is a Japanese

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete who competes in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ...

. He is the reigning Asian champion in the event. Born in Okayama Prefecture, Abe initially contested both the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hu ...

and the 400 m hurdles, winning silver and gold medals at the Japanese high school championships in 2009. He chose to specialise in the latter event from mid-2009 onwards. Abe ran a personal best of 49.46 seconds to claim the silver medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics, finishing closely behind the strong favourite Jehue Gordon. He also ran with the Japanese

4×400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

team, helping them to fifth place. His hurdles time made him the third best Asian in the event that year, after compatriots

Kenji Narisako (born 25 July 1984) is a Japanese hurdler. He won the bronze medal at the 2001 World Youth Championships, and the gold medals at the 2005 Summer Universiade and the 2006 Asian Games. He also competed at the World Championships in 2005 and 2 ...

and Takayuki Koike. Abe made his second ever sub-50-second clocking at the 2011 Japanese Athletics Championships, where he took third with a time of 49.81 seconds. He was selected to represent Japan at the

2011 Asian Athletics Championships The 19th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Kobe, Japan between July 7–10, 2011 at the Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium. The tournament had 507 athletes from forty Asian nations competing in the 42 track and field events over the fou ...

in Kobe and he went away with his first regional title, ending the race with a time of 49.64 seconds to win the gold medal. He competed at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

International competition

National titles

* Japanese Championships **400 m hurdles: 2017, 2019, 2020

References

External links

*
Takatoshi Abe
at Yamada Denki Athletics Club * 1991 births Living people Japanese male hurdlers Sportspeople from Okayama Prefecture Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Universiade silver medalists for Japan Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade World Athletics Championships athletes for Japan Japan Championships in Athletics winners Olympic athletes for Japan Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 20th-century Japanese people 21st-century Japanese people {{Japan-athletics-bio-stub