Yuriko Kobayashi is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 middle- and long-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 metres

1500 metres

The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...

 and 5000 metres

5000 metres

The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...

. She represented Japan at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

.

She started out in middle-distance events, running in the 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...

 at the 2004 World Junior Championships

2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics

The 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics was the 2004 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Grosseto in Italy.-Men:-Women:-Medals table:-References:*. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-06-06....

 and then winning a 1500 m 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 World Youth Championships in Athletics the following year. She won the bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 in the 1500 m at the 2005 Asian Championships in Athletics

2005 Asian Championships in Athletics

The 16th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Incheon, South Korea in 2005.- Men :- Women :- Medal table :- External links :*...

 and went one better at the 2006 Asian Games

2006 Asian Games

The 15th Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad, is Asia's Olympic-style sporting event that was held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to December 15, 2006. Doha was the first city in its region and only the second in West Asia to host the games...

 by taking the silver medal 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...

. Kobayashi moved up to specialise in longer distances and ran the 5000 m a the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last 10 days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking...

 after becoming the Japanese national champion

National champions 5000 metres (women)

Below a list of all National champions in the Women's 5000 metres in track and field from several countries since 1980. In most countries however the event was contested for the first time in 1995...

 in the event.

She gave the best performance by an Asian runner in the women's 5000 m at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics

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....

, finishing in eleventh and beating her domestic rival Yurika Nakamura

Yurika Nakamura

is a Japanese long-distance runner. Nakamura grew up in the Hyōgo Prefecture.She finished seventh at the 2006 World Road Running Championships, helping the Japanese team win the bronze medal in the team competition. In 2008, she won the Nagoya Marathon in her marathon debut. In the 2008 Summer...

. Kobayashi ended her season with a 5000 m gold medal 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...

. She was selected to represent Asia/Pacific at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup

2010 IAAF Continental Cup

The 1st IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally scheduled as the 11th IAAF World Cup in Athletics, it was renamed in 2008 when the IAAF revamped the competition format...

, but managed only eighth place in the 3000 m. The following January, she ran for Hyōgo at the 2011 Women's Inter-Prefectural Ekiden and set a new stage record in her section, although the team finished in ninth position overall. She was the bornze medalist in the 5000 m 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...

, one place behind her compatriot Hitomi Niiya

Hitomi Niiya

is a Japanese long-distance runner who competes in cross country running and marathon races. She represents Team Toyota Industries in national competition....

. At the International Chiba Ekiden

International Chiba Ekiden

The International Chiba Ekiden is an annual team road running competition held in Chiba, Japan in late November. The marathon relay race, or ekiden as it is known in Japan, is one of the prominent annual races of its kind. The competition is split into six legs which combine to make up the marathon...

 in November she won the first women's stage for Japan, setting a race record for her leg, and the mixed team went on to finish a close second behind Kenya.

Achievements

2004	World Junior Championships 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics was the 2004 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Grosseto in Italy.-Men:-Women:-Medals table:-References:*. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-06-06....	Grosseto Grosseto Grosseto is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies 14 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain, on the Ombrone river.... , Italy	4th (heats)	800 m
2005	World Youth Championships 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics is the 2005 version of the World Youth Championships in Athletics. It was held in Marrakesh, Morocco.The host stadium was Stade Sidi Youssef Ben Ali.-Boys:-Girls:-Medals table:...	Marrakech Marrakech Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history... , Morocco Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...	2nd	1500 m
	Asian Championships 2005 Asian Championships in Athletics The 16th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Incheon, South Korea in 2005.- Men :- Women :- Medal table :- External links :*...	Incheon Incheon The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City... , South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...	3rd	1500 m
2006	World Cross Country Championships 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 34th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 1-2 April 2006 in Fukuoka, Japan.The event was once again dominated by Ethiopian and Kenyan runners and also Eritrean runners...	Fukuoka Fukuoka, Fukuoka is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by... , Japan 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...	11th	Team competition
	World Junior Championships 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2006 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held from 15 August to 20 August at the Chaoyang Sports Center in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China....	Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... , China	3rd	1500 m
	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...	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... , Qatar Qatar Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...	2nd	1500 m
2008	Summer Olympics Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last 10 days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking...	Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... , China	7th (heats)	5000 m
2009	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....	Berlin Berlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... , Germany	11th	5000 m 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 5000 metres The women's 5000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics will be held at the Olympic Stadium on 19 and 22 August-Medalists:-Records:-Qualification standards:-Schedule:-Heats:...
	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...	Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... , China	1st	5000 m

Personal bests

• 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...
  
   – 2:05.78 min (2006)
• 1500 metres
  1500 metres
  The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...
  
   – 4:07.86 min (2006)
• 3000 metres
  3000 metres
  The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...
  
   – 8:51.85 min (2008)
• 5000 metres
  5000 metres
  The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...
  
  – 15:07.37 min (2008)