Sayaka Aoki (athlete)

Sayaka Aoki
	in India in 2017
Personal information
Native name	青木沙弥佳
Nationality	Japanese
Born	15 December 1986 (age 37); Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Height	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight	49 kg (108 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	4 × 400 metres relay
College team	Fukushima University
Achievements and titles
Personal best	400 m: 53.40 s (2007)

Sayaka Aoki (青木沙弥佳, Aoki Sayaka, born 15 December 1986 in Gifu Prefecture) is a Japanese track and field sprinter and hurdler, who specializes in the 400 metres sprint and 400 metres hurdles. She competed for her country as part of the Japanese women's 4 × 400 metres relay team at the Summer Olympics in 2008 and the World Championships in Athletics three times (2007, 2009, 2015). She has been a four-time medallist in the relay at the Asian Athletics Championships (2007, 2011, 2013, 2017), including a gold medal in 2011. She won her first major international medal in the hurdles – a bronze – at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships.

Aoki competed for the women's 4 × 400 m relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, along with her teammates Mayu Kida, Satomi Kubokura, and Asami Tanno. She ran on the anchor leg of the first heat, with an individual-split time of 52.64 seconds. Aoki and her team finished the relay in last place for a seasonal best time of 3:30.52, failing to advance into the final.^[1]

Born in Gifu Prefecture, she attended Fukushima University and represented her country as a student-athlete at the 2007 Universiade.^[2]

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing Japan
2007	Asian Championships	Amman, Jordan	5th	400 m hurdles	59.55
	Asian Championships	Amman, Jordan	2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:33.82
	Universiade	Bangkok, Thailand	12th (h)	400 m hurdles	58.80
	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	11th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:30.17
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	15th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:30.52
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	38th (h)	400 m hurdles	63.56
	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	14th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:34.46
	Asian Championships	Guangzhou, China	7th	400 m hurdles	62.21
2010	Asian Games	Guangzhou, China	4th	4 × 400 m relay	3:31.81
2011	Asian Championships	Kobe, Japan	4th	400 m	54.15
2011	Asian Championships	Kobe, Japan	1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:35.00
2013	Asian Championships	Pune, India	3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:35.72
	East Asian Games	Tianjin, China	2nd	400 m hurdles	58.06
	East Asian Games	Tianjin, China	2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:40.55
2015	IAAF World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	2nd (B)	4 × 400 m relay	3:34.65
	Asian Championships	Wuhan, China	6th	400 m	54.61
	Asian Championships	Wuhan, China	4th	4 × 400 m relay	3:35.93
	World Championships	Beijing, China	13th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:28.91
2017	Asian Championships	Bhubaneswar, India	3rd	400 m hurdles	58.18
2017	Asian Championships	Bhubaneswar, India	3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:37.74
2019	Asian Championships	Doha, Qatar	10th (h)	400 m hurdles	59.43

References

^ "Women's 4×400m Relay Round 1 – Heat 1". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sayaka Aoki". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2012.