Dai Tamesue and Koji Murofushi qualified for the Beijing Summer Olympics, winning their respective events on Friday in the Japan Athletics National Championships at Todoroki Stadium in Kawasaki.
Tamesue, a two-time bronze medalist at the world championships in the 400-meter hurdles, finished first with a time of 49.17 seconds. He just made the cut. The Olympic "A" standard is 49.20.
"I was able to exhibit concentration," Tamesue said. "Since I've been struggling (in these years), this is the best (national championships) I ever competed in.
"You can talk about anxiety, but I kept believing in myself and also it supported me mentally that I didn't run away from things. I'm excited right now but this is not the final goal yet. I'd like to reward the fans' cheers with a (good) outcome."
Murofushi, meanwhile, picked up his 14th consecutive national title in the men's hammer. His best throw of the evening, 80.98 meters, came on his final attempt.
"I had a better result than I expected," said Murofushi, the 2004 Athens Olympics gold medalist. "The fans' cheering pushed my hammer. It was only the first competition for me (in 2008), and at the beginning my body movement wasn't very flexible.
"But I was able to move softly on my last two throws. I appreciate the fans who rooted for me, and I'd like to throw (the hammer) beyond the stands (at the Olympics)."
The four-day meet concludes on Sunday.
