Mashiko 8:11.12 JHS 3000 m NR - Long Weekend Track Highlights

Ekiden season got up to full speed this weekend, but there was still a healthy chunk of track action across the country. The main event was the National Sports Festival Thursday through Monday in Tochigi. In the junior men's 3000 m Rui Suzuki (Yachiyo Shoin H.S.) ran 8:01.26 for the win, the 3rd-fastest time ever by a Japanese high schooler. Yamato Hamaguchi (Saku Chosei H.S.) was 2nd in 8:07.66, but the biggest news was 3rd-placer Yota Mashiko, a 9th-grader at Fukushima's Kagamiishii J.H.S. Already the junior high school 3000 m NR holder after running 8:15.04 in August, Mashiko chopped 4 seconds off that mark with a new 8:11.12 NR.

The junior men's 5000 m was also fast, with the top 8 all breaking 14 minutes and the top 14 under 14:10, all high schoolers. Hiroto Yoshioka (Saku Chosei H.S.) took the top spot in 13:53.85, Sonota Nagashima (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) 2nd in 13:54.80 and Yoshihiro Kusuoka (Keisei H.S.) 3rd in 13:55.84.

In the junior women's 3000 m Caroline Kariba (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) won in 8:56.79, the only athlete under 9 minutes. 2022 World U20 Championships 1500 m 6th-placer Yuya Sawada (Hamamatsu Shiritsu H.S.) was 2nd in 9:14.70 just off her PB, with Kana Mizumoto (Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) 3rd in 9:15.54.

National University Women's Ekiden champion Meijo University's Yuma Yamamoto broke the senior women's 5000 m meet record with a PB 15:16.71, beating NR holder Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) by over 6 seconds. Her teammate Narumi Kobayashi continued to struggle in her comeback from a coronavirus infection that kept her off the 2022 World Championships 10000 m squad, running only 15:58.21 for 8th.

At the Chubu Region Corporate Track and Field Championships in Gifu the main result was in the men's 10000 m, where Emmanuel Maru (Toyota Boshoku) ran a PB 27:33.67 for the win, 7 seconds up on Evans Keitany (Toyota Boshoku) and 9 on Bedan Karoki (Toyota). Minato Oishi (Toyota) was the only Japanese man under 28 minutes, running 27:57.32 for 6th. 8 men total went under 28 minutes.

Tokai University didn't make it to Monday's Izumo Ekiden, instead holding a home track time trials meet. Shota Shimazaki (Kanagawa Univ.) won a 3-way sprint finish over corporate leaguers Jinnosuke Matsumura (Comodi Iida) and Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) in the men's 10000 m, taking 1st in 28:58.70 with Matsumura 2nd in 28:59.76 and Takeuchi 3rd in 29:00.95. Newcomer Timothy Kibet (Makes) won the men's 3000 in 8:03.73.

In Izumo, alternates from the ekiden ran a track 5000 m time trial as part of a local meet. Leakey Kamina (Soka Univ.) took the top spot in 14:00.43, with ekiden winner Komazawa University alts Kensuke Tsuburan and Takuma Yamakawa 2nd and 3rd in 14:04.61 and 14:10.20.

Chien Breaks TPE NR, Iwata Betters ID-Class WR - Weekend Track Roundup

The last weekend of the academic and fiscal year saw at least 5 meets with good results domestically and abroad. Kicking things off Friday was the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, where Tomohiro Shinno and Naoto Hasegawa took 1st and 3rd in the men's high jump, both of them only clearing 2.18 m along with 2nd-placer Roman Anastasios . 12 other Japanese athletes were in action on the second day of the meet on Saturday, where 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura ran 3:42.84 for 6th in the men's 1500 m. Nagiya Mori had a better one in the men's 3000 m with a 7:45.40 for 4th. Both Yota Mashiko and Rui Suzuki cleared 8:00 too, Mashiko's 7:53.84 the 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese-born high schooler. Abigail Fuka Ido and Nagisa Takahashi both placed 3rd in their events, Ido going 23.85 (-0.9) in the women's 200 m and Takahashi clearing 1.82 m in the women's high jump. 8 Japanese men were at The TEN in California to run 10000 m. In the B-heat won by Edward Marks in ...

Updates on Transfers

April 1 is the start of Japan's new academic and fiscal year, and there's always a wave of transfer announcements to go with it. Some notable ones yesterday: 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo skipped university to go straight to 2023 Queens Ekiden national champion Sekisui Kagaku after her graduation from Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. Multiple NR holder Nozomi Tanaka rejoined the Toyota Jidoshokki women's team after having left it to pursue a solo pro career as a New Balance athlete. Already on the team for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games in the 10000 m, Ririka Hironaka announced a switch from her longtime home at Japan Post to the Uniqlo women's team. Collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda joined the 2026 national champion GMO corporate team after graduating from 2026 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University last week. Hakone Ekdien First Stage CR holder Rui Aoki joins the Sumitomo Denko corporate team after running his final race for 2025 Izumo Ekiden w...

JAAF Announces Marathon Teams for Nagoya Asian Games

On Mar. 25 the JAAF announced Japan's marathon team lineups for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games. Yuya Yoshida (GMO) and Ichitaka Yamashita (Mitsubishi Juko) make up the men's team, with Sayaka Sato (Sekisui Kagaku) and Mikuni Yada (Edion) representing Japan in the women's marathon. Each country can field up to 2 men and 2 women per marathon team at the Asian Games. The top-ranked male and female athletes in the 2025-26 MGC Series rankings were given first priority, with the second slots going to people with high-level performances in the 2025-26 MGC Series. Yoshida ran 2:05:16 to win the 2024 Fukuoka International Marathon, and at February's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon ran an excellent 2:06:59 to take the top Japanese spot in the race and in the MGC rankings. After having run the Tokyo World Championships marathon last fall this will be his second-straight marathon national team in a major international championships. Yamashita ran 2:06:18 at February's Osak...

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