Takatoshi Abe
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese track and field
athlete who competes in the 400 metres hurdles
. His is the reigning Asian champion in the event.
Born in Okayama Prefecture
, Abe initially contested both the 110 metres hurdles
and the 400 m hurdles, winning silver and gold medals at the Japanese high school championships in 2009. He chose to specialise in the latter event from mid-2009 onwards. Abe ran a personal best of 49.46 seconds to claim the silver medal
at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics
, finishing closely behind the strong favourite Jehue Gordon
. He also ran with the Japanese 4×400 metres relay team, helping them to fifth place. His hurdles time made him the third best Asian in the event that year, after compatriots Kenji Narisako
and Takayuki Koike.
Abe made his second ever sub-50-second clocking at the 2011 Japanese Athletics Championships, where he took third with a time of 49.81 seconds. He was selected to represent Japan at the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships
in Kobe
and he came away with his first regional title, ending the race with a time of 49.64 seconds to win the gold medal
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete who competes in the 400 metres hurdles
400 metres hurdles
The 400 metres hurdles is an Olympic athletics event in track and field. On a standard outdoor track 400 metres is the length of the inside lane once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lane the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly...
. His is the reigning Asian champion in the event.
Born in Okayama Prefecture
Okayama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Okayama.- History :During the Meiji Restoration, the area of Okayama Prefecture was known as Bitchū Province, Bizen Province and Mimasaka Province.- Geography :...
, Abe initially contested both the 110 metres hurdles
110 metres hurdles
The 110 metres hurdles is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is incuded in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metre hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurdles of 1.067 metres in height are evenly spaced along a straight...
and the 400 m hurdles, winning silver and gold medals at the Japanese high school championships in 2009. He chose to specialise in the latter event from mid-2009 onwards. Abe ran a personal best of 49.46 seconds to claim the silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics
2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The 13th World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes under the age of 20 which was held at the Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada from 19–25 July 2010. A total of 44 athletics events were contested at the Championships, 22 by male...
, finishing closely behind the strong favourite Jehue Gordon
Jehue Gordon
Jehue Gordon is a Trinidadian track and field athlete who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles. He turned professional on June 24, 2010, and signed a deal with Adidas in August 2010....
. He also ran with the Japanese 4×400 metres relay team, helping them to fifth place. His hurdles time made him the third best Asian in the event that year, after compatriots Kenji Narisako
Kenji Narisako
is a Japanese hurdler.He won the bronze medal at the 2001 World Youth Championships, and the gold medals at the 2005 Summer Universiade and the 2006 Asian Games...
and Takayuki Koike.
Abe made his second ever sub-50-second clocking at the 2011 Japanese Athletics Championships, where he took third with a time of 49.81 seconds. He was selected to represent Japan at the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships
2011 Asian Athletics Championships
The 19th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Kobe, Japan between July 7–10, 2011 at the Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium. The tournament had 507 athletes from forty Asian nations competing in the 42 track and field events over the four-day competition....
in Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
and he came away with his first regional title, ending the race with a time of 49.64 seconds to win the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
.