Sunday is the first big race of championship ekiden season, the Queens Ekiden in Sendai, the season-ending national championship for corporate women. 24 teams race 42.195 km in 6 legs, with the top 8 scoring places for 2025. TBS' live nationwide broadcast starts at 11:50, with multi-camera streaming on Youtube above.
Last year Sekisui Kagaku won by almost a minute and a half, and with Paris Olympian Yuma Yamamoto, 2023 World Championships marathoner Sayaka Sato on its entry list and collegiate 1500 m record holder Mizuki Michishita having come on board this season it looks like a contender for another win. But last year's runner-up Japan Post got a big boost this season with the addition of its first non-Japanese member, two-time double 1500 m and 3000 m high school champion Caroline Kariba. The Queens Ekiden limits non-Japanese athletes to a 3.8 km leg, so it'd be tough for Kariba to bridge a 1:25 gap by herself with that little ground to work with. But what she can do is get Japan Post's last two runners into closer range of Sekisui Kagaku or whoever else is leading and give them the momentum to have a better chance of catching them.
2023 4th-placer Shiseido has three Paris Olympians, Mao Ichiyama, Rino Goshima and Yuka Takashima, in its lineup, but in recent racing a lot of its people haven't been in peak form, making it look shakier than last year. 6th last year, Daiichi Seimei seems to be on an upward trajectory with a great run in the marathon in Paris from Yuka Suzuki and Haruka Kokai having been pretty consistent all year. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Daiichi Seimei ahead of Shiseido and in contention for top 3.
Panasonic, Daihatsu, Tenmaya and Iwatani Sangyo round out last year's podium finishers. 11th last year, Uniqlo won October's Princess Ekiden qualifying race thanks in large part to the addition of corporate half marathon champ Dolphine Omare, like Japan Posts's Kariba the first non-Japanese athlete to run for her team. Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo was only 7 seconds behind Uniqlo at the Princess Ekiden, and both teams have a good chance of breaking through onto the national podium this time.
Two teams will be making their Queens Ekiden debuts. Tokyo Metro scored big when it recruited 2:22:29 marathoner Mao Uesugi away from her longtime home at Starts, with Bears putting in an even team effort at the Princess Ekiden to make the cut.
The complete field with bib numbers:
1. Sekisui Kagaku
2. Japan Post
3. Panasonic
4. Shiseido
5. Daihatsu
6. Daiichi Seimei
7. Tenmaya
8. Iwatani Sangyo
9. Uniqlo
10. Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo
11. Edion
12. Sysmex
13. Toyota Jidoshokki
14. Otsuka Seiyaku
15. Shimamura
16. Hitachi
17. Higo Gingo
18. Kyocera
19. Tokyo Metro
20. Nitori
21. Route Inn Hotels
22. Bears
23. Starts
24. Denso
© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
Comments
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Daiichi Seimei are the team I'll be supporting because I've really enjoyed watching both Yuka Suzuki and Haruka Kokai the last couple of years. I hope they can make top 3. I just don't know enough about the rest of their team to be confident. Realistically, it will be a difficult task. I'm expecting to see the same top 6 as last year but with perhaps a re-arranged order. I don't expect Tenmaya to do as well this year (will Honami Maeda run and if so, how well?) and I do expect Uniqlo and Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo to challenge hard to make the top 8. I think Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo can beat Uniqlo and reverse the Princess Ekiden result this time round. Whatever happens, it should be very exciting as I don't forsee a runaway victory for any team. Every year, TBS do a wonderful job broadcasting this event live on their Youtube channel. I'm so thankful for this and your articles as I get to follow the sport I enjoy. Thank you.