Skip to main content

16-Year-Old Hyuga Endo Runs 13:58.93 Tenth-Grade Record at Nittai Time Trials (updated)



by Brett Larner
photo by Kazuyuki Sugimatsu 
video by kozai1802

It was an amazing weekend of racing that saw world records fall at the Kumamoto Kosa 10-miler, Patrick Makau return and Japan get its 9th and 10th sub-2:10 men of the year in Fukuoka and Yuki Kawauchi take almost ten minutes off the Naha Marathon course record, but it didn't stop there.

In the 41st and final 5000 m heat of the day well after dark at the last full Nittai University Time Trials meet of 2014, 16-year-old Hyuga Endo (Gakko Hojin Ishikawa H.S.) took 36 seconds off his PB to finish 5th in 13:58.93, the first Japanese 10th grader to ever break 14 minutes.  Post-race he tweeted:
The Nittai University Time Trials were today!  My time was 13:58!  I'm really happy to have run the #1 time ever by a 10th grader.  Thanks to everyone who cheered for me I kept my pace all the way to the end without slowing down!  Thank you all very, very much for cheering!
And he wasn't alone.  12th grader Ryuya Kajitani (Hakuo Prep Ashikaga H.S.) was 3rd in 13:57.81 and 11th grader Rei Hasegawa (Toyokawa H.S.) 6th in 13:59.03, a solid showing in the buildup to the National High School Ekiden Championships in two weeks.  With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, when Endo will be a senior in university, on their horizons, Japan's young distance runners keep raising the bar for each other.

Nittai University Time Trials Men's 5000 m Heat 41
Yokohama, Kanagawa, 12/7/14
click here for complete results

1. Tatsuro Okazaki (Team Osaka Gas) - 13:53.88
2. Samuel Mwangi (Kenya/Team Konica Minolta) - 13:55.64
3. Ryuya Kajitani (Hakuo Prep Ashikaga H.S.) - 13:57.81
4. Ataru Otani (Nanyo City Hall) - 13:58.21
5. Hyuga Endo (Gakko Hojin Ishikawa H.S.) - 13:58.93
6. Rei Hasegawa (Toyokawa H.S.) - 13:59.03
7. Yuki Iwasaki (Team Sekino Reform) - 13:59.05
8. Shun Suzuki (Nanyo City Hall) - 13:59.65
9. Yasunari Kusu (Team Komori Corp.) - 14:00.60
10. Yoshihiro Wakamatsu (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 14:01.03

text (c) 2014 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
finish photo (c) 2014 Kazuyuki Sugimatsu, all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

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,

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

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