japan running news

Most of Japan's distance runners retreat north to Hokkaido for the summer to escape the heat and put in mileage for ekiden season. The four-part Hokuren Distance Challenge series gives them the chance to add some quality into the mix, whether for chasing standards, padding their resumes, or general development.

The main focus of the first part of the 2018 series, held in the town of Abashiri, was on 10000 m for women and 5000 m for men. In cold and rain times weren't especially fast, Minami Yamanouchi (Kyocera) continuing a solid first season in the corporate leagues with a win in the women's 10000 m A-heat in 32:35.74 and Sayaka Sato (Sekisui Kagaku) taking the B-heat in 32:55.13. Women also had the option for 3000 m, with Marta Mokaya (Oita Tomei H.S.) beating Ann Karindi (Toyota Jidoshokki) 8:56.40 to 8:59.12.

Kenyan Nicholas Kosimbei (Toyota) fronted the men's 5000 m A-heat in 13:33.97, with Kazuki Tamura (Sumitomo Denko) taking the top Japanese spot at 8th in 13:…

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160707-00000148-nksports-spo

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Chuo University has announced that it has appointed two first-year students as captain and vice-captain of its ekiden team, holder of the longest unbroken streak of Hakone Ekiden appearances dating back to 1925.  The team's new arrangement took effect July 3rd, with Fukuoka Prep Ohori H.S. graduate Shoma Funatsu named captain and Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. grad Kazuyoshi Tamogami vice-captain. 

Last month Chuo failed to qualify for this year's National University Ekiden.  A statement from the team explained, "This change in our leadership is a result of our performance at the National University Ekiden qualifier and is intended to help transform us into a team focused on winning.  After the qualifier most of the team shared a sense of crisis, and it can be said unequivocally that it was the tremendous enthusiasm and motivation of the first-years that roused the rest of the team…

https://www.minpo.jp/news/detail/2015090825188

translated and edited by Brett Larner
video by 遠藤清也



Just a month after his 17th birthday, Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. 2nd-year Hyuga Endo ran 8:01.95 for 3000 m at the Sept. 5 Premium Games in Sakata time trial meet in Sakata, Yamagata, breaking the Japanese high school and youth national records.  Endo's time, a PB by more than 15 seconds, took nearly 4 seconds off the 8:05.82 high school national record set 11 years ago by Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin, then Saku Chosei H.S.) and almost 7 seconds off the 8:08.57 youth national record set in 2010 by Kazuto Nishiike (Team Konica Minolta, then Suma Gakuen H.S.).

Endo was paced by his Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. 3rd-year teammates Kazuyoshi Tamogami and Hiroki Abe until 1500 m where he went out front alone.  Keeping the high pace, he kicked hard over the last 400 m to the finish line to break both records.

Endo ran the 3000 m at July's World Youth Championships where he was overpowered by African…

by Brett Larner
videos by naoki620

detailed day-by-day National High School Championships coverage:
Day One ・ Day Two・ Day Three・ Day Four・ Day Five

Despite sometimes extreme conditions with temperatures in the mid-30s throughout the five days of the 2015 Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships at Wakayama's Kimiidera Field performances were at a high level in most events, with thirteen new records set including two junior national records and two high school national records.



By far the star of the show was Haruko Ishizuka (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.), who showed outstanding range in everything from 100 m to 800 m.  Including heats and semifinals she ran a total of fourteen races in five different events in five days, sometimes with less than an hour between them, but still produced a 57.06 400 mH junior national record and high school national record, #4 among juniors in the world this year, a 53.30 National High School Championships record in the 400 m, a s…

by Brett Larner
videos by naoki620



Defending champ Kenta Oshima (Tokyo H.S.) brought the highlight of the second day of the Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships, delivering a big upset in the boys' 100 m final with a win over the fastest boy in the field, 2015 World Youth Championships double gold medalist Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.).  With Sani Brown holding a PB 0.11 seconds faster and leading his times in both the heats and semifinals, Oshima had a great start in the final, opening an early lead as Sani Brown was slow out of the blocks.  Sani Brown closed throughout the race, but Oshima had enough for the win in 10.29, his second-straight national H.S. 100 m title and a PB by 0.09 seconds despite a -0.8 m/s headwind.  Sani Brown was almost even with him in 10.30, just off his best, with 3rd-placer Kenta Katsuse (Saku Yakonohana H.S.) running a PB 10.48.  Both Oshima and Sani Brown returned later to anchor their teams in  4x100 m relay semifina…

by Brett Larner
videos by naoki620 and aoshin0507



#1-ranked Haruko Ishizuka (Keiai Higashi Osaka Prep H.S.) turned in the performance of the day on the opening day of the National High School Track and Field Championships, setting a meet record 53.30 to win the girls' 400 m.  After dominating the semifinals in 53.92, the only girl in the field to break 54, Ishizuka had no trouble at all running away from closest competitor Yuna Iwata (Niijima Gakuen H.S.) in the final, winning by more than a second over Iwata's 54.37 PB.  2015 World Youth Championships team member Rin Aoki (Soyo H.S.) also ran a PB of 54.74 for 3rd.  The boys' 400 m final saw Daisuke Funato (Higashi Fukuoka H.S.) unexpectedly win with a 47.06 PB, taking down favorites Manato Sasaki (Morioka Minami H.S.) and Sho Someya (Seibudai Chiba H.S.) who took only 4th and 5th.



