Yuki Nakata
Encyclopedia
Yuki Nakata is a Japan
ese track and field
athlete who competes in the women's heptathlon
. She represented Japan at the Summer Olympics in 2004 and has competed twice at the World Championships in Athletics. She was the silver medal
list at the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships
and the 2010 Asian Games
and has won the heptathlon at the East Asian Games
and the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
. With straight wins from 2002 to 2010, she is a nine time national champion and her best of 5962 points for the heptathlon is the national record
for the event.
Born in Shiga Prefecture
, her first international medal in the event came at the 1996 Asian Junior Athletics Championships
, where she took the silver medal
behind India's Soma Biswas
. She made her international debut two years later at the 1998 Asian Athletics Championships, finishing ninth, and returned to the competition in 2000, improving to sixth place. That year she broke the Japanese national record
in the heptathlon, recording 5642 points. She improved her best further in 2001 with a score of 5862 points and gained her first national title in 2002. Nakata was selected to represent Japan at the 2002 Asian Games
as a result and she ended the competition in fifth place.
The 2003 season saw her reach new heights as she retained her national heptathlon title with a Japanese record of 5910 points. An international senior medal followed later that year at the 2003 Asian Athletics Championships where she was runner-up to Kazakh athlete Irina Naumenko
. She won the inaugural gold medal
in the women's pentathlon
at the 2004 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
. She was on top form at the Japanese Athletics Championships, winning a third straight title with another national record of 5962 points. She became the first Japanese woman to enter the Olympic heptathlon at the 2004 Athens Games
, but she did not match her performance from earlier that season and came 28th (last) with a total of 4871 points.
After another win nationally in 2005, she made her debut at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics
. She scored 5735 points for twentieth place, but was again in last place among all the heptathlon finishers. She closed the year with a silver medal at the East Asian Games
, finishing behind Wang Hailan of China. Nakata had 4037 points in the pentathlon at the 2006 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
, but this was not enough for a medal. She fared better outdoors, winning the heptathlon and coming fifth in the long jump
at the Japanese nationals and going on to finish just behind bronze medalist J. J. Shobha at the 2006 Asian Games
in Doha
. Nakata repeated her national placings at the 2007 Japanese Championships and made her third global level appearance at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
, held on home turf in Osaka
. She finished the heptathlon competition with a score of 5869 points, which included a personal best of 2:17.61 minutes in the final 800 metres
event.
She won the 2008 Japanese heptathlon title, but did not achieve the entry standard needed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. An eighth consecutive Japanese title came in 2009, She did not compete at the World Championships
that year, but won a silver at the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships
in November and a gold medal
at the 2009 East Asian Games
a month later.
Following a ninth national title, she competed at the 2010 Asian Games
and was the runner-up behind the reigning Asian champion Yuliya Tarasova
.
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 women's heptathlon
Heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...
. She represented Japan at the Summer Olympics in 2004 and has competed twice at the World Championships in Athletics. She was 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....
list at the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships
2009 Asian Athletics Championships
The 18th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Guangzhou, China in 2009.- Track :- Field :- Track :- Field :- Medal table :-References:*. IAAF . Retrieved on 2011-07-09.*. IAAF . Retrieved on 2011-07-09....
and the 2010 Asian Games
2010 Asian Games
The 2010 Asian Games, also known as the XVI Asiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Guangzhou, China from November 12 to November 27, 2010. Guangzhou was the second Chinese city to host the Games, after Beijing in 1990...
and has won the heptathlon at the East Asian Games
East Asian Games
The East Asian Games is a multi-sport event organised by the East Asian Games Association and held every four years since 1993 among athletes from East Asian countries and territories of the Olympic Council of Asia , as well as the Pacific island of Guam, which is a member of the Oceania National...
and the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
The Asian Indoor Athletics Championships were held for the first time in 2004. Run by the Asian Athletics Association, the championships take place biennially in different cities all over Asia.-Editions:-All-time medal count:- External links :*...
. With straight wins from 2002 to 2010, she is a nine time national champion and her best of 5962 points for the heptathlon is the national record
Japanese records in athletics
The following are the national records in athletics in Japan maintained by Japan's Association of Athletics Federations .-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:+ = en route to a longer distance# = not officially ratified...
for the event.
Born in Shiga Prefecture
Shiga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.- History :Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established...
, her first international medal in the event came at the 1996 Asian Junior Athletics Championships
Asian Junior Athletics Championships
The Asian Junior Athletics Championships are the Asian championships open for those of age according to junior. It is currently organized by the Asian Athletics Association.-Editions:-Men's records:-Women's records:-References:...
, where she took 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....
behind India's Soma Biswas
Soma Biswas
Soma Biswas is an athlete who lives in Kolkata, India and who specialises in the heptathlon. She rose to fame when she won the silver medal in 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. She won another silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. She managed to win the 110m hurdles, the 200m and the...
