Japan's best collegiate meet returns to Tokyo's National Stadium for the first time since 2013, with the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships happening there over the next four days. The KGRR will be streaming the whole thing live, with entry lists and live results here. Highlights on Day One include:
- Just a 2nd-year at Aoyama Gakuin University, Yu Ishikawa is already looking like she has potential to break the 13-year-old collegiate record of 11.32 in the women's 100 m. Her best of 11.48 leads the way in the heats. Toyo University 1st-year Hiroki Yanagita leads the entries in the men's 100 m with a best of 10.22.
- Toyo is the favorite in the men's 400 m too, with 3rd-year Joseph Nakajima leading the entries at 46.09. Chuo University 4th-year Airi Oshima is ranked #1 in the women's 400 m at 54.25.
- 4th-year Kazuto Iizawa of Tokai University is the only man entered in the 1500 m heats with a best under 3:40, coming in with a 3:38.55, but Waseda University 1st-year Junpei Maseda has already run 3:42.22 and has the potential to be a threat. Two women have run under 4:15, Rikkyo University 3rd-year Mizuki Michishita the best overall in 4:12.72 and Tsukuba University 3rd-year Saki Katagihara leading Heat 1 in 4:13.82.
- The 10000 m is the first track final of the meet, with the D2 race at 17:05, the women's race at 17:50, and the D1 race at 18:35. Neither all-time JPN men's #2 Ren Tazawa of Komazawa University, 27:23.44, nor women's collegiate record holder Seira Fuwa of Takushoku University, 30:45.21, is entered. The D1 men's race has two men under 28 minutes, Nihon University 4th-year Charles Ndungu and Waseda 4th-year Ryuto Igawa, with Juntendo University 4th-year Tatsuya Iyoda and Ndungu's classmate Shota Higuchi both under 28:10. Nihon Yakka University 4th-year Noah Kiplimo is the D2 favorite at 27:50.39, his closest competition coming from classmate Yuta Nakayama and Jobu University 1st-year Patrick Kamau, both sub-28:10. The women's 10000 m is relatively inexperienced, with most of the field running the distance for the first time. Nittai University 2nd-year Momoka Shimada looks like the highest-potential with a 5000 m best of 16:05.84.
- Olympic team alternate Rachid Muratake, a 3rd-year at Juntendo, is the heavy favorite in the men's 110 mH, his best of 13.28 giving him a shot at the 13.30 meet record held by Juntendo's Shunsuke Izumiya. Kokushikan University 4th-year also has a chance at the 2012-era women7s 100 mH MR of 13.27, her best of 13.26 putting her at #1 on the entry list.
- Only three men in the D1 men's discus throw final have thrown over 50 m, Kokushikan University 4th-year Hitoshi Okumura leading them at 52.08 m. Nittai 2nd-year Taiga Hamaguchi is next at 50.91 m, followed by Nihon 4th-year Shota Tominaga. D3, the grad school division, features Tokai 1st-year master's student Ryoga Tobikawa with a best of 54.29 m.
- Juntendo 4th-year Seigi Sata is the only D1 or D2 athlete to have scored over 7000 points in the decathlon, with Tsukuba master's student Shota Ichikawa also in the 7100-point range.
- Nittai 3rd-year Megumi Dainobu and Tsukuba 4th-year Izumi Shiozaki are the only women to have cleared 4.00 m in the pole vault.
- Tsukuba 4th-year Ayaka Kora is the heavy favorite in the women's long jump at 6.33 m, the only woman over 6.15 m.
- Saitama University 4th-year Fumika Ono is the only woman in the shot put over 16 m at 16.37 m.
JRN will be at the National Stadium for the second half of the day to cover it live. Look for results a Day Two preview later today.
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