Olympic Roundup: Javelin Thrower Haruka Kitaguchi Books a Spot in the Final

Reigning women's javelin world champion Haruka Kitaguchi placed seventh overall out of 32 entrants in qualifying for the Olympic final.

Kitaguchi threw her javelin 62.58 meters at the Stade de France on Wednesday afternoon, August 7.

In doing so, Kitaguchi met the qualification standard (62.00) on her first attempt to advance to the final round at the Paris Olympics on Saturday (2:30 AM JST on Sunday). In the first round, javelin throwers are given up to three attempts to meet the qualification standard.

Athletes with the 12 best throws qualified for the final in Saint-Denis, France, including Japan's Momone Ueda, who is making her Olympic debut. Ueda qualified 12th with a throw of 61.08 meters.

Poland's Maria Andrejczyk had the top mark in qualifying, a season-best throw of 65.52 meters.

Japan's Marina Saito, who had a mark of 59.42 meters, didn't qualify for the final.

Kitaguchi, currently ranked No 1 in the world in the event, launched her javelin 66.73 meters to win the world title in August 2023.

Kitaguchi Offers Insights on Olympic Qualifying, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Experience

"I could only practice at the stadium on the day of the competition, so I wanted to throw a little more for practice, but my goal was to exceed 62 meters, 50 centimeters on my first attempt," Kitaguchi said, according to NHK. "So I am happy to have exceeded it."

Speaking about Wednesday's experience, she added: "It was my first Olympic experience with spectators, and I am very happy to have so many spectators, and I am enjoying the [Paris] Games."

Kitaguchi insisted that she needs to have a stellar performance in the final round to contend for a medal.

"I have seen the athletes who have been working hard in the qualifying rounds, and I feel that they have done a good job," Kitaguchi commented. "So I want to make sure that in the final I will be able to improve on my season's best and compete well."

Kitaguchi placed 12th (55.42 meters) at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

No Medal for Japan in 1st Marathon Race Walk Relay Mixed

Japanese race walkers did not medal in the inaugural marathon race walk relay mixed on Wednesday, August 7, over the 42.195-km course at the Trocadero in Paris.

The team of Masatora Kawano and Kumiko Okada finished eighth in 2 hours, 55 minutes, 40 seconds, while compatriots Kazuki Takahashi and Ayane Yanai came in 13th in 2:58:08.

Spain's Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez won the gold medal in 2:50:31, some 51 seconds ahead of silver medalists Brian Pintado and Glenda Morejon of Ecuador (2:51:22). Australia's Rhydian Cowley and Jemima Montag took the bronze in 2:51:38.

Each athlete had to complete two legs each, alternating in this order: male 11.45 km, female 10 km, male 10 km, female 10.745 km. The IOC decided to replace the men's individual 50-km race walk with the relay for the Paris Games.

Okada, who represented Japan in the women's 20-km race walk at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and the Tokyo Games five years later, said after the race that this was her final Olympics.

"I have been competing for a long time, and although I did not win a medal for the third time, I was able to finish in a position to win a prize," Okada was quoted as saying by NHK.

She added, "I am glad that I have made it this far."

Akamatsu Qualifies for Men's High Jump Final

Ryoichi Akamatsu advanced to the men's high jump final after finishing among the top 12 in qualifying on Wednesday at the Stade de France.

A 29-year-old Gifu Prefecture native, who is competing in his first Olympics at Paris 2024, was one of five athletes who cleared the bar at a height of 2.27 meters, doing so on his second attempt. For Akamatsu, it is his season-best mark in the event.

Akamatsu finished eighth in the high jump at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

The final will be held on Saturday evening.

Japan's Tomohiro Shinno didn't qualify for the final. He jumped 2.20 meters in the preliminary round.

Golf

Yamashita Cards a 71, Saso Shoots a 77 in 1st Round

The Olympic women's golf tournament got underway on Wednesday, August 7 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. Japan's Miyuu Yamashita had a 1-under 71 and Yuka Saso carded a 5-over 77.

Yamashita, who shot a 35 on the front nine, is tied for seventh place. She had two birdies and one bogey in the first round.

Saso is tied for 46th after a round that featured five bogeys and two birdies. She also had a double bogey on the par-4 seventh hole.

Popular French LPGA golfer Celine Boutier finished with a 7-under 65 in the opening round and drew hearty applause from the gallery after making par on the 18th hole.

South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai carded a 4-under 68 to put herself in second place heading into the second round.

Artistic Swimming

Japan Vying for a Bronze Medal in Team Event

After the first two phases of the women's artistic swimming team competition, Japan is in fourth place in Saint-Denis, France.

The final portion of the competition, the acrobatic routine, was set to get underway on Wednesday evening (at 2:30 AM JST on Thursday). Ten national teams are competing for the Olympic title.

Japan had the third-best score (284.0917 points) in the technical routine, followed by a sixth-place performance in the free routine (343.0291).

In the overall standings, China leads with 712.4455 points. The United States is second (643.0255), Spain is third (633.6119) and Japan is fourth (627.9308). France is fifth with 617.8486 points.

Team Japan's participants are Moe Higa, Moeka Kijima, Uta Kobayashi, Tomoka Sato, Ayano Shimada, Ami Wada, Mashiro Yasunaga and Megumu Yoshida.

*Japan performs its free routine in the artistic swimming team competition at the Paris Olympics on August 6 at the Olympic Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, France. (Jin Man Lee/AP)*

The sport was previously known as synchronized swimming.

Japan placed fourth in the team event at the Tokyo Olympics. The Russian Olympic Committee team, which was banned from competing at the Paris Games due to the nation's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, won the gold medal. China and Ukraine placed second and third, respectively.

Olympic Medal Table

As of 12 AM JST on Thursday, August 8, Japan had won a total of 29 medals (11 gold, six silver and 12 bronze). Check out the updated medal table on the Paris Games website.

Authors: Ed O d even and Jack Gallagher