. She made her international debut two years later at the 1998 Asian Athletics Championships, finishing ninth, and returned to the competition in 2000, improving to sixth place. That year she broke the Japanese national record
Japanese records in athletics
The following are the national records in athletics in Japan maintained by Japan's Association of Athletics Federations .-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:+ = en route to a longer distance# = not officially ratified...
in the heptathlon, recording 5642 points. She improved her best further in 2001 with a score of 5862 points and gained her first national title in 2002. Nakata was selected to represent Japan at the 2002 Asian Games
Athletics at the 2002 Asian Games
-Medal summary:-Men's events:-Women's events:-External links:* - GBR Athletics...
as a result and she ended the competition in fifth place.
The 2003 season saw her reach new heights as she retained her national heptathlon title with a Japanese record of 5910 points. An international senior medal followed later that year at the 2003 Asian Athletics Championships where she was runner-up to Kazakh athlete Irina Naumenko
Irina Naumenko
-Achievements:Naumenko was 2nd at the Hexham International Combined Events Meeting in 2005 www.hexham-meeting.org-External links:*...
. She won the inaugural 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...
in the women's pentathlon
Women's pentathlon
The pentathlon is a sports contest made up of five events . The women's pentathlon was contested in the Olympics from 1964 until 1980, and it was replaced in the 1984 Games with the heptathlon. It had a different set of events than the ancient Olympic pentathlon...
at the 2004 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
2004 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
The 2004 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships was an international indoor athletics event took place in Tehran, Iran, between 6 and 8 February.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:-Participating nations:...
. She was on top form at the Japanese Athletics Championships, winning a third straight title with another national record of 5962 points. She became the first Japanese woman to enter the Olympic heptathlon at the 2004 Athens Games
Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics
At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put...
, but she did not match her performance from earlier that season and came 28th (last) with a total of 4871 points.
After another win nationally in 2005, she made her debut at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics
2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...
. She scored 5735 points for twentieth place, but was again in last place among all the heptathlon finishers. She closed the year with a silver medal at the East Asian Games
Athletics at the 2005 East Asian Games
At the 2005 East Asian Games, the athletics events were held at the Estádio Campo Desportivo in Macau, People's Republic of China from 1–4 November. A total of 45 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 22 by female athletes. China easily topped the medal table, winning 26 of the 45...
, finishing behind Wang Hailan of China. Nakata had 4037 points in the pentathlon at the 2006 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
2006 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships
The 2006 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships was an international indoor athletics event took place in Pattaya, Thailand, between 10 and 12 February.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:-Participating nations:...
, but this was not enough for a medal. She fared better outdoors, winning the heptathlon and coming fifth in the long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
at the Japanese nationals and going on to finish just behind bronze medalist J. J. Shobha at the 2006 Asian Games
Athletics at the 2006 Asian Games
An Athletics competition was contested at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar from December 7 to December 12. Twenty-three events were contested for the men while 22 were on the slate for the women. Only the 3000 Meter Steeplechase was not contested for by the women...
in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
. Nakata repeated her national placings at the 2007 Japanese Championships and made her third global level appearance at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...
, held on home turf in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
. She finished the heptathlon competition with a score of 5869 points, which included a personal best of 2:17.61 minutes in the final 800 metres
800 metres
The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...
event.
She won the 2008 Japanese heptathlon title, but did not achieve the entry standard needed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. An eighth consecutive Japanese title came in 2009, She did not compete at the World Championships
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....
that year, but won a silver at the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships
2009 Asian Athletics Championships
The 18th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Guangzhou, China in 2009.- Track :- Field :- Track :- Field :- Medal table :-References:*. IAAF . Retrieved on 2011-07-09.*. IAAF . Retrieved on 2011-07-09....
in November and a 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...
at the 2009 East Asian Games
Athletics at the 2009 East Asian Games
At the 2009 East Asian Games, the athletics events were held at the Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground in Hong Kong, People's Republic of China from 10 December to 13 December...
a month later.
Following a ninth national title, she competed at the 2010 Asian Games
Athletics at the 2010 Asian Games
Athletics at the 2010 Asian Games was held in Guangzhou, China from 21 to 27 November 2010. A total of 47 events were contested, 24 by men and 23 by women - matching the Olympic athletics programme...
and was the runner-up behind the reigning Asian champion Yuliya Tarasova
Yuliya Tarasova
Yuliya Tarasova is an Uzbekistani heptathlete.She was born in Tashkent. She finished seventh at the 2003 World Youth Championships, fourteenth at the 2004 World Junior Championships, 26th at the 2008 Olympic Games and 21st at the 2009 World Championships...
.