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Two National Records, Five Meet Records and More - National High School Championships Highlights

by Brett Larner
video by Ekiden News



The 2016 Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships wrapped up yesterday, highlighted by new high school national records in the girls' 4x400 m relay and boys' pole vault and meet records in those events and the boys' 5000 m race walk, boys' 4x400 m relay and boys' octathlon.  18 events saw athletes break into the all-time Japanese junior and high school top ten lists, a sign of the all-around high level of competition this year.

The boys' 5000 mRW was unusually action-packed, with 12 boys breaking the meet record.  Girls' middle and long distance were also strong, with 7 girls under 2:08 in the 800 m, 9 under 4:20 in the 1500 m and 9 under 9:10 in the 3000 m.  In these and other events the top times were even good enough to get into and in some cases top the U.S.A. high school top ten lists for the year. Below is a list of records and all-time top ten Japanese junior and high school marks set at this year's High School Nationals.  Click any event for more detailed results and video.

69th National High School Track and Field Championships Highlights
City Light Stadium, Okayama, July 29-Aug. 2, 2016
click here for complete results
* athlete was already in all-time top ten with better mark

Girls' 200 m
  • Ami Saito* (Kurashiki Chuo H.S.) - 23.60 - all-time #3 JPN Jr., #3 JPN H.S.

Girls' 800 m - top 7 under 2:08
  • Shoko Fukuda (Matsue Kita H.S.) - 2:04.29 - all-time #4 JPN Jr., #2 JPN H.S.
  • Airi Ikezaki (Funairi H.S.) - 2:04.85 - all-tiime #10 JPN Jr., #5 JPN H.S.
  • Ayaka Kawata (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.) - 2:05.03 - all-time #6 JPN H.S., fastest-ever by JPN H.S. 2nd-year
  • Ayano Shiomi (Kyoto Bunkyo Gakuen H.S.) - 2:05.36 - all-time #10 JPN H.S.

Girls' 1500 m - top 9 under 4:20
  • Hina Takahashi (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 4:15.82 - all-time #7 JPN Jr., #4 JPN H.S.
  • Nozomi Tanaka* (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 4:15.95 - all-time #8 JPN Jr., #5 JPN H.S.
  • Yume Goto (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 4:16.69 - all-time #9 JPN H.S.

Girls' 3000 m - top 9 under 9:10
  • Helen Ekarare (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 8:55.06 - all-time #4 int'l H.S. student
  • Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu (Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 8:58.86 - all-time #4 JPN Jr., #3 JPN H.S.
  • Nozomi Tanaka* (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 9:01.40 - all-time #10 JPN Jr., #9 JPN H.S.
  • Ririka Hironaka (Nagasaki Shogyo H.S.) - 9:03.51 - fastest-ever by JPN H.S. 1st-year
  • Shuri Ogasawara (Yamanashi Gakuin Prep H.S.) - 9:05.15 - all-time #2 JPN H.S. 1st-year

Girls' 100 m Hurdles
  • Yumi Tanaka* (Kansai Prep Daiichi H.S.) - 13.50 +1.5 m/s - all-time #8 JPN Jr., #7 JPN H.S.

Boys' 110 m Hurdles
  • Takuma Kato (Shibata H.S.) - 13.98 +1.2 m/s - all-time #8 JPN Jr., #3 JPN H.S.

Boys' 3000 m Steeplechase
  • Joel Mwaura (Kurashiki H.S.) - 8:46.89 - all-time #4 int'l H.S. student

Boys' 5000 m Race Walk
  • Shinjiro Yamamoto (Toyama Shogyo H.S.) - 20:14.63 - meet record
  • 11 other athletes also broke meet record

Girls' 4x100 m Relay
  • Kurashiki Chuo H.S. - 45.49 - all-time #3 JPN H.S.

Girls' 4x400 m Relay
  • Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S. - 3:37.67 - high school national record, meet record

Boys' 4x400 m Relay
  • Rakunan H.S. - 3:08.57 - all-time #2 JPN H.S., meet record
  • Soyo H.S. - 3:08.91 - all-time #3 JPN H.S., also under meet record

Girls' High Jump
  • Sakura Asai (Okazaki Josai Prep H.S.) - 1.81 m - all-time #6 JPN H.S.

Boys' Pole Vault
  • Masaki Ejima (Eda H.S.) - 5.43 m - high school national record, meet record

Boys' Long Jump
  • Yuki Hashioka (Hachioji H.S.) - 7.75 m -1.6 m/s - all-time #7 JPN H.S.

Boys' Hammer Throw 
  • Masanobu Hattori* (Amagasaki Municipal H.S.) - 64.57 m - all-time #10 JPN H.S.

Girls' Javelin Throw
  • Mahiro Osa (Wakayama Kita H.S.) - 56.48 m - all-time #6 JPN Jr., #6 JPN H.S.

Girls' Heptathlon
  • Maya Shurester* (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.) - 5299 - all-time #4 JPN H.S.

Boys' Octathlon
  • Yuma Maruyama (Shinoda H.S.) - 6085 - all-time #2 JPN H.S., meet record
  • Wilson Takashi Koha (Shibata H.S.) - 6024 - all-time #4 JPN H.S., also under meet record

© 2016 Brett Larner
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Bruce said…
Combining the qualifying marks and Championship meet marks, the Japanese high school boys own the combined USA, Canada and Japan top 10 in: 4x100 (top 2, 5 of top 11 ); 4x400 (top 2, 6 of the top 7); 400m Hurdles (9 of top 13); 1500m (7 of top 18); 3000k Steeple (41 of top 46); 5000m (41 of top 41); 5000m racewalk (16 of top 16); Octathlon (14 of top 14)

High school girls are major players in: 4x400 (1st, 7th, 8th); 400m Hurdles (4 of top 10); 800m (4 of top 7); 1500m (13 of top 21); 3000m (34 of top 38); 5000m Racewalk (15 of top 15); Heptathlon (5 of top 11);

The Japanese also have a presence in: boys 200m (10th); girls 4x100 (9th).

I'm still working on field events, but there will be some high placers there as well.
August 4, 2016 at 2:36 PM
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