Cross country running competition in Japan
Fukuoka International Cross Country Date Late February or early March Location Fukuoka , Japan Event type Cross country Distance 10 km for men 4 km for women 8 km junior men 6 km junior women Established 1987
The Fukuoka International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in Fukuoka , Japan in either late February or Early March. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships .[ 1]
First held in 1987, the Fukuoka Cross Country is held at the National Cross Country Course near the Uminonakamichi Seaside Park in Higashi-ku, Fukuoka .[ 2] The course is a purpose-built cross country venue that was created as the host course for the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships .[ 3]
The meet features a competition schedule of eight races.[ 4] These include a senior men's course (10 km) and a senior women's course (6 km). A total of four junior races take place, with long courses of 8 km for men and 6 km for women, as well as 4 km short course for both junior sexes. Furthermore, there are two relay races for high school athletes which have legs of 2 km per runner.[ 2]
Four of the races act as qualifiers for the World Cross Country Championship: the men's 10 km and the women's 6 km allow athletes to enter the senior world competition while the junior men's 8 km and junior women's 6 km enable runners to qualify for the junior section of the championships.[ 4] The competition is one of three in which Japanese athletes can qualify for the World Championships; the others being the annual Chiba International Cross Country and the biennial Asian Cross Country Championships .[ 5]
A small contingent of foreign athletes are invited each year, but the fields of each race largely comprise Japanese runners.[ 6] Previous winners include Olympic gold medallist Samuel Wanjiru , who first won at the age of 16,[ 7] and won three times consecutively between 2003 and 2005.[ 8] World and Olympic gold medallist Meseret Defar has also competed, winning the 2005 women's race.
The competition is televised on local Japan News Network channels by the Tokyo Broadcasting System .[ 2] The Fukuoka Cross Country meeting is one of the prefecture's top annual athletics events, along with the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship .
Past senior race winners
Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru first won at age 16 in 2003
Meseret Defar was the 2005 women's champion
Key: Asian Championship race
Note: Race data unavailable prior to 1995.
References
^ IAAF Cross Country Permits Archived March 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine . IAAF (2010). Retrieved on 2010-02-12.
^ a b c 第24回福岡国際クロスカントリー大会 Archived 2010-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese) . Japanese Association of Athletics Federations . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ Nakamura, Ken (2006-03-03). World Cross Championships dress rehearsal - Fukuoka preview . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ a b Nakamura, Ken (2009-03-05). Home selection for Amman central to Fukuoka Cross Country - PREVIEW . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ Nakamura, Ken (2008-02-28). Fukuoka Cross country – Preview . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ a b Nakamura, Ken & Onishi, Akihiro (2008-03-01). Kuira, Konovalova prevail at Fukuoka Cross Country . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ Kenyan, Canadian athletes split Fukuoka cross country titles . Xinhua News Agency (2003-03-02). Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ a b Nakamura, Ken (2004-02-29). Wanjiru and Ichikawa take Fukuoka XC wins . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ a b c d e "An eighty years of history of Japan Association of Athletics Federations" (日本陸上競技連盟八十年史), 2005, Japan Association of Athletics Federations . pp.150-151.
^ Nakamura, Ken (2001-03-19). Japanese World Cross Country team . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ Shideiso Running Club: 高橋教子が福岡国際クロスカントリー大会で5位! Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
^ a b Course 5 km
^ Sankei Sports : 第16回 福岡国際クロスカントリー大会 (Internet Archive )
^ JAAF: 福岡国際クロスカントリー大会結果 (Internet Archive )
^ Nakamura, Ken (2002-03-19). Japanese Team for the World Cross Country Championships in Dublin Archived 2005-03-19 at the Wayback Machine . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ Tenmaya Track & Field Team: 2002年3月大会結果 Archived 2010-05-31 at the Wayback Machine
^ Nakamura, Ken (2003-03-03). Samuel Wanjiru and Emilie Mondor win Fukuoka Cross Country . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ Nakamura, Ken (2005-03-07). Wanjiru and Defar win in the mud of Fukuoka . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ Nakamura, Ken (2006-03-05). Fukushi takes runaway win far ahead of Ndereba - Fukuoka XC - UPDATED . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ Nakamura, Ken (2007-03-05). High School students steal the show in Fukuoka . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ Nakamura, Ken (2009-03-07). Kiptoo Birech and Agafanova win Fukuoka Cross Country . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ Nakamura, Ken (2010-02-27). Japanese World XC selection firms up over ‘Power’ and ‘Camel’ hills - Fukuoka Cross Country . IAAF . Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
^ Nakamura, Ken (2011-02-26). Karoki wins again - Kenyans and hosts dominate at Fukuoka Cross Country . IAAF . Retrieved on 2011-02-26.
^ Nakamura, Ken (2012-02-25). Sato beaten by Osako in Fukuoka . IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-03-05.
^ FUKUOKA INTERNATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY 2013 . JAAF (2013). Retrieved on 2013-03-02.
^ Mills, Steven (2014-02-23). Bahrain dominate at the Asian Champs – cross-country round-up . IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-02-01.
^ Larner, Brett (2015-02-21). Ndiku Over Murayama, Shoji Outkicks Lacaze at Fukuoka XC . Japan Running News . Retrieved on 2016-02-01.
External links