Skip to main content

1000 Colleagues See Kobayashi Off for Berlin

http://mainichi.jp/area/aichi/news/20090801ddlk23050277000c.html

translated by Brett Larner

Over the weekend the Toyota Jidoshoki company gave its employees in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture the opportunity to wish its star runner Yuriko Kobayashi (20) well as she prepares to depart for Berlin to run in women's 5000 m at this year's World Championships. Over 1000 workers filled the banquet hall during their lunchbreak for the chance to see Kobayashi before her run. Women's track team advisor Masafumi Kato commented, "We are extremely happy that Ms. Kobayashi has made the national team again after running in last summer's Beijing Olympics. I'd like to ask you all to lend your voices in cheering her on to be among the top finishers."

After receiving a bouquet of flowers from the company, Kobayashi told her supporters, "I want to put myself into position to be near the top. Thanks to all of you I will gain strength and do my best."

Kobayashi graduated from Kobe's Suma Gakuen High School and is in her third year at Okayama University.* She is the national record holder for 1500 m and holds the all-time third-best time for a Japanese woman at 5000 m. In February she began experiencing pelvis and heel pain and took a break from training until May. In June she finished 3rd in the 5000 m at the National Track and Field Championships, clinching her spot on the World Championships team. She is scheduled to depart for Berlin on Aug. 14.

*Translator's note: Kobayashi, arguably Japan's most promising young woman, caused controversy among Rikuren officials when she enrolled in university after joining the professional Toyota Jidoshokki team. After keeping her in limbo for a year, Rikuren banned Kobayashi from competing in official jitsugyodan events until after her graduation, saying that they did not want to create a precedent of companies attracting top talent by offering to pay for a student's education.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

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

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

Sprinter Shoji Tomihisa Retires From Athletics at 105

A retirement ceremony for local masters track and field legend Shoji Tomihisa , 105, was held May 13 at his usual training ground at Miyoshi Sports Park Field in Miyoshi, Hiroshima. Tomihisa began competing in athletics at age 97, setting a Japanese national record 16.98 for 60 m in the men's 100~104 age group at the 2017 Chugoku Masters Track and Field meet. Last year Tomihisa was the oldest person in Hiroshima selected to run as a torchbearer in the Tokyo Olympics torch relay. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the relay on public roads was canceled, and while he did take part in related ceremonies his run was ultimately canceled. Tomihisa recently took up the shot put, but in light of his fading physical strength he made the decision to retire from competition. Around 30 members of the Shoji Tomihisa Booster Club attended the retirement ceremony. After receiving a bouquet of flowers from them Tomihisa in turn gave them a colored paper placard on which he had written the characters