu Asahara won the men’s 100m in 10.49, while Shin-ichi Terano won the men’s Long Jump in 7.56m and Yukifumi Murakami won the men’s Javelin Throw in 75.72m. On the women’s side Tomoko Ishida, who ran the 4x100m relays in Helsinki, took the women’s 100m victory in 11.83.
On the same day the Gunma Relays were held in Maebashi, the site of the 1999 World Indoor Championships. Kenji Narisako, the World University Games’ gold medallist at 400m Hurdles, won his specialty in 49.05. Just the same as in Yamaguchi other Helsinki competitors also competed in Maebashi. Shinji Takahira and Sakie Nobuoka respectively won the men’s and women’s 200m in 21.43 and 24.15, against the strong head winds, while Yuki Nakata won the Heptathlon in 5388. Additionally, Kumiko Ikeda, who competed in the Long Jump in Helsinki, won the 100m Hurdles in Maebashi.
World class track times were posted by Kenyan distance runners at 10,000m. Mwangi Murigi (not to be confused with James Mwangi, who finished seventh at the recent World Half Marathon Championships) won the 10,000m in 27:40.94, while Samuel Muturi, finished second in 27:47.59.
Ken Nakamura for the IAAF
Results:
Naoto Tajima memorial, Yamaguchi, 9 October
100m
1) Nobuharu Asahara 10.49
110mH
1) Hideki Nomoto 14.19
LJ
1) Shin-ichi Terano 7.56m
TJ
1) Kazuyoshi Ishikawa 16.64m
JT
1) Yukifumi Murakami 75.72m
Women
100m
1) Tomoko Ishida 11.83
LJ
1) Maho Hanaoka 6.36m
HT
1) Masumi Aya 60.36m
Gunma Relays, Maebashi, 9 October
200m -1.7m/s
1) Shinji Takahira 21.43
1500m
1) Hiroyuki Kawakami 3:50.77
10000m
1) Mwangi Murigi (KEN) 27:40.94
2) Samuel Muturi (KEN) 27:47.59
3) Mekubo Mogusu (KEN) 28:15.91
400mH
1) Kenji Narisako 49.05
2) Naohiro Kawakita 49.82
3000mSC
1) Satoshi Kato 8:56.83
LJ
1) Kazuyoshi Saiki 7.51m (2.3m/s)
HT
1) Hiroaki Doi 71.62m
Dec
1) Hiromasa Tanaka 7415
Women
200m -1.6m/s
1) Sakie Nobuoka 24.15
100mH -0.8m/s
1) Kumiko Ikeda 13.52
400mH
1) Saotmi Kubokura 57.30
PV
1) Ikuko Nishikiori 4.15m
TJ
1) Fumiyo Yoshida 13.13m (0.2m/s)
HT
1) Chisato Ohashi 58.73
Hep
1) Yuki Nakata 5388
