KAWASAKI — A national team selection is usually like a preliminary skirmish in an Olympic year. But the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) provided a pretty clear criterion in picking its delegates for the upcoming Beijing Games — dispatch those who can compete with the world.
The JAAF revealed 32 members — 22 men and 10 women including the marathon runners who had already been announced in March — for Team Japan's track and field representatives on Monday, one day after the four-day Japan Track and Field National Championships wrapped up in Kawasaki.
Japan has been given 36 athletics spots for the Olympics, and the complete roster will be finalized after the Chuhei Nanbu Memorial meet this coming Sunday in Hakodate, Hokkaido.