Yu Mitsuya marked the fastest time by a Japanese runner in the men's 10,000 meters in a national meet on Wednesday to book a spot at the world championships in Helsinki this August.
Mitsuya clocked a time of 27 minutes, 41.10 seconds to pass the A qualifying standard of 27.49 to claim a place in the Aug. 6-14 meet along with Terukazu Omori, who had already been named a representative for Japan.
Mitsuya quickened his pace toward the halfway point as he went on to finish in second in the race in Hokkaido for the third fastest time ever recorded in Japan.