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Freak Accident Stops Steeplechase at National High School Championships

There were a lot of good performances on the 4th day of the Sapporo High School Championships, but a freak accident in the first heat of the boys' 3000 mSC got most of the attention. The leading runner at the first obstacle fell right as he started to jump, colliding with the barrier at waist height and falling forward over it. The ~100 kg barrier rocked forward just as multiple people behind the leader put their feet on it as they jumped, tipping it further. Athletes in the next row started to crash into the runners ahead or hit the obstacle, giving it enough momentum to fall over. It probably wasn't the first time this has ever happened, but given the construction of the obstacle and the combination of force and angle of impact needed to knock the it over it must be pretty close to never. Nobody was caught underneath, but when officials stopped the heat and re-ran it the runner who first hit the barrier, Shuya Kanamori (Sakudaira Sogo H.S.), and one other were both absent.
The boys' 5000 m lived up to hopes from the high level of performances in the qualifying heats, with the top 10 all going under 14 minutes. Favorite Samuel Kibathi (Kurashiki H.S.) got the win in 13:41.44, but it wasn't the kind of blowout people expected. After winning Heat 1 in only 14:25.23, Duncan Maina (Senshudai Kumamoto H.S.) was right there with Kibathi at the line in 13:41.72. 3rd-placer Eliud Kabiga (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) ran 13:47.74, with top Japanese finisher Sota Orita (Suma Gakuen H.S.) following up his sub-14 top Japanese placing in the heats with a 13:55.69 for 5th.

After dominating the heats and semifinals, Ko Ochiai (Shiga Gakuen H.S.) did it again in the boys' 800 m final. Ochiai ran a meet record 1:47.92 for the win, the 3rd-fastest ever by a Japanese high schooler and all-time #9 time by a Japanese junior. And it wasn't just him. Hironori Tachizako (Kagoshima Josai H.S.) ran a PB 1:48.50 for 2nd, moving up to all-time 7th on the Japanese high school lists. Koki Terada (Koku Gakuin Kugayama H.S.) was 3rd in 1:49.44. Rin Kubo (Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S.) had a close win in the girls' 800 m over Yuri Nishida (Kusatsu Higashi H.S.), 2:06.41 to 2:06.59.

Complete results are available here. The National High School Championships wrap up Sunday.

© 2023 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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