One of the few events to survive the wave of race cancelations currently sweeping Japan as the COVID-19 coronavirus spreads, the National Cross-Country Championships took place Feb. 22 in Fukuoka.
The senior men's 10 km was almost a replay of last year's race, with Hakone Ekiden uphill Fifth Stage star Yuhei Urano (Koku Gakuin Univ.) replacing Yuta Bando (Hosei Univ.) in the leading role of outrunning brothers Kazuki Tamura (Sumitomo Denko) and Yusuke Tamura (Kurosaki Harima) for the national title. Despite windy conditions times were quicker than in recent years, with Urano winning in 29:18 by 6 seconds over Kazuki Tamura and Yusuke Tamura another 10 seconds back.
In the senior women's 8 km, last year's 5th-place and 2018 national 3000 m steeplechase champion Yukari Ishizawa (Edion) came back from a mid-race dropoff to outrun a group of women more than a decade younger for the win in 26:57, beating 20-year-old Yuna Wada (Meijo Univ.) by 1 second and 19-year-old teammate Kaede Hagitani (Edion) by 2. The winners of the senior races at the National Cross-Country Championships earn places in the 10000 m field at the National Championships regardless of whether they've met the qualifying standards, but in her post-race interview Ishizawa indicated that her focus would remain making the Tokyo Olympic team in the steeplechase.
Junior high school 1500 m, 3000 m and 5000 m national record holder Kosuke Ishida (Tokyo Nogyo Prep Daini H.S.) continued his successful transition to high school, hammering the third lap to blow away the field by 15 seconds and win the junior men's 8 km in 23:48. As in the senior women's race the junior women's 6 km was closer, with Chika Kosakai (Narita H.S.) winning a three-way sprint finish over Yuka Masubuchi (Kinjo Gakuen H.S.) and Yu Muramatsu (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) in 20:19.
National Cross-Country Championships
Fukuoka, 2/22/20complete results
Senior Men's 10 km
1. Yuhei Urano (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 29:18
2. Kazuki Tamura (Sumitomo Denko) - 29:24
3. Yusuke Tamura (Kurosaki Harima) - 29:34
4. Yohei Ikeda (Nittai Univ.) - 29:44
5. Ryuya Kajitani (Subaru) - 29:46
6. Atsuto Shimanuki (Teikyo Univ.) - 29:48
7. Yuki Suzuki (Kanebo) - 29:50
8. Taisei Hashizume (SGH Group) - 29:50
9. Shota Onizuka (Tokai Univ.) - 29:59
10. Katsutoshi Monoe (Kanebo) - 30:04
Senior Women's 8 km
1. Yukari Ishizawa (Edion) - 26:57
2. Yuna Wada (Meijo Univ.) - 26:58
3. Kaede Hagitani (Edion) - 26:59
4. Momoka Kawaguchi (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 27:06
5. Harumi Okamoto (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 27:07
6. Rino Goshima (Chuo Univ.) - 27:08
7. Rika Kaseda (Meijo Univ.) - 27:12
8. Yumi Yoshikawa (Uniqlo) - 27:25
9. Miki Hirai (Higo Ginko) - 27:34
10. Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu (Meijo Univ.) - 27:36
Junior Men's 8 km
1. Kosuke Ishida (Tokyo Nogyo Prep Daini H.S.) - 23:48
2. Issei Sato (Yachiyo Shoin H.S.) - 24:03
3. Kazuki Ishii (Yachiyo Shoin H.S.) - 24:05
4. Shota Nakano (Sera H.S.) - 24:11
5. Yuto Akahoshi (Rakunan H.S.) - 24:14
6. Shotaro Ishihara (Kurashiki H.S.) - 24:16
7. Genta Kuramoto (Sera H.S.) - 24:24
8. Ryuji Miura (Rakunan H.S.) - 24:26
9. Mahiro Sato (Toyo Prep Ushiku H.S.) - 24:31
10. Yuta Nakagawa (Akita Kogyo H.S.) - 24:31
Junior Women's 6 km
1. Chika Kosakai (Narita H.S.) - 20:19
2. Yuka Masubuchi (Kinjo Gakuen H.S.) - 20:21
3. Yu Muramatsu (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 20:21
4. Ruru Hoshino (Tokiwa H.S.) - 20:27
5. Tomo Muramatsu (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 20:33
6. Hiyori Kidokoro (Okazaki Gakuen H.S.) - 20:35
7. Aoi Takahashi (Nittai Prep Kashiwa H.S.) - 20:38
8. Kaori Nakamoto (Takarazuka H.S.) - 20:42
9. Nanako Miwa (Kinjo Gakuen H.S.) - 20:44
10. Koharu Deshimaru (Isahaya H.S.) - 20:45
© 2020 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
Comments