is a Japanese

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the wom ...

er. He was the first Japanese athlete to win a

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

medal in the javelin, taking bronze at the 2009 edition with a throw of 82.97 metres. He was successful as a junior athlete and won the bronze medal in the javelin at the

1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 1998 edition of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Annecy, France from July 28 to August 2. Results Men 1 Ahmed Baday of Morocco originally won the bronze medal ...

. He established himself as one of Asia's top throwers in the following years, winning silver medals at the

2001 East Asian Games The 3rd East Asian Games were held in Osaka, Japan from May 19, 2001, to May 27, 2001. Sports The 2001 East Asian Games featured events in 15 sports, which was a new high for the competition. * Aquatics () ** Swimming ** Synchronized swimmin ...

, 2002 Asian Games, and the

2003 Asian Athletics Championships The 15th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Manila, Philippines on September 20–23, 2003. Results Men Women Medal table Participating nations * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Se ...

. His first global appearance was at the 2004 Summer Olympics and he finished 18th overall in the final rankings. The

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...

was his next major tournament but he finished in 27th place with a disappointing throw of 68.31 m. He was runner-up for a second time at the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

and took part in the 2008 Summer Olympics two years later. Murakami was voted the Japanese athlete of the year for 2009 by both ''Rikujyo Kyougi Magazine'' (Track and Field Magazine of Japan) and the

Japan Association of Athletics Federations The is the national governing body for the sport of athletics in Japan. Presidents * Ryōzō Hiranuma (1929–1958) *Hiroshi Kasuga (1958–1964) * Ichirō Kōno (1965) * Kenzō Kōno (1965–1975) * Hanji Aoki (1975–1999) *Yōhei Kōno (1999� ...

. These awards capped a decade of national dominance – with ten consecutive wins, he won the javelin at every national championships in the 2000s. His performance at the 2009 World Championships included a personal best of 83.10 m to qualify for the final, and 82.97 m to win the bronze medal – his second best ever throw. He finished the year with a gold medal performance at the

2009 Asian Athletics Championships The 18th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Guangzhou, China in 2009. Results Men's results Track Field Women's results Track Field Medal table Participating nations * (12) * (1) * (1) * (77) * (22) * (16) * ...

. He started 2010 with a throw of 82.49 m in

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: *Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan *Wakayama (city) Wakayama City Hall is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 househol ...

in April – his longest throw achieved in Japan. He extended his consecutive national title run to eleven in June, out-throwing Nobuhiro Sato by four metres.Nakamura, Ken (2010-06-07)
Murofushi and Murakami extended their winning streak at the Japanese National Championships
IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-06-07. On April 29, 2013, he extended his personal best by more than 2 meters to 85.96, more than 1 meter longer than London Olympic winning throw, and 2nd best by a Japanese javelin thrower after

Kazuhiro Mizoguchi is a Japanese former javelin thrower. He set the world best year performance in 1989, throwing 87.60 metres at a meet in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cu ...

International competitions

Seasonal bests by year

*1997 - 76.54 *1998 - 73.62 *1999 - 71.70 *2000 - 78.57 *2001 - 80.59 *2002 - 78.77 *2003 - 78.98 *2004 - 81.71 *2005 - 79.79 *2006 - 78.54 *2007 - 79.85 *2008 - 79.71 *2009 - 83.10 *2010 - 83.15 *2011 - 83.53 *2012 - 83.95 *2013 - 85.96 *2014 - 81.66 *2015 - 79.05

References

External links