Hiroki Yanagita (栁田 大輝, born 25 July 2003) is a Japanese sprinter. He won the 2023 and 2025 Asian Athletics…Hiroki Yanagita (栁田 大輝, born 25 July 2003) is a Japanese sprinter. He won the 2023 and 2025 Asian Athletics Championships over 100 metres.
Wakana Kabasawa (樺沢 和佳奈, Kabasawa Wakana; born 24 March 1999) is a Japanese athlete who specialises in Middle-distance…Wakana Kabasawa (樺沢 和佳奈, Kabasawa Wakana; born 24 March 1999) is a Japanese athlete who specialises in Middle-distance and Long-distance running. She represented her country at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Misaki Morota (born 6 October 1998) is a Japanese pole vaulter. She is the national record holder and won the gold…Misaki Morota (born 6 October 1998) is a Japanese pole vaulter. She is the national record holder and won the gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games. She was also a silver medalist at the previous edition of the Asian Games and the 2026 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships and a bronze medalist at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships.
Megumi Kinukawa (絹川 愛, Kinukawa Megumi; born 7 August 1989) is a Japanese long-distance runner. She represented her…Megumi Kinukawa (絹川 愛, Kinukawa Megumi; born 7 August 1989) is a Japanese long-distance runner. She represented her country at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka and is the Japanese high school and junior record holder for the 10,000 metres. Born in Takasaki, Gunma, she attended Sendai Ikue High School – an institution renowned for its athletic programme. Kinukawa made her first impact on the national junior circuit in 2006, as she won the junior race at the Fukuoka International Cross Country and was runner-up at the Chiba Cross Country two weeks later. This gained her a debut international selection at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships (also held in Fukuoka), where the sixteen-year-old came in fourteenth place and helped the Japanese girls to a team bronze medal. Turning to the track later that April, she ran a national junior record in the 10,000 metres at the Hyogo Relay Carnival, placing second behind Lucy Wangui with a mark of 31:35.27 minutes – raising her to eleventh on the all-time junior rankings. Kinukawa ran at the Fukuoka Cross Country in 2007 and became the first high school student to win the senior title at the competition. With the 2007 World Championships in Athletics to be held in Osaka, she opted to focus on her track performances and achieved the "A" standard for the 10,000 m in April. She took third place in the event at the Japanese Athletics Championships and earned her first senior selection as a result. At the World Championships in Osaka that August she came fourteenth in the women's 10,000 m, coming in as the second best Asian finisher behind compatriot Kayoko Fukushi. Kinukawa took to the roads at the end of the year to compete for the Japanese team at the Chiba International Ekiden. She played a key role in Japan's victory at the competition, winning the fourth stage and closing the gap on Catherine Kirui of then-leaders Kenya. She suffered a stress fracture injury to her foot in April 2008 and only returned to serious competition in 2009. The injury continued to affect her running and she managed only 56th place at the 2010 Chiba Cross Country. The 2011 season saw her return to form and breakthrough into the senior ranks with a win over 5000 m at the Japanese Athletics Championships and then a third-place finish on her half marathon debut at the Sapporo Half Marathon. At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu she missed out on qualification in the 5000 m and finished last over 10,000 m. She was the only Japanese to reach the podium at the 2012 Chiba Cross Country in February, taking third behind Kenyan opposition, and repeated that placing at the Fukuoka meet.
Takuya Fukatsu (深津 卓也, Fukatsu Takuya; born November 10, 1987) is a Japanese long-distance runner. He competed in the…Takuya Fukatsu (深津 卓也, Fukatsu Takuya; born November 10, 1987) is a Japanese long-distance runner. He competed in the 2006 (junior) and 2007 (senior) IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He finished seventh at the 2016 Chicago Marathon. He was the top non-African finisher.
