The Japan Association of Athletics Federations announced its award recipients for the 2020 season on Thursday with long-distance track runner Hitomi Niiya capturing the Athlete of the Year accolade.
Niiya broke Yoko Shibui¡¯s 18-year-old national record in the women¡¯s 10,000 at December¡¯s national championships for long-distance disciplines at Osaka¡¯s Nagai Stadium. She booked a spot at this summer¡¯s Tokyo Limits with her record time of 30 minutes and 20.44 seconds.
The 32-year-old, who came out of a five-year retirement in 2018, set a new national record of 1:06:38 at the Houston Half Marathon in January 2020 as well.
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