Five National Records in Chitose Bring Hokuren Distance Challenge to an End

The 2021 Hokuren Distance Challenge series wrapped up Saturday in Chitose with a big day for Japanese middle distance. Hiroki Minamoto (Kantai Heiyo Univ.) started things off with a 1:45.75 to win the men's 800 m, exactly tying the national and collegiate records. The holder of both records, Sho Kawamoto (Suzuki), was 2nd in 1:45.83, with Mikuto Kaneko (Chuo Univ.) right there in 1:45.85 to come in at 3rd in the race and the all-time JPN lists.

Kazuki Kawamura (Toenec) kept it going in the men's 1500 m, taking over 1.5 sec off Nanami Arai's 7-week-old NR in 3:35.42. U18 NR holder Keita Sato (Rakunan H.S.) was 2nd in 3:37.18, breaking the U20, U18 and H.S. national records and moving up to all-time JPN #3. Tokyo Olympics 5000 m team member Yuta Bando (Fujitsu) was 3rd in 3:37.99, good for all-time JPN #6, with his teammate in both Fujitsu and the Olympic 5000 m Hiroki Matsueda last in 3:52.01. Although they're listed as DNS in the official results, both Bando and Matsueda doubled in the 5000 m B-heat half an hour later, Matsueda running 8:07 and Bando 8:15 before stopping at 3000 m. Two other men, Ryota Matono (Mitsubishi Juko) and Hideonori Sakuma (Meiji Univ.) went under 3:40, adding to the depth of progress in the least-developed area of Japanese running.

Along with Bando and Matsueda, Olympic-bound Nozomi Tanaka (Toyota Jidoshokki) shaved another fraction off her own record with a 4:04.08 to win the women's 1500 m. 17-year-old Caroline Kariba (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) broke the 3000 m high school girls' national record, winning in 8:47.85 over corporate leaguer Esther Muthoni (Nitori), 2nd in 8:48.90. Kariba's mark was an U18 world lead, and she came just 1.5 seconds short of an U20 WL to match. Struggling to develop fitness this season before the Olympic 10000 m, Hitomi Niiya (Sekisui Kagaku) tripled with two heats of 3000 m and a 1500 m in less than one hour, running 9:11.19, 9:09.27 and 4:28.03.

Ethiopian Desta Burka (Denso) won the women's 5000 m B-heat in 15:19.17, almost fast enough to have taken the A-heat where Kenyan Naomi Muthoni Kariuki (Univ. Ent.) won in 15:17.70. 18-year-old Takushoku University first-year Seira Fuwa continued to impress, running a PB 15:20.66 for 3rd in the A-heat behind Muthoni and Joan Kipkemoi (Kyudenko). Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) soloed a 31:58.88 in the women's 10000 m, winning by almost a minute and a half.

Simon Musio Saiamu (Chuo Hatsujo) won the men's 5000 m B-heat in 13:24.17. With no men's 10000 m on the program the men's 5000 m A-heat brought the meet and series to a close. James Muoki (Konica Minolta) took his second win in the series, 1st in 13:19.92 over Kibet Antipas (SGH Group), 2nd in 13:21.98. Indoor 5000 m NR holder Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko) was 3rd in 13:26.14, outkicking 2021 Hakone Ekiden champ Komazawa University star Ren Tazawa who was the last runner under 13:30, just, in 13:29.91.

The end of the meet brought track season to a close for everyone except the few headed to the Olympics next week. From here out begins the build toward the fall and winter ekiden season, even as uncertainty surrounds which races will actually go ahead.

Ichiyama 8th at Copenhagen Marathon

Currently the #10-ranked Japanese man in the marathon with the fastest-ever domestic time at the elite Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx) made his international debut at Sunday's Copenhagen Marathon , literally an international debut as it was his first time outside the country. Ichiyama hoped to be in contention to break the 2:08:23 CR and go for the win, and with cool and breezy conditions ran easy in the lead group through 30 km. But something ate away at almost everyone as time went by, several people in the lead men's and women's groups saying humidity, and past 30 km Ichiyama fell off. Falling as low as 9th, he rallied after 40 km to finish 8th in 2:13:07. "It was different than in Japanese races," he said. "I'm used to bigger packs and more even pacing, but this was a kind of racing I hadn't done before. There's a lot to think about. I didn't feel like I was sweating a lot, but I got really thirsty and started sk

Goshima and Kasai Win 10000 m National Titles, Maeda Breaks U20 Asian Record

Rino Goshima and Jun Kasai stepped up with PBs to win the 2024 National Championships 10000 m titles Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium. In the women's race, Goshima, 4th in last December's 2023 National Championships 10000 m, went out front from the start with Kenyan teammate Judy Jepngetich pacing and 2023 3rd-placer Haruka Kokai in tow. Things were never on track to hit the 30:40.00 Paris Olympics standard, but except for a brief dip to 3:08 at 7000 m Goshima held steady at 3:05 to 3:06/km even as Kokai and Jepngetich fell off. With blood dripping from her left knee after getting spiked by Jepngetich, Goshima closed in 3:03 to take 5 seconds off her best from December's Nationals and win in 30:53.31, moving up to all-time Japanese #6. Jepngetich also PBd at 31:09.42 without counting in the standings, with Kokai 2nd in 31:10.53 and Kazuna Kanetomo 3rd in a PB 31:59.29. The runner-up last time, Yuka Takashima was last in 33:33.27. The men's race went out in a

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

japan running news

Search This Blog