Skip to main content

Ikuto Yufu Announces Retirement


Ikuto Yufu was one of the stars of Komazawa University's strongest lineup ever, helping lead the team to top 3 finishes in 11 of the 12 Big Three University Ekidens he ran his 4 years at Komazawa including 3-straight National University Ekiden Championships titles from 2011 to 2013 and overall course records at both Nationals and the Izumo Ekiden. He was undefeated on the Nationals Third Stage, winning it all 4 years and breaking its stage record twice. He showed exceptional range outside the ekiden, winning the National University Track and Field Championships 1500 m title in 2013 and setting Komazawa records for 1500 m, 5000 m, and 10000 m. In his final university race JRN took Yufu to the 2014 NYC Half, where he outkicked the great Meb Keflezighi to finish 9th in 1:02:51.

After graduating in 2014 he joined the Fujitsu corporate team but immediately began to have Achilles tendon trouble. His first two corporate league seasons were mostly a wash, one brief bright spot coming in early 2016 when he took 2nd on his stage at the New Year Ekiden and then won the Karatsu 10-Miler in what was a world-leding time for several months. But after that his Achilles problems worsened again, and Yufu faded off the radar. On Sept. 5 Fujitsu announced that he was retiring at age 27. The official announcement and Yufu's comments:


As reported on our official website, Ikuto Yufu retired from our team last month. A longtime active team member, Yufu would like to deliver this message to everyone who has cheered for him over the years:

Thank you all for your support over the four and a half years since I joined this team in 2014. My chronic Achilles tendon pain simply will not heal, and as a result I've been forced to make the decision to retire. Personally I think my run on the 2016 New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage was the highlight of my time here. I was only 2nd on the stage but I think it was when I came closest to running up to my ability.

It was thanks to the many people I've met in my career as an athlete and to their support that I was able to continue this long. Even when things were down and I couldn't do the kind of running I envisioned, a lot of people took the time to talk to me and that gave me the motivation and strength to keep going forward.

In the future I will continue to work at Fujitsu. I hope to make the most of the lessons I learned in my life as an athlete and to apply that knowledge to contributing to the company's success.

source article:
http://sports.jp.fujitsu.com/blog/f-trackfield/archives/8660
translated by Brett Larner
Hakone Ekiden photo © 2014 Kazuyuki Sugimatsu, all rights reserved
NYC Half photo © 2013 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

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...