Skip to main content

Women's 1500 m Meet Record Caps National University Individual Track and Field Championships

by Brett Larner

The 2009 National University Individual Track and Field Championships took place June 12-14 in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture just south of Tokyo. An elective meet in which student athletes can choose to compete as opposed to September's team-oriented National University Track and Field Championships, the National Individual Championships offer a rare chance to see athletes from other parts of the country take on those from the powerful, Tokyo-centric Kanto Region.

Coached by Keiichi Murai, the husband of two-time World Championships marathon medalist Reiko Tosa, Matsuyama University's Mami Sogabe and Toshika Tamura both broke the year-old women's 1500 m meet record. Sogabe clocked 4:29.03 and Tamura 4:29.10, with Ritsumeikan University's Hanae Tanaka getting under the old record as well in 4:29.12.

New meet records also came on the track in the men's 3000 mSC, with Masamori Kabuki of Tohoku Fukushi University running 8:58.79 to mark the meet's first-ever sub-9 time, and in the women's 100 mH, where Rena Joshita of Aoyama Gakuin University ran 13.42. Field events saw new meet records in both the men's and women's high jump, the men's shot put, the women's pole vault and the women's triple jump.

Click here for complete results from the 2009 National University Individual Track and Field Championships.

2009 National University Individual Track and Field Championships - Top Results
Women's 5000 m: Kaori Koriki (Kanaya Sports Univ.) - 16:32.52
Women's 1500 m:
1. Mami Sogabe (Matsuyama Univ.) - 4:29.03 - MR
2. Toshika Tamura (Matsuyama Univ.) - 4:29.10 - (MR)
3. Hanae Tanaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 4:29.12 - (MR)
Women's 800 m: Yukari Nomura (Chuo Univ.) - 2:07.84
Women's 100 mH: Rena Joshita (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13.42 - MR
Women's High Jump: Yuki Mimura (Kansai Univ.) - 1.81 - MR
Women's Pole Vault: Tomomi Abiko (Doshisha Univ.) - 4.00 - MR
Women's Triple Jump:
1. Waka Maeda (Tsukuba Univ.) - 12.82 - MR
2. Aguri Osaka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 12.61 - (MR)

Men's 5000 m: Takuro Nakanishi (Fukuoka Univ.) - 14:23.57
Men's 3000 mSC: Masamori Kabuki (Tohoku Fukushi Univ.) - 8:58.79 - MR
Men's 1500 m: Takuro Nakanishi (Fukuoka Univ.) - 3:53.25
Men's 800 m: Akihiro Katsumada (Hosei Univ.) - 1:52.05
Men's High Jump: Hiromi Takahari (Tokai Univ.) - 2.20 - MR
Men's Shot Put: Sotaro Yamada (Hosei Univ.) - 17.52 - MR

(c) 2009 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Matsumoto Marathon Canceled After Fraudulently Hiding Past Financial Losses

On Apr. 23 the city government of Matsumoto, Nagano announced that it was canceling this fall's Matsumoto Marathon after discovering accounting fraud in the event's operation. "We are going to conduct a review of how the race has been conducted up to now," a statement from the city read. Mayor Yoshinao Gaun apologized at a press conference, saying, "We sincerely apologize for letting down everyone involved in putting the event together." The Matsumoto Marathon is run by an executive committee made up of representatives from the city, the Matsumoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Shinano Mainichi Newspaper, and the relevant track and field associations. According to city officials, financial records for the November, 2023 edition of the race were fraudulently manipulated. Income from participants' entry fees was lower than expected, and although the city managed to get the Shinano Mainichi, to which it had outsourced overall event management, to r...

Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon

On Apr. 9 the Kinki Region Bureau of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Division arrested Matthew Inglis Fox , 38, an Australian business owner of no known fixed address, on charges of violating the importation regulations of the Narcotics Control Act by smuggling tablets containing marijuana elements from the United States. The suspect had entered Japan in February to run in the Osaka Marathon . The suspect was arrested on suspicion of smuggling approximately 12 pills containing marijuana by sending them from a U.S. airport to Osaka's Kansai Airport using an international courier service on Feb. 19. The Osaka branch of the Customs Service discovered the tablets in arriving cargo and suspected them to be narcotics. Customs contacted the Narcotics Control Division, which then began its investigation of the case. According to the Narcotics Control Division, the suspect denies the charges.  Translator's note: Fox, who received a lifetime ban from the Ageo City Half Mara...

Nyiva and Wolde Win Gifu Seiryu Half

Two good races happened Sunday at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon . The women's race was a head-to-head race between 2022 marathon world champion Gotytom Gebreslase and debuting Japan-based Janet Nyiva . Side-by-side through 15 km, Nyiva shattered Gebreslase with a massive surge over the last 5 km that ultimately put 52 second between them, Nyiva wining in 1:07:37 and Gebreslase next in 1:08:29. 2023 Asian marathon champion Eunice Chebichii Chumba held off the up-and-coming Kana Kobayashi , a member of Japan's marathon team for September's Tokyo World Championships, with a 1:09:07 for 3rd. Kobayashi's 1:09:09 for 4th was a PB by almost 5 minutes and the fastest time ever on the rolling Gifu course by a Japanese woman. Yumi Yoshikawa was 5th in 1:10:51. Five men went out front on mid-59 pace. Dawit Wolde , debuting Kiprono Sitonik , Vincent Yegon and veteran Bedan Karoki all took turns leading, with only Richard Kimunyan tucking in and declining to share the load. ...