Mahau Camargo Suguimati (born November 13, 1984) is a Brazilian track hurdler of Japanese ancestry. Since the age of…Mahau Camargo Suguimati (born November 13, 1984) is a Brazilian track hurdler of Japanese ancestry. Since the age of eight, Suguimati had lived and studied for sixteen years in Niiza, Japan. Suguimati also attended schools around the prefecture, where he discovered his natural ability and talent of running and hurdling, under his personal coach and trainer Atsushi Hishinuma. He made his international debut, and represented his birth nation Brazil at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he finished seventh in the final of the 400 m hurdles, with his personal best time of 49.63 seconds. Suguimati qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, after claiming the gold medal from the Brazil Trophy Box in São Paulo, with an A-standard time of 49.15 seconds. He ran in the first heat of the men's 400 m hurdles, against six other athletes, including Bershawn Jackson of the United States, who eventually won the bronze medal in the final. He finished the race in third place by a quarter second margin (0.25) behind Jackson, and twenty-one hundredths of a second behind South Africa's Pieter de Villiers, with a time of 49.45 seconds. Suguimati qualified directly for the next round, as he secured the last mandatory place from the first heat. In the semi-final round, Suguimati, however, felt short in his bid to advance into the final round, when he placed seventh in the second heat, outside his personal best of 50.16 seconds. At the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, Suguimati missed out of the medal podium, when he finished fifth in the final of the men's 400 m hurdles, by two hundredths of a second faster from his first personal best, with a time of 49.61 seconds.
Yoshihiko Saito (斎藤 嘉彦, Saitō Yoshihiko; born 12 February 1972 in Tomioka, Gunma) is a retired Japanese athlete who…Yoshihiko Saito (斎藤 嘉彦, Saitō Yoshihiko; born 12 February 1972 in Tomioka, Gunma) is a retired Japanese athlete who specialized in the 400 metres hurdles. He was the first Asian to run under 49 seconds in the event. With a personal best time of 48.64 seconds, achieved in October 1998 in Kumamoto, he is a former Asian record holder. The Asian record currently belongs to Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily with 47.53 seconds, and the Japanese record to Dai Tamesue.
Toshihiko Iwasaki (岩崎 利彦, Iwasaki Toshihiko) (born October 14, 1967) is a retired Japanese male hurdler. He competed…Toshihiko Iwasaki (岩崎 利彦, Iwasaki Toshihiko) (born October 14, 1967) is a retired Japanese male hurdler. He competed for Japan at the 1992 Summer Olympics, where he was eliminated in the first heat of the quarterfinals.
Hiroki Fuwa (不破 弘樹, Fuwa Hiroki; born 9 July 1966) is a Japanese sprinter. He competed in the men's 100 metres at the…Hiroki Fuwa (不破 弘樹, Fuwa Hiroki; born 9 July 1966) is a Japanese sprinter. He competed in the men's 100 metres at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Yutaka Kanai (金井 豊, Kanai Yutaka; 16 October 1959 – 23 August 1990) was a Japanese long-distance runner. He competed in…Yutaka Kanai (金井 豊, Kanai Yutaka; 16 October 1959 – 23 August 1990) was a Japanese long-distance runner. He competed in the men's 10,000 metres at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Takao Sakamoto (阪本 孝男, Sakamoto Takao; born 19 December 1958) is a Japanese former high jumper who competed in the 1984…Takao Sakamoto (阪本 孝男, Sakamoto Takao; born 19 December 1958) is a Japanese former high jumper who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Sakamoto won the British AAA Championships title twice, at the 1979 AAA Championships and the 1982 AAA Championships.
Hidehiko Tomizawa (Japanese: 冨沢 英彦, 1 June 1946 – 10 August 2018) was a Japanese high jumper. He won a silver medal at…Hidehiko Tomizawa (Japanese: 冨沢 英彦, 1 June 1946 – 10 August 2018) was a Japanese high jumper. He won a silver medal at the 1970 Asian Games and placed 19th at the 1972 Olympics. He won the British AAA Championships title at the 1970 AAA Championships.
Shohei Kaneko (金子 宗平, Kaneko Shōhei; 10 August 1937 – 2006) was a Japanese track and field athlete. He competed in the…Shohei Kaneko (金子 宗平, Kaneko Shōhei; 10 August 1937 – 2006) was a Japanese track and field athlete. He competed in the men's discus throw at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Yoshie Takahashi (高橋 ヨシ江, Takahashi Yoshie; 15 April 1932 – 15 May 2022) was a Japanese track and field athlete. She…Yoshie Takahashi (高橋 ヨシ江, Takahashi Yoshie; 15 April 1932 – 15 May 2022) was a Japanese track and field athlete. She competed in the women's long jump at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
