Skip to main content

Hayakari Breaks Own Steeplechase National Record in Heusden

by Brett Larner


Minori Hayakari`s 3000 m SC national record.

2008 National Track and Field Championships women`s 3000 m steeplechase champion Minori Hayakari (Kyoto Koka AC) ran 9:33.93 to break her own Japanese national record by almost 5 seconds at the KBC Night of Athletics in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium on July 20th. Her time, which was nearly 15 seconds better than her winning time at last month`s Nationals, landed Hayakari in 4th place just a step behind 3rd place finisher Irini Kokkinariou of Greece. 1st and 2nd place finishers Jenny Barringer and Anna Willard finished in a virtual tie, both breaking the U.S. national record. Heusden remained a lucky meet for Hayakari after having set the former Japanese national record at last year`s KBC Night of Athletics.

In the men`s 1500 m B-group, Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko), infamous for falling just meters before the finish while leading the 1500 m at last month`s Nationals, ran his best time of the season but just missed the Olympic B-standard. Osaka World Championships men`s 10000 m team member Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) ran a PB to break the Olympic B-standard in the men`s 5000 m B-group but came up short of making the Olympic A-standard and securing the final spot on the Beijing Olympic team. It was a good day overall for the Japanese men in the 5000, with 5 of the 8 men entered running PBs. 2007 National 3000 m steeplechase champion Jun Shinoto (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko), who fell during the steeplechase at this year`s Nationals and finished last, continued his run of bad luck when he scored a DNF in the 5000 m.

Japanese results at Heusden (click for video):

Men`s 800 m B-group
8. Hiroshi Sasano: 1:49.57

Women`s 1500 m
13. Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic): 4:12.73
17. Nanae Kuwashiro (Team Acom): 4:21.79

Men`s 1500 m B-group
6. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko): 3:40.97

Women`s 3000 m SC
4. Minori Hayakari (Kyoto Koka AC): 9:33.93 - NR

Men`s 5000 m B-group
5. Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko): 13:25.24 - PB
16. Hidekazu Sato (Team Toyota Boshoku): 13:33.86 - PB

Men`s 5000 m National 1-group
4. Tsuyoshi Makabe (Team Kanebo): 13:40.04 - PB
5. Kazuharu Takai (Team Kyudenko): 13:40.10
7. Yuki Iwai (Team Asahi Kasei): 13:46.14 - PB
8. Hiroyuki Yamada (Team Konica-Minolta): 13:48.71 - PB
DNF: Jun Shinoto (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko)

Men`s 5000 m National 2-group
5. Tsuyoshi Takahashi: 14:22.51

A complete list of results is available here.

(c) 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Keita Sato Joins Swoosh TC

After appearing at a Nike event on Apr. 3, U20 1500 m NR and indoor 3000 m and 5000 m NR holder Keita Sato , 22, updated his Instagram profile to announce that he is joining Nike's Swoosh TC . At the Nike event Sato said that he plans to run the 1500 m at the Apr. 11 Kanaguri Memorial Meet, then will move to the U.S. "To be successful at the global level I need to train and grow alongside world-class athletes," he said. "I have to take every day seriously in order to achieve that dream of being internationally competitive." Swoosh TC was founded last year. Its coach Mike Smith has guided many athletes to international championships, including prior to Swoosh TC's launch, with some earning medals and podium finishes under his leadership. photo © 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved source article: https://www.rikujyokyogi.co.jp/archives/204241/2 translated by Brett Larner
Post a Comment
Read more

Updates on Transfers

April 1 is the start of Japan's new academic and fiscal year, and there's always a wave of transfer announcements to go with it. Some notable ones yesterday: 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo skipped university to go straight to 2023 Queens Ekiden national champion Sekisui Kagaku after her graduation from Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. Multiple NR holder Nozomi Tanaka rejoined the Toyota Jidoshokki women's team after having left it to pursue a solo pro career as a New Balance athlete. Already on the team for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games in the 10000 m, Ririka Hironaka announced a switch from her longtime home at Japan Post to the Uniqlo women's team. Collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda joined the 2026 national champion GMO corporate team after graduating from 2026 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University last week. Hakone Ekdien First Stage CR holder Rui Aoki joins the Sumitomo Denko corporate team after running his final race for 2025 Izumo Ekiden w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Weekend Track Roundup

There were 2 decently competitive meets in the Tokyo area this weekend. Saturday saw the new year's first edition of the Setagaya Time Trials meet. Takuma Akiyoshi took the men's 3000 m A-heat over his MABP Maverick teammate Festus Kiprono Cheruiyot with a 7:58.32 PB. Cheruiyot just held off 3rd-placer Nao Kurihara 7:59.92 to 8:00.02, with MABP runners taking the top 5 spots. The top 7 in the men's 5000 m A-heat all cleared 14 minutes. Still a 6-way race with 400 m to go, Tatsuya Maruyama of Komori Corp. came out on top in 13:48.49, with 5th-placer Kazuki Ishii of Yakult just over a second behind in 13:49.63. Lacking the gear to stay with them, new American marathon sensation Ethan Shuley fell back to 6th in 13:57.12 in his first-ever track 5000 m, holding off 7th-placer Daiki Nomimura of NTT Nishi Nihon who came up from behind to finish in 13:58.30. Sunday was the 59th edition of the Tokyo Big 6 meet between Waseda University , Meiji University , Hosei Univers...
Post a Comment
Read more