Yasunori Uchitomi

Japanese long-distance runner

Yasunori Uchitomi Medal record

Men's athletics
Representing  Japan
Asian Games
| 1994 Hiroshima | 3000 m steeplechase
| 1998 Bangkok | 3000 m steeplechase
Asian Championships
| 1998 Fukuoka | 3000 m steeplechase
| 2003 Manila | 3000 m steeplechase
East Asian Games
| 1997 Busan | 3000 m steeplechase
| 2001 Osaka | 3000 m steeplechase
| 2005 Macau | 3000 m steeplechase

Yasunori Uchitomi (Japanese: 内冨 恭則; born 29 October 1972), is a Japanese former long-distance runner who specialized in the 3000 meters steeplechase. His personal best for the event is 8:26.48 minutes, set in 1997.

He was one of Japan's top steeplechasers during his career, taking three titles at the Japan Championships in Athletics and six at the Japanese National Games. His greatest achievement was a gold medal at the 1998 Asian Games, having won bronze four years earlier. He was twice a medalist at the Asian Athletics Championships (silver in 1998, bronze in 2003). He had much success at the East Asian Games, winning back-to-back titles in 1997 to 2001 with games record times before finally taking silver in 2005 (his last international performance).

Uchitomi also represented Japan at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1999 and was a corporate team runner for Chugoku Electric Power Company, winning several Japan corporate titles.

## Career

[edit]

Uchitomi established himself at the national level in 1993 when he won the 1500 metres title at the Japanese National Games.[1] He had his first successes in the 3000 meters steeplechase during the 1994 track season. He set a personal best of 8:33.04 minutes at the Japan Championships in Athletics,[2] then went on to take his first major medal at the 1994 Asian Games, held in Hiroshima.[3] He won the national title in the steeplechase for the first time in 1995. He retained that title the following year with a personal best run of 8:30.16 minutes and also took the Japanese Games title that year.[4]

Uchitomi reached his athletic peak in 1997 and set lifetime bests of 3:43.13 minutes for the 1500 m and 8:26.48 minutes for the steeplechase (the latter mark coming as part of another National Games win).[1][5] A steeplechase gold medal at the 1997 East Asian Games in a games record marked his first international title in the sport.[6] His run of success in the steeplechase continued into 1998. First, he took the silver medal at the 1998 Asian Athletics Championships in Fukuoka, finishing behind Saudi Arabia's Saad Al-Asmari.[7] At the FBK Games in Hengelo he ran the second-fastest time of his career at 8:28.04 minutes.[5] His form maintained until December, he took the highest accolade of his career at the 1998 Asian Games with a gold medal-winning performance.[3]

He made his international debut on grass at the 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, but was outside of the top 100 of the men's short race.[8] He was runner-up at the Japanese Championships that year,[2] but returned to the fore in 2000 with wins at both the national championships and games.[1][4] The emergence of Yoshitaka Iwamizu at the 2001 Japanese Championships marked a generational change. Although Uchitomi ran a time of 8:29.63 minutes (third best in his career), he was beaten by Iwamizu, who would go on to win five consecutive titles.[2][4] Uchitomi defended his title at the 2001 East Asian Games and improved his own games record to 8:33.98 minutes, beating compatriot Wataru Izumi into second place as he had in 1997.[6] He also took the steeplechase title for the Chugoku Electric Power Company at the All-Japan Corporate Track and Field Championships.[2]

Running for his corporate team, helped Chugoku Electric to second place at the New Year Ekiden in January 2002.[9] He won the corporate steeplechase title for a second year running but was again runner-up at the national championships.[2] He aimed to defend his title at the 2002 Asian Games but finished outside the medals in fifth place – his time of 8:41.02 minutes being his fastest that year.[10] He showed strong form at the 2002 Japanese Championships with a run of 8:30.52 minutes behind Iwamizu.[2] He was back within the major medals at the 2003 Asian Athletics Championships, where he took bronze in a tactic race as Japan's sole representative.[11] He ended the year with victories at the corporate championships and the Japanese Games.[1]

His 2004 season did not feature any major competitions and he placed in the top three nationally. He had his last international outings the year after, coming fourth at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships and taking the silver medal at the 2005 East Asian Games,[2] missing out on a third straight title due to his national rival Iwamizu.[6] He won his sixth, and final, steeplechase title at the Japanese National Games that October.[1] Reaching his mid-thirties, he had his last season in 2006 after finishing out of the top ten at the national championships.[2]

## International competitions

[edit]

Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

1994  | Asian Games | Hiroshima, Japan  | 3rd  | 3000 m s'chase |
1995  | Universiade | Fukuoka, Japan  | 14th  | 3000 m s'chase | 8:50.84
1997  | East Asian Games | Busan, South Korea  | 1st  | 3000 m chase  |
1998  | Asian Championships | Fukuoka, Japan  | 2nd  | 3000 m s'chase |
Asian Games | Bangkok, Thailand  | 1st  | 3000 m s'chase |
1999  | World Cross Country Championships | Belfast, United Kingdom  | 113th  | Short race |
2001  | East Asian Games | Osaka, Japan  | 1st  | 3000 m s'chase  | 8:33.98 GR
2002  | Asian Games | Busan, South Korea  | 5th  | 3000 m s'chase |
2003  | Asian Championships | Manila, Philippines  | 3rd  | 3000 m s'chase |
2005  | Asian Championships | Incheon, South Korea  | 4th  | 3000 m s'chase |
East Asian Games | Macau, China  | 2nd  | 3000 m s'chase  |

## National titles

[edit]

* Japanese National Games (6 titles): 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005[4]
* Japan Championships in Athletics (4 titles)[1]
* 1500 metres: 1993
* 3000 m steeplechase: 1995, 1996, 2000

## Personal bests

[edit]

* 1500 metres – 3:43.13 min (1997)
* 3000 metres – 7:56.53 min (1998)
* 5000 metres – 13:37.80 min (2001)
* 10,000 metres – 28:55.00 min (2000)
* Half marathon – 62:52 min (2003)
* 3000 metres steeplechase – 8:26.48 min (1997)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Japanese Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-10-05.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Yasunori Uchitomi. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-10-05.
3. ^ a b Asian Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-10-05.
4. ^ a b c d Japanese National Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-10-05.
5. ^ a b Yasunori Uchitomi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-10-05.
6. ^ a b c East Asian Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-10-05.
7. ^ Asian Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-10-05.
8. ^ Official Results - CROSS SHORT Men - Saturday, March 27, 1999. IAAF (1999-03-27). Retrieved on 2014-10-05.
9. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2002-01-03). Konica Team wins New Year's Ekiden". IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-10-05.
10. ^ 2002 Asian Games Official Report, Page 131. Asian Games. Retrieved on 2014-10-05.
11. ^ Saif Saeed Shaheen suffers shock defeat at 1500m - Day Two of Asian Championships. IAAF (2003-09-21). Retrieved on 2014-10-05.

## External links

[edit]

* Yasunori Uchitomi at World Athletics

* v
* t
* e

Asian Games champions in men's 3000 metres Steeplechase

* 1951–54: Susumu Takahashi (JPN)
* 1958–62: Mubarak Shah (PAK)
* 1966: Taketsugu Saruwatari (JPN)
* 1970: Nobuyoshi Miura (JPN)
* 1974: Takaharu Koyama (JPN)
* 1978: Hisatoshi Shintaku (JPN)
* 1982: Tadasu Kawano (JPN)
* 1986: Shigeyuki Aikyo (JPN)
* 1990: Kazuhito Yamada (JPN)
* 1994: Sun Ripeng (CHN)
* 1998: Yasunori Uchitomi (JPN)
* 2002: Khamis Abdullah Saifeldin (QAT)
* 2006–10: Tareq Mubarak Taher (BRN)
* 2014: Abubaker Ali Kamal (QAT)
* 2018: Hossein Keyhani (IRI)
* 2022: Avinash Sable (IND)

