Skip to main content

Sub-13:30 High Schoolers, 17 Teammates Sub-14 in One Race and More - Weekend Track Roundup

 

The National Corporate Track and Field Championships in Gifu were the main track action this weekend, but there were also two big time trial meets in the greater Tokyo area. At the Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama Saturday, Charles Kamau Wanjiku (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) was right up there with the best in the corporate leagues, soloing a 27:29.56 to win the B-heat by over 40 seconds. Antipas Kibet (Komori Corp.) won what was technically the A-heat in 27:57.48, with the next three runners including Taisei Nakamura (Yakult) squeezing under 28 minutes, in Nakamura's case in 27:59.96.

Erika Tanoura (Sekisui Kagaku) won the women's 5000 m A-heat in 15:47.07, but there wasn't much difference from the B-heat where Momoa Yamada (Tamagawa Univ.) won in 15:50.92. The women's 3000 m was low-key, with Harumi Okamoto (Yamada Holdings) taking the A-heat in 9:10.92 and the next four runners all getting under 9:12.

The men's 1500 m saw one noteworthy performance by Japanese standards as A-heat winner Hayato Oguma (Tokyo Jitsugyo H.S.) ran 3:44.36, the 5th-fastest ever by a Japanese-born high schooler. Steepler Reimi Yoshimura (Cramer Japan TC) took the women's 1500 m in 4:25.31.


As usual Sunday at Nittai was dedicated to men's 5000 m, with a total of 17 heats on the program. In the A-heat, Edwin Kisalsak (Fujisan no Meisui) scored the win with a very decent 13:20.75 and the top six all going under 13:30. 6th among those was 12-grader Sota Orita (Suma Gakuen H.S.), whose 13:28.78 was the 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese high schooler and 5th on the U20 lists.


In the B-heat Yamato Hamaguchi (Saku Chosei H.S.) outkicked 10000 m NR holder Akira Aizawa (Asahi Kasei) for the win 13:38.40 to 13:39.25 in Aizawa's return to competition after injury. Hamaguchi's mark put him at #8 on the all-time high school list and #1 among 11th-graders but came up short of the U20 top 10.


Nearby at Aoyama Gakuin University the Kizuna Time Trials meet was dual between AGU and Soka University with a splash of high schoolers and miscellaneous others. The big result came in Heat 3 of the men's 5000 m, with Soka's Kamina Leakey and Riki Koike going 1-2 in 13:30.54 and 13:34.82. A graduate of Hamaguchi's school Saku Chosei H.S. in his first year at Soka, Koike's time landed him at #9 on the all-time U20 list. 17 runners from AGU went sub-14 in Heat 3, led by Kento Yamauchi in 13:35.04.

© 2023 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee



Comments

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...