Skip to main content

Omwamba Secures Triple Title; More World-Class Sprinting at Kanto Regionals

by Brett Larner

After doubling in the 1500 m and 10000 m last weekend, Yamanashi Gakuin University sophomore Enock Omwamba took his third title of this year's Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships, outrunning #1-ranked Japanese collegiate Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.) and fellow Kenyan Daniel Kitonyi (Nihon Univ.) for the win in the Div. I 5000 m, clocking a solid 13:31.54.  Kosei Yamaguchi (Josai Univ.), 6th in 13:55.85, deserves special mention for running the 5000 m just after winning his fourth-straight Kanto Div. I steelechase title.  The Div. II 5000 m was a nearly perfect replica of the Div. I race, Duncan Muthee (Takushoku Univ.) outkicking Yudai Okamoto (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) and Ethiopian Leul Gebrselassie (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) for the win in 13:56.22.

Earlier the same morning, Takumi Honda of 2013 Hakone Ekiden champion Nittai University took the honors in the Div. I half marathon, running 1:04:25 just ahead of a 1:04:38 photo finish between Shogo Sekiguchi (Hosei Univ.) and Kento Otsu (Toyo Univ.).  Hiroshi Ichida (Daito Bunka Univ.), whose identical twin Takashi Ichida impressed in last week's 10000 m, was the top in the Div. II half marathon in 1:05:43.

Sprint action continued the momentum among Japan's younger set over the last month with a 20.41 (-0.5) win by London Olympian Ryota Yamagata (Keio Univ.) in the Div. I men's 200 m final, a sizeable PB and well under the World Championships A-standard.  Yamagata is now the third Japanese man to get the A-standard this season, all collegiates.  One of those other collegiates, 2010 World Junior 200 m gold medalist Shota Iizuka of Chuo University, led an incredible Div. I 4x100 m relay final, with Iizuka anchoring Chuo to the win in 38.75 just ahead of rival Waseda University in 38.81.  Chuo's time was just short of its own 38.54 national collegiate record from Iizuka's first year at Chuo in 2010, but with a thrilling near photo-finish and two teams under 39 nobody was complaining.  With the three star collegiates and high school star Yoshihide Kiryu (Rakunan H.S.) Japan has the makings of a pretty impressive relay team for August's World Championships even without any of the established names.

92nd Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships Pt II
Nissan Stadium and environs, 5/25-26/13
click here for complete results

Men's Div. I 200 m Final (-0.5 wind)
1. Ryota Yamagata (Keio Univ.) - 20.41 - PB
2. Asuka Cambridge (Nihon Univ.) - 20.73
3. Masafumi Naoki (Chuo Univ.) - 20.81
4. Kotaro Taniguchi (Chuo Univ.) - 20.87
5. Keisuke Nakamura (Juntendo Univ.) - 20.89

Men's Div. I 4x100 m Relay Final
1. Chuo University - 38.75
2. Waseda University - 38.81
3. Hosei University - 39.31
4. Keio University - 39.34
5. Nihon University - 39.35

Men's Div. I 5000 m
1. Enock Omwamba (Kenya/Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 13:31.54
2. Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.) - 13:34.30
3. Daniel Kitonyi (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) - 13:35.21
4. Shota Hattori (Nittai Univ.) - 13:50.01
5. Shuho Dairokuno (Meiji Univ.) - 13:50.13
6. Kosei Yamaguchi (Josai Univ.) - 13:55.85
7. Kazuma Kubota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:56.69
8. Keigo Yano (Nittai Univ.) - 13:59.20
9. Kazuto Nishiike (Hosei Univ.) - 14:06.95
10. Ken Yokote (Meiji Univ.) - 14:09.72

Men's Div. II 5000 m
1. Duncan Muthee (Kenya/Takushoku Univ.) - 13:56.22
2. Yudai Okamoto (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 13:58.29
3. Leul Gebreselassie (Ethiopia/Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) - 13:58.76
4. Ikuto Yufu (Komazawa Univ.) - 14:00.23
5. Hironori Tsuetaki (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 14:01.30

