Skip to main content

Endo Breaks 3000 m Junior National Record in Kitami

Already the U18 national record holder for 3000 m, 18-year-old Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko) stepped up with an U20 record in the men's 3000 m at the third meet in the Hokuren Distance Challenge series Sunday in Kitami, Hokkaido.


The men's and women's 3000 m races on the program as a step toward Wednesday's fourth and final HDC meet in Abashiri where people will be shooting for last-minute London World Championships qualifying standards. With pacer Evans Keitany (Toyota Boshoku) targeting 7:55 the men's race came down to a sprint finish between Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei), Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) and Chiharu Nakagawa (Toenec) over the last lap. Yoroizaka dropped Ichida in the home straight to win in 7:52.70, the fastest-ever 3000 m time by a Japanese man on Japanese soil and one that made him all-time #10 in the Japanese record books. Closing fast, Endo overtook Nakagawa and came up just short of catching Ichida, who took 2nd in 7:54.11. Endo was 3rd in 7:54.79, taking almost three seconds off the U20 record set back in 2004 by Athens Olympian Ryuji Ono.


The women's race very nearly saw a straight up national record. A trio of pacers took the race out on track for 8:45, putting Kayoko Fukushi's national record of 8:44.40 in range. Riko Matsuzaki (Sekisui Kagaku), Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) and Misaki Onishi (Sekisui Kagaku) looked up for the challenge, but over the last 1000 m each slipped off the pace in turn. Onishi was the first to go, ending up 3rd in a PB of 9:00.32. Ichiyama and Matsuzaki pushed on before Ichiyama dropped, taking 2nd in 8:53.54 to become all-time Japanese #6. With one lap to go it was clear that Matsuzaki was too far off pace to take Fukushi's mark down, but keeping it together with a fast kick she became just the second Japanese woman to break 8:50 as she won in 8:49.61.


Another near-miss on a national record came in the women's 5000 m A-heat. Having landed at all-time South Korean #3 for 5000 m at last week's Hokuren Distance Challenge Shibestu meet with a 15:49.17, Do Yeon Kim (K Water) was out on pace for the 15:38.60 national record behind early leader Azusa Sumi (Universal Entertainment) with teammate Da Eun Jeong (K Water) pulling the chase pack. Sumi was out at sub-15:30 pace, but as she slowed in the second half of the race Kim caught up to her, the pair running together all the way to the end. With a lap to go it was going to be very close, and despite a sprint battle with Sumi Kim came up just short. Sumi took the win in 15:38.95, Kim an agonizing 0.52 off the Korean record in 15:39.12 for 2nd. Jeong pulled away from the chase pack for 3rd in a 17-second PB of 15:46.94 to move up to all-time Korean #4.


Another noteworthy race came in the men's 800 m A-heat. London Olympics 1500 m silver medalist Leo Manzano (U.S.A.) found himself up against a mostly collegiate field in a race that came down to a crowded last 100 m. Tatsuya Nishikubo (Waseda Univ.) got the better of Manzano with a PB of 1:48.34 for the win. Manzano was next in 1:48.45, with Shunichi Takagi (Kanoya Taiiku Univ.) 3rd in a PB 1:48.56.

2017 Hokuren Distance Challenge Kitami Meet

Kitami, Hokkaido, 7/9/17
click here for complete results

Men's 800 m A-Heat
1. Tatsuya Nishikubo (Waseda Univ.) - 1:48.34 - PB
2. Leo Manzano (U.S.A.) - 1:48.45
3. Shunichi Takagi (Kanoya Taiiku Univ.) - 1:48.56 - PB
4. Naoto Arayasu (Fujitsu) - 1:48.88
5. Koki Kanbe (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:49.28 - PB

Men's 1500 m
1. Nanami Arai (Honda) - 3:42.70 - PB
2. Yasunari Kusu (Komori Corp.) - 3:43.01
3. Riku Tanaka (Tokai Univ.) - 3:43.13 - PB
4. Renya Maeda (Meiji Univ.) - 3:43.37 - PB
5. Ko Kobayashi (Tsukuba Univ.) - 3:43.78 - PB

Women's 3000 m
1. Riko Matsuzaki (Sekisui Kagaku) - 8:49.61 - PB - all-time JPN #2
2. Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) - 8:53.54 - PB - all-time JPN #6
3. Misaki Onishi (Sekisui Kagaku) - 9:00.32 - PB
4. Rika Kaseda (Meijo Univ.) - 9:03.76 - PB
5. Yuna Wada (Nagano Higashi H.S.) - 9:06.87 - PB

Men's 3000 m
1. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 7:52.70 - PB - all-time JPN #10
2. Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 7:54.11 - PB
3. Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko) - 7:54.79 - U20 NR
4. Chiharu Nakagawa (Toenec) - 7:56.05 - PB
5. Ryo Matsumoto (Toyota) - 7:58.00 - PB

Women's 5000 m A-Heat
1. Azusa Sumi (Universal Entertainment) - 15:38.95
2. Do Yeon Kim (South Korea / K Water) - 15:39.12 - PB - all-time KOR #2
3. Da Eun Jeong (South Korea / K Water) - 15:46.94 - PB - all-time KOR #4
4. Yuki Mitsunobu (Denso) - 15:52.57
5. Madoka Nakano (Noritz) - 15:53.32 - PB
-----
DNF - Tomoka Kimura (Universal Entertainment)

Men's 5000 m A-Heat
1. Patrick Mathenge Wambui (Nihon Univ.) - 13:40.62
2. Simon Kariuki (Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 13:45.10
3. Toshiyuki Yanagi (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 13:49.19
4. Yuki Arimura (Asahi Kasei) - 13:53.05
5. Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku) - 13:55.01

Women's 10000 m A-Heat
1. Sayaka Kuwahara (Sekisui Kagaku) - 32:27.36
2. Risa Yokoe (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:35.86
3. Yuki Munehisa (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 32:36.83
4. Ayaka Inoue (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 32:43.87 - PB
5. Yui Fukuda (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:44.45 - debut
-----
DNF - Bridley Delaney (Australia)

© 2017 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...

Ngetich Breaks CR, Murayama and Sasaki Make U.S. Debut at New York Mini 10k

WR holder Agnes Ngetich  soloed a fast one at the 54th edition of the Mastercard New York Mini 10k, leading inside the first mile and pulling away the rest of the race to run a 30:07 CR for the win, the fastest time ever on U.S. soil albeit on a slightly net downhill course. On a warm day that saw over 10,000 women finish  Tsigie Gebreselama  was on her own most of the way too, a distant 2nd in 30:53 and 17 seconds up on past champ Hellen Obiri . Further back, 2026 World University Cross Country bronze medalist Amisa Murayama  and 2025 Morinomiyako Ekiden 3rd leg CR breaker Nazuki Sasaki  from 2025 National University Women's Ekiden runner-up Tohoku Fukushi University  made their U.S. debuts. Murayama was targeting the fastest-ever Japanese time at the Mini, 32:37, but struggled on the hills just before 5 km and late in the race, fading to finish 23rd in 34:08. Sasaki, recovering from a stress reaction in her upper back a few months ago, ran a conservative ...

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox  for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...