Asami Chiba

Asami Chiba (千葉 麻美, Chiba Asami; born 25 September 1985), or Tanno, is a Japanese sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. She is the Japanese record holder in the event, and has also broken the national record in the 4×400 metres relay on multiple occasions. She is a member of Natureal Athlete Club in Japan and is coached by Kazuhisa Kawamoto.

A five-time national champion in the 400 m, she has only lost once in the event at the Japanese championships, to Satomi Kubokura. She mainly competes on the Japanese athletics circuit, running at the Osaka Grand Prix, Shizuoka International and the Super Meet in Kawasaki.

A native of Yabuki, Fukushima, Asami Tanno won her first international medals at the 2002 Asian Junior Athletics Championships, taking the 400 m silver behind Sathi Geetha and a bronze with the Japanese relay team. After making significant improvements upon her 2003 performances, she came to prominence at the 2004 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Ipoh. She set a Japanese record in the 400 m with 52.88 seconds, a time that is still the national junior record. She also ran in the 4×100 metres relay, winning her first international gold medal.

Further success came at scholastic level, as she set championship records to win the 200 m and 400 m at the Japanese Inter-Collegiate Championships. She won a bronze medal in the 200 metres at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships and won the 400 m events at both the Japanese National Games (Kokutai) and the national championships that year. Also, she competed at her first World Junior Championships, reaching the final and finishing in sixth place.

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