Athens Olympic hammer throw champion Koji Murofushi will make his delayed season debut at the upcoming national track and field championships, athletics officials said Wednesday.
Murofushi is on the entry list for the June 2-5 meet at Tokyo's National Stadium released by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, along with such Olympic athletes as sprinter Shingo Suetsugu and 400-meter hurdler Dai Tamesue.
Earlier this month, Murofushi pulled out of the IAAF Grand Prix meet in Osaka, where he had been scheduled to open his new season. Suetsugu will run in the men's 100 and 200 meters at the nationals, which double as a qualifier for the world championships to be held in Helsinki in August.
Other entries include Daichi Sawano, the national record holder in the men's pole vault. Yumiko Hara, Harumi Hiroyama and Megumi Oshima, who have already qualified for the women's marathon at the world championships, will run in the 10,000 meters.
Athletes who have met the "A" qualifying standards this year will earn automatic places in the world championships if they win at the upcoming national meet.