Skip to main content

Fujimoto Wins 2nd-Straight Kanto Regionals 5000 m

by Brett Larner


Emerging from nowhere to win last year's Kanto Regional University T&F Championships men's 5000 m with the memorable words, "I feel like I woke up in someone else's life," Taku Fujimoto (Kokushikan Univ.) did it again, winning a three-way sprint finish against #1-ranked university man Akinobu Murasawa (Tokai Univ.) and Asian half-marathon jr. area record holder Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.) to take his second-straight Kanto 5000 m title on May 22 at Tokyo's National Stadium. Expected competition from rivals Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Meiji Univ.) and Benjamin Gandu (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) never materialized as Murasawa, who missed a World Championships 10000 m qualifying mark by less than a second at last month's Hyogo Relays, was relentless in pushing the pace through humidity and wind. Osako and Fujimoto, both of whom broke 3:48 for the first time last weekend in the Kanto Regionals 1500 m, sat on his shoulders, steadily applying the pressure. Murasawa tried to get away with a long surge over the final km but, although he managed to hold off Osako, Fujimoto's last kick proved too strong. Fujimoto took the win in 13:49.69 with Murasawa just behind in 13:49.91 and Osako another step back in 13:50.32, reiterating that his surprise win last year was far from a fluke.

The Div. 2 men's 5000 m was also interesting as newcomer Joseph Onsarigo (Kenya/Sozo Gakuen Univ.), coached by Samuel Wanjiru's mentor Stephen Mayaka, outran Takushoku's pair of Kenyan aces John Maina and Duncan Muthee for the win in 13:53.28. First-year Mitsunori Asaoka (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) was the first Japanese finisher, 3rd overall in 14:05.93. Further back, Muthee, the winner of last weekend's Kanto Div. 2 10000 m, battled Ikuto Yufu (Komazawa Univ.), who outkicked Maina last weekend for the Kanto Div. 2 1500 m title. The 1500 m champ vs. the 10000 m. champ over 5000 m, and although both relatively underperformed Yufu came out ahead, 6th in 14:13.99.


The half-marathon is one of the events that sets the Kanto Regionals meet apart, ten laps of a difficult, twisting, hilly course through and around the National Stadium run in two sections with starts timed three minutes apart. Conditions this year were flatulently awful, with nearly 30 degree temperatures, high humidity, strong winds and unrelenting sunshine. Times were accordingly among the slowest on record. The lead pack in the Div. 1 group, including two-time defending champion Cosmas Ondiba (Kenya/Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) and 2009 Ageo City Half Marathon winner Shota Hiraga (Waseda Univ.), set off on course record pace in complete disregard of the conditions, and without exception all of them paid for it.

Eventual winner Hirotaka Tamura (Nihon Univ.) never made an attempt to run among the leaders in the early stages, only advancing to take control in the last quarter of the race. 4th-placer Soichiro Ichikawa (Waseda Univ.), a virtual no-name among the three-deep Waseda squad, likewise held back and advanced late in the race in a brilliant performance that fell just 3 seconds short of earning him the runner-up spot. Ondiba and Hiraga paid for their early speed, finishing only 6th and 7th, while Tamura's brother Yusuke Tamura (Josai Univ.) rounded out the top 8. The Div. 2 heat was more conservative, as a large pack led by last year's winner and Hakone Ekiden Sixth Stage record holder Kenta Chiba (Komazawa Univ.) held together throughout the race, winner Daiki Nomoto (Takushoku Univ.) pulling away from Chiba only in the final km.

In the weekend's other distance events, women's 10000 m champion and first-year student Mai Shinozuka (Chuo Univ.) came back to double with another win in the 5000 m. Kanto university women's distance running is relatively weak compared with the men's competition as most of the top women go to the Kansai region, but with a double title to name less than two months into her university career Shinozuka is someone whose name may be worth filing away.

Jobu University first-year Shun Sato also got attention with a strong breakaway win in the men's Div. 2 3000 m steeplechase, winning in 8:52.95 against more experienced competition. Sato's time would have been good enough to win the far deeped Div. 1 heat, where Kosei Yamaguchi (Josai Univ.) won in 8:53.74.

2011 Kanto Regional University T&F Championships
Part Two, National Stadium, Tokyo, 5/21-22/11
click section headers for video

1. Hirotaka Tamura (Nihon Univ.) - 1:05:11
2. Sho Matsueda (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:05:36
3. Daichi Motomura (Tokai Univ.) - 1:05:36
4. Soichiro Ichikawa (Waseda Univ.) - 1:05:39
5. Kentaro Tone (Tokai Univ.) - 1:06:16
6. Cosmas Ondiba (Kenya/Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:06:17
7. Shota Hiraga (Waseda Univ.) - 1:06:21
8. Yusuke Tamura (Josai Univ.) - 1:06:24

1. Daiki Nomoto (Takushoku Univ.) - 1:06:14
2. Kenta Chiba (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:06:19
3. Kensuke Ujihara (Jobu Univ.) - 1:06:29
4. Aritaka Kajiwara (Shoin Univ.) - 1:06:37
5. Masaru Aoki (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 1:06:42