* v
* t
* e

Japan Championships in Athletics men's 1500 metres champions

* 1913: Ikichi Ide
* 1914–15: Taku Gishiro
* 1916: Tadanao Suzuki (10 miles)
* 1917: Tominosuke Kato
* 1918: Taku Gishiro
* 1919: Eiichi Nagayama & Takeharu Aso
* 1920: Katsuo Okazaki
* 1921: Kikuo Toda
* 1922: Kintaro Sawada
* 1923: Shuzaburo Sato
* 1924: Not held
* 1925: Naomon Nawada
* 1926: Hideo Okada
* 1927: Koshio Tsuchiya
* 1928: Shin Hisatomi
* 1929–30: Seiichiro Tsuda
* 1931–34: Tsunemori Hamada
* 1935: Kiyoshi Nakamura
* 1936: Kuniaki Iwabuchi
* 1937: Isanji Omori
* 1938: Reiji Miyagi
* 1939–40: Satoshi Seguchi
* 1941: Not held
* 1942: Satoshi Seguchi
* 1943–45: Not held
* 1946: Susumu Takahashi
* 1947: Yukio Kikuchi
* 1948–49: Shoji Suda
* 1950: Kikuo Moriya
* 1951: Michio Ueki
* 1952: Yoshitaka Muroya
* 1953: Hiroaki Chosa
* 1954: Yoshitaka Muroya
* 1955: Hiroaki Chosa
* 1956: Norio Okayama
* 1957: Shigeo Murata
* 1958–59: Kiyoshi Tanaka
* 1960: Yabuta Manabu
* 1961: Katsuyasu Sato
* 1962: Satsuo Iwashita
* 1963: Jean Wadoux (FRA)
* 1964: Satsuo Iwashita
* 1965: Yoshiyuki Aoba
* 1966–68: Satsuo Iwashita
* 1969: Toru Ota
* 1970–73: Kazuyoshi Mizuno
* 1974: Noro Susumu
* 1975: Shigeo Miyahiro
* 1976–77: Takashi Ishii
* 1978: Toshifumi Shigenari
* 1979–80: Takashi Ishii
* 1981: Masami Otsuka
* 1982: Masami Naganuma
* 1983: Takuya Hashiba
* 1984: Yutaka Hirai
* 1985–86: Masami Otsuka
* 1987: Yoshikazu Arata
* 1988: Shigeki Nakayama
* 1989: Mogens Guldberg (DEN)
* 1990: Yoshikazu Arata
* 1991–92: Mitsuhiro Okuyama
* 1993: Yasunori Uchitomi
* 1994: Mitsuhiro Okuyama
* 1995: Go Yamamoto
* 1996: Tomihiro Umezu
* 1997: Kiyonari Shibata
* 1998: Philemon Hanneck (ZIM)
* 1999: Kiyoharu Sato
* 2000: Junji Kimiya
* 2001–02: Fumikazu Kobayashi
* 2003–04: Jun Tsuji
* 2005–08: Fumikazu Kobayashi
* 2009: Yuichiro Ueno
* 2010: Yasunori Murakami
* 2011: Hiroshi Ino
* 2012: Keisuke Tanaka
* 2013: Yuki Akimoto
* 2014: Keisuke Tanaka
* 2015: Nanami Arai
* 2016: Masaki Toda
* 2017–18: Ryoji Tatezawa
* 2019: Masaki Toda
* 2020: Ryoji Tatezawa
* 2021: Kazuki Kawamura
* 2022: Kazuto Iizawa
* 2023: Kazuki Kawamura

* v
* t
* e

Japan Championships in Athletics men's 3000 metres steeplechase champions

* 1931: Takeshi Hisayama
* 1932: Hideo Tanaka
* 1933: Ken Uchida
* 1934: Hideo Tanaka
* 1935: Tetsuo Imai
* 1936: Hideo Tanaka
* 1937: Tetsuo Imai
* 1938–40: Tatsuo Osawa
* 1941: Not held
* 1942: Yoshimasa Ishida
* 1943–45: Not held
* 1946: Yoshiaki Furuya
* 1947–55: Susumu Takahashi
* 1956: Masayuki Nunogami
* 1957: Osamu Inoue
* 1958–59: Masayuki Nunogami
* 1960: Hiromi Arai
* 1961: Saburo Yokomizo
* 1962: Zenji Okuzawa
* 1963: Gaston Roelants (BEL)
* 1964: Yoshiyuki Aoba
* 1965–69: Taketsugu Saruwatari
* 1970: Nobuyoshi Miura
* 1971–74: Takaharu Koyama
* 1975: Ryuji Koyama
* 1976: Takaharu Koyama
* 1977–80: Masaya Shintaku
* 1981: Sake Smell Shinji
* 1982: Tadashi Kono
* 1983: Masaya Shintaku
* 1984: Hatsu Nagasato
* 1985: Hideki Saegusa
* 1986–87: Shigeyuki Aikyo
* 1988–89: Kazuto Yamada
* 1990: Graeme Fell (CAN)
* 1991: Marcelo Cascabelo (ARG)
* 1992: Akira Nakamura
* 1993: Bizuneh Yai Tura (ETH)
* 1994: Daniel Njenga (KEN)
* 1995–96: Yasunori Uchitomi
* 1997–98: Daniel Njenga (KEN)
* 1999: Aziz Driouche (MAR)
* 2000: Yasunori Uchitomi
* 2001–05: Yoshitaka Iwamizu
* 2006: Jun Shinoto
* 2007–09: Yoshitaka Iwamizu
* 2010–11: Takeshi Takeda
* 2012–13: Kou Yamashita
* 2014: Jun Shinoto
* 2015–17: Hironori Tsuetaki
* 2018: Kazuya Shiojiri
* 2019: Ryohei Sakaguchi
* 2020: Kosei Yamaguchi
* 2021–23: Ryuji Miura

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