Men's Div. I Half Marathon
1. Takumi Honda (Nittai Univ.) - 1:04:25
2. Shogo Sekiguchi (Hosei Univ.) - 1:04:38
3. Kento Otsu (Toyo Univ.) - 1:04:38
4. Yusuke Suzuki (Nittai Univ.) - 1:04:39
5. Hiroto Inoue (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:04:47
6. Masaya Taguchi (Toyo Univ.) - 1:04:55
7. Yoshiki Takenouchi (Nihon Univ.) - 1:05:03
8. Shota Kai (Nittai Univ.) - 1:05:13
9. Koki Takada (Waseda Univ.) - 1:05:45
10. Yuma Morii (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:05:54

Men's Div. II Half Marathon
1. Hiroshi Ichida (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:05:43
2. Keita Shioya (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:05:51
3. Junji Katakawa (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:06:01
4. Kota Kakinuma (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:06:16
5. Yusei Tsutsumi (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:06:25

(c) 2013 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Chepkirui Wins Nagoya Women's Marathon

Heavy-duty favorite Sheila Chepkirui took the win at Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon , pulling away after 30 km to cruise in for 1st in 2:20:40. Erratic pacing early saw the first and second groups only seconds apart for much of the first half of the race, the top group slower than planned and the 2nd group a bit ahead of schedule. At halfway in 1:10:37 the front group included Chepkirui, #2-ranked Ruti Aga and last year's runner-up Eunice Chumba , and Japanese contingent Sayaka Sato , Rika Kaseda , Natsuki Omori and Mao Uesugi . Omori was the first to drop, then Uesugi, then Aga, who ultimately dropped out before 30 km. When the pacers stopped at 30 km Chepkirui made a move that dropped Kaseda and strung out Chumba and Sato behind her, but all four came back together once before another surge put Kaseda away for good. As Chepkirui inched away Sato and Chumba passed each other repeatedly, and Chumba could only watch as the top Japanese runner got away from her again thi...

Who's Running Tokyo Worlds?

The Japanese marathon teams will be the most prestigious ones to be on for September's Tokyo World Championships, and with Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon the window for Japanese athletes to get onto the JAAF's shortlist closed. Who's on it? The final decision won't be made until Mar. 26, but let's look through the selection criteria and see who's guaranteed, who's pretty likely, and who has a chance. 1. Marathon medalists at the Paris Olympics - There weren't any, so nobody makes the team this way. Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) were the top placers, both of them running PBs in the Olympics to finish 6th. You'd think that would count for something a year later, but you'd think wrong. 2. JMC Series IV Champions - The top point scorers in the Japan Marathon Championship Series IV, which ran from April, 2023 to March, 2025, earn places on the marathon teams along with cash prizes. For women that's Yuka ...

Tokyo Marathon Top Japanese Man Tsubasa Ichiyama Works 4 Days a Week, Walked On in College

38,000 people ran the 2025 Tokyo Marathon . Every runner had their own story, but one of the most special was Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx). Despite being on almost nobody's radar, he outran some of the best in the country to finish as the top Japanese man. Ichiyama ran most of the race in the 3rd pace group, going through halfway in 1:02:44 and 30 km in 1:29:13. When the pacers stopped, he showed what he could really do. "I'm not good at downhills, so in the first part it was hard to run smoothly," he said at the post-race press conference. "But after the downhill part ended I got into my rhythm, and I think that helped me over the 2nd half." After dropping Asian Games gold medalist Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) and others, he quickly bore down on the Japanese athletes who had gone out faster in the 2nd pace group. Overtaking Paris Olympics 6th placer Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuhei Urano (Fujitsu), at 39.8 km he caught all-time Japanese #2 man Yohei I...