1. Mai Shinozuka (Chuo Univ.) - 16:27.88
2. Haruna Takada (Hakuo Univ.) - 16:37.66
3. Moeno Nakamura (Josai Kokusai Univ.) - 16:40.04
4. Nanaka Izawa (Juntendo Univ.) - 16:42.47
5. Hiromi Katakai (Josai Univ.) - 16:42.70

1. Taku Fujimoto (Kokushikan Univ.) - 13:49.69
2. Akinobu Murasawa (Tokai Univ.) - 13:49.91
3. Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.) - 13:50.32
4. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Meiji Univ.) - 13:57.64
5. Yo Yazawa (Waseda Univ.) - 13:59.39
6. Keita Shitara (Toyo Univ.) - 13:59.16
7. Benjamin Gandu (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) - 14:03.57
8. Tsubasa Hayakawa (Tokai Univ.) - 13:04.66

1. Joseph Onsarigo (Kenya/Sozo Gakuen Univ.) - 13:53.28
2. John Maina (Kenya/Takushoku Univ.) - 13:55.17
3. Mitsunori Asaoka (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 14:05.93
4. Keisuke Fujii (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 14:07.10
5. Hiromitsu Kakuage (Komazawa Univ.) - 14:12.29
6. Ikuto Yufu (Komazawa Univ.) - 14:13.99
7. Duncan Muthee (Kenya/Takushoku Univ.) - 14:15.46
8. Wataru Ueno (Komazawa Univ.) - 14:16.51

1. Kosei Yamaguchi (Josai Univ.) - 8:53.74
2. Fumiya Tanji (Tsukuba Univ.) - 8:55.82
3. Shuhei Shirota (Chuo Univ.) - 8:56.84
4. Yusuke Fusejima (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 8:56.92
5. Shun Yamaryo (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 8:57.99

1. Shun Sato (Jobu Univ.) - 8:52.95
2. Shunsuke Mikata (Asia Univ.) - 8:55.95
3. Yuki Itaya (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 9:00.79
4. Takaaki Osako (Teikyo Univ.) - 9:02.97
5. Tomoki Shibayama (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 9:06.99

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Japan Post Holds Off Sekisui Kagaku to Win Queens Ekiden National Title

  Japan Post  was back on top at the Queens Ekiden corporate women's national championships Sunday in Sendai, holding off last year's winner Sekisui Kagaku  over the second half of a race that came as close as 1 second to take 1st with a final margin of victory of 27 seconds. Sekisui Kagaku was out fast with a win on the 7.0 km opening leg by Erika Tanoura  and a new CR for the 12:56 second leg by Yuma Yamamoto , 17 seconds better than her own CR from last year. Last year's 4th-placer Shiseido  briefly led on the 10.6 km third leg with an excellent 33:17 stage win from Rino Goshima , but behind her Japan Post's Ririka Hironaka  returned from her latest injury problems to pass Sekisui Kagaku's Sayaka Sato  and hand off 6 seconds ahead. New recruit Caroline Kariba  ran Shiseido down on the 3.6 km fourth leg and put Japan Post 22 seconds ahead of Sekisui Kagaku, but a duel of marathoners between JP's  Ayuko Suzuki  and Sekisui's Hitomi Niiy...
Post a Comment
Read more

2023 Champion Kamimura Gakuen Girls Ready for Sunday's National High School Ekiden

Ahead of the Dec. 22 National High School Ekiden in Kyoto, the 2023 national champion Kamimura Gakuen H.S. girls held an open practice session for the media. 2023 was Kamimura Gakuen's only 2nd national title ever. Can it make it two in a row? The Kamimura Gakuen girls won the Nov. 2 Kagoshima Prefecture High School Ekiden, its 9th-straight win and 31st victory overall in the prefectural qualifying race for Nationals. 3rd on her stage at Nationals last year as part of the winning team, Hina Ogura summed up this year's lineup. "There's no really dominant star runner this year, but each person is aware of their position on the team and working together to share in everyone playing leading roles." Sakine Noguchi ran the Second Stage at Nationals last year. "I think we've improved our stamina," she said, "so I hope that we can get the best possible results and all finish with a smile." Handling the First Stage last year, Rin Setoguchi said,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ekiden Great Naoki Okamoto to Retire in January at Age 40

  The Chugoku Denryoku  men's corporate team has announced that team member Naoki Okamoto , 40, will retire in January. Born in May, 1984, Okamoto went to Tohaku J.H.S.  and Yura Ikuei H.S.  before enrolling at Meiji University . His 2nd year at Meiji he helped it make it through the Hakone Ekiden qualifying race for the first time in 14 years and ran Hakone at the end of that season in 2005. He went on to run it his 3rd and 4th years too, placing 6th on the First Stage and 9th on the highly competitive Second Stage. After graduating in 2007 he joined Chugoku Denryoku. He was a regular on its team at the New Year Ekiden, winning the Fifth Stage in 2010. But where he really made his name was the National Men's Ekiden, held every January in Hiroshima where Chugoku Denryoku is based. Running it 19 times, he passed a total of 134 competitors in his career there and came to be recognized as one of the event's icons. He also won its Seventh Stage in 2009. In the marathon, ...
Post a Comment
Read more