Tanaka Wins 10000 m Debut, Gando Adds National Title to His Collection - National University Championships Day One

by Brett Larner

On the first day of the 2010 National University Track and Field Championships Kenyan Benjamin Gando (Nihon Univ.) added a national 10000 m title to his 10000 m win at May's Kanto Regional University Championships. With the fastest PB in the field by over 10 seconds there was little doubt that Gando would go on to exactly the type of runaway victory he scored, winning in 28:26.72 by a margin of nearly 20 seconds. It was left to teammates Akinobu Murasawa and Tsubasa Hayakawa of Tokai University and 2009 Ageo City Half Marathon winner Shota Hiraga (Waseda Univ.) to battle it out in a chase pack. Despite being one of three athletes over the course of the day to stumble at the same point on the track, possibly due to an obstruction which meet officials were examining immediately after the men's 10000 m, Murasawa took the runner-up spot with Hayakawa 3rd. Tanzanian Jackson Kwarai (Nara Sangyo Univ.) shook things up by overtaking Hiraga for 4th, the only runner from outside the Tokyo-centric Kanto region to make the top 15.

In the women's 10000 m the withdrawal of top-ranked Aki Odagiri (Meijo Univ.) meant that it should have been an easy win for 2008 national university 10000 m champion Michi Numata (Ritsumeikan Univ.), the only woman in the field with a PB under 33 minutes. The race went out roughly on pace for a 33:20 and Numata was content to sit in the front pack, taking the lead at times but never trying to press her competitors and apparently planning to save it for the last kilometer. The lead pack eventually whittled down to Numata, third-ranked Maria Yano (Matsuyama Univ.) and, in their 10000 m debuts, 15:40 5000 m runner Shiho Takechi (Bukkyo Univ.) and Numata's teammate Hanae Tanaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.). Tanaka stole the show with a stunning surge from 300 m out to win in 33:17.52 by a margin of nearly 5 seconds. Yano, coached by Keiichi Murai, the coach and husband of marathon great Reiko Tosa, likewise had a solid kick for 2nd. Takechi and Numata battled to the line with Takechi prevailing over the former champion for 3rd. A victim of her own underestimation of the competition, Numata had to be content with 4th as another teammate, Machiko Iwakawa (Ritsumeikan Univ.) rounded out the top 5.

2010 Japanese National University T&F Championships - Top Results

click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m

1. Benjamin Gando (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) - 28:26.72

2. Akinobu Murasawa (Tokai Univ.) - 28:45.16

3. Tsubasa Hayakawa (Tokai Univ.) - 28:57.72

4. Jackson Kwarai (Tanzania/Nara Sangyo Univ.) - 28:59.96 - PB

5. Shota Hiraga (Waseda Univ.) - 29:00.15

6. Hirotaka Tamura (Nihon Univ.) - 29:22.83

7. Dai Nakahara (Josai Univ.) - 29:44.96

8. Masaki Ito (Kokushikan Univ.) - 29:47.63

9. Takuya Noguchi (Nittai Univ.) - 29:55.47

10. Takuya Tanino (Nittai Univ.) - 30:06.24

Women's 10000 m

1. Hanae Tanaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 33:17.52 - debut

2. Maria Yano (Matsuyama Univ.) - 33:22.08

3. Shiho Takechi (Bukkyo Univ.) - 33:22.36 - debut

4. Michi Numata (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 33:22.40

5. Machiko Iwakawa (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 33:28.23

6. Natsumi Katsutani (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) - 33:30.95

7. Nanami Matsuura (Kagoshima Sports Univ.) - 33:50.44

8. Rika Kawashima (Bukkyo Univ.) - 33:56.60

9. Emi Mori (Bukkyo Univ.) - 34:08.92

10. Mizuki Utsumi (Matsuyama Univ.) - 34:22.33

Wanjiru Breaks Own MR, Fuwa and Ishida Return - Kanto Regionals Day 1 Highlights

Japan's best college meet kicked off Thursday at Tokyo's National Stadium at the 103rd Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships . Looking like she was doing a controlled tempo run, 2nd-yr Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) lapped the entire field to win the women's 10000 m in a meet record 32:02.87, almost 15 seconds under the record she last year in her debut. 3rd-yr Aoi Takahashi (Josai Univ.) was 2nd in 33:29.22 and 2nd-yr Nana Nagashima (Josai Kokusai Univ.) 3rd in a PB 33:30.28, but the other main news alongside Wanjiru's new record was the return of collegiate 10000 m record holder Seira Fuwa (Takushoku Univ.) in her first 10000 m in 19 months. Fuwa hung at the back of the chase pack for the first half, made a move to lead it in the second half, and ultimately faded to 9th in 33:40.20. Every comeback has to start somewhere. The D1 men's 10000 m had a tight group up front with the top 6 all finishing within 6 seconds and under 28:10. 3rd-yr Jam

Two-Time Olympic Marathon Medalist Erick Wainaina Referred to Prosectors on Suspicion of Assault

According to investigators, two-time Olympic marathon medalist Erick Wainaina has had his case referred to prosecutors after allegedly injuring a railway employee by striking him in the face at a station in Setagaya, Tokyo. Wainaina, 50, was the bronze medalist in the marathon at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and won silver in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Wainaina is suspected of assaulting a woman in her late teens and a male Tokyo Denentoshi Line employee by hitting them in the face during an altercation at Komazawa University Station in March this year, resulting in minor injuries to the man's face. According to investigators, the incident began on the train between Wainaina and the woman, and after getting off at Komazawa University Station he hit her in the face when she asked him to go to the station office with her to report it. When the male railway employee responded to the situation Wainaina reportedly hit him too. In response to questioning Wainaina is said to have answered,

Police Arrest 20-Year-Old Man Charged With Assaulting Female Runner at Popular Tokyo Running Spot

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a female runner along the banks of the Tama River in Ota Ward, Tokyo. "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go for a walk and move my body a bit," the man told police. Local resident Hirai Muroyama , 20, of no known occupation, was arrested on charges of sexual assault. He is accused of acts including grabbing the breasts of a woman in her 20s at around 10 p.m. on May 31 along the banks of the Tama River. According to police, the woman was taking a break in her run when Muroyama approached her silently from behind and grabbed her breasts before running away. Under police interrogation Muroyama told investigators, "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go out for a walk and move my body. I'd had a few drinks and was feeling pretty hype. She was totally my type." source article: https://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newsey

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