Murofushi eases into hammer throw final

Friday 15th August, 05:06 PM JST

BEIJING —

Defending Olympic champion Koji Murofushi coasted into the men’s hammer throw final after meeting the qualifying mark with his first throw at the Beijing Olympic Games on Friday. Murofushi turned in a 78.16-meter effort to clear the qualifying mark by 16 centimeters at National Stadium on the first day of athletics competition, securing a spot in the 12-man final to be held Sunday. ‘‘It’s good that I got it done with just one throw and it helps me conserve energy,’’ said Murofushi, who owns the national record of 84.86 meters. ‘‘I’ll just go out there and do the best I can in the final.’’

Murofushi was awarded the gold four years ago in Athens after Hungary’s Adrian Annus failed a doping test and was disqualified. He has since suffered a dip in form and settled for sixth at last year’s world championships in Osaka but showed a series of good results in the build-up to the Beijing Games, including setting the world’s third best mark this year of 81.87 meters in a meet on July 21. Hungarian Krisztian Pars made the longest throw of 80.07 in the qualifying round. Three-time world champion Ivan Tsikhan of Belarus, silver medal winner in Athens, also eased into the final with a 79.26-meter effort in his only throw. In other action, 36-year-old Nobuharu Asahara and fellow sprinter Naoki Tsukahara both advanced past the first round of the men’s 100-meter heats in 10.25 and 10.39 seconds, respectively.

KYODO

6 Comments

rajakumar at 09:48 AM JST - 16th August

Way to go team japan/Murofushi.
smithinjapan at 10:00 AM JST - 16th August

This guy is mammoth! Good for him.
Pukey2 at 12:22 PM JST - 16th August

I hope that, if he does well, his father won't put his foot in his mouth again and say something like the Japanese have finally shown that they are as strong as the rest(white men) (when Murofushi Jr is actually half Romanian).
ExPrinceska at 10:56 PM JST - 16th August

Murofushi - the best athlete in team Japan, and the most succcessful, I won't say the most sexy because mods will be angry with me :)
flammenwerfer at 09:29 AM JST - 17th August

ExPrinceska - you are right, he is the best athelete in Japan - of any sport. He went on the TV show Kiniku Banzuke and absolutely destroyed everyone with his speed and power. He wasnt even close. Not only is he strong, he is also very fast and agile. He has the physical attributes that would be perfect for many contact sports. Rugby, Am Football, K1 etc.

Koji rocks, hope he can dig deep and pull out a big one.
Blue_Tiger at 07:44 PM JST - 21st August

He finished fifth, which is an accurate showing of Murofushi. though he was awarded the gold in Athens, in my opinion, he didn't deserve it, and did not earn it. Poetic justice that this time around, he falls to fifth....