Another highlight came in the first heat of the boys' 1500 m, where a strong surge from Kakeru Nakamura (Saigyo H.S.) at 700 m meant a fast…

by Brett Larner
live streaming courtesy of Inter-High School Television


The 68th National High School Track and Field Championships kick off today in Wakayama.  All four Japanese medalists from this month's World Youth Championships, girls' javelin gold medalist Haruka Kitaguchi (Hokkaido Asahikawa Higashi H.S.), boys' 100 m and 200 m championships record-setting double gold medalist Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.) and boys' 400 m hurdles silver and bronze medalists Ryusei Fujii (Kokura Kogyo H.S.) and Masaki Toyoda (Rakunan H.S.), are on the entry lists along with 2014 Youth Olympics girls' 3000 m gold medalist Nozomi Musembi Takamatsu (Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.), boys' 10000 m race walk gold medalist Minoru Onogawa (Tokyo Jitsugyo H.S.) and boys' 100 m silver medalist Kenta Oshima (Tokyo H.S.).

Most eyes will be on Sani Brown, who is set to run at the Beijing World Championships next month aged just 16, but with just 0.10 separating their bests last…

by Brett Larner
videos by Akiko Sani Brown



After setting boys' 400 m hurdles world youth leads in the heats and semifinals at the World Youth Championships, Japan's Ryusei Fujii (Kokura Kogyo H.S.) and Masaki Toyoda (Rakunan H.S.) added to the country's medal total in the final to cap the fourth day of competition.  Both delivering PB performances, Fujii and Toyoda were unable to match a brilliant world youth leading 49.11 from Norman Grimes (U.S.A.) but took silver and bronze, Fujii in 50.33 and Toyoda in 50.53.  4th placer Rivaldo Leacock (Barbados) likewise turned in a PB of 51.13, an indication of how good the competition up front was.



The other Japanese performance of the day came in the boys' 200 m semifinals.  Despite a 1.7 m/s headwind, 100 m gold medalist Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.) ran 20.62 to win his semifinal, just 0.06 seconds off his best and 0.12 seconds off the Beijing World Championships qualifying standard.  His nearest competition in the…

by Brett Larner

Haruka Kitaguchi (Hokkaido Asahikawa Higashi H.S.) unexpectedly became the second Japanese gold medalist of the World Youth Championships, the only athlete in the girls' javelin throw to go over 60 m with a PB of 60.35 m for the win.  Virtually unknown going into the competition, Kitaguchi opened with a PB 56.42 m throw to immediately go into 1st ahead of #3-ranked Laine Donane (Latvia) and #4-ranked Stella Weinberg (Norway).  On her third throw Weinberg delivered a PB of her own, 57.11 m, to move into 1st, but Kitaguchi was quick to respond with a 60.35 m best on her fifth throw to seal gold.  Weinberg stayed in silver, while Donane took bronze with her opening throw of 56.15 m.

Kitaguchi was the only Japanese medalist of the day, but from 400 m through 3000 m Japanese athletes performed well, moving on into the finals almost across the board.  Both Masaki Toyoda (Rakunan H.S.) and Ryusei Fujii (Kokura Kogyo H.S.) won their boys' 400 mH semifinals, Toyoda break…

by Brett Larner



Japan's Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.) was the undisputed star of the first day of the World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia, turning in three championships record performances in three runs to win gold in the boys' 100 m.  With a 0.1 m/s headwind in his opening heat Sani Brown turned in a record 10.30 to tie his PB.  In the semifinals he again ran 10.30, but this time into a 1.2 m/s headwind.  No less a commentator than Ato Bolden was impressed, comparing Sani Brown to Usain Bolt in a Twitter exchange with Sani Brown's mother.

@hakimom he should be. His first 2 rounds looked like Bolt’s Beijing Olympic 100m final. I’m predicting his winning time will be 10.15 WR — Ato Boldon (@AtoBoldon) July 16, 2015
The headwind was down to 0.4 m/s for the final, but while a clumsier than usual start cost him his chance at Yoshihide Kiryu's 10.19 youth WR Sani Brown still had no trouble at all peeling away for the win in a new championships record and …

by Brett Larner
videos by Ekiden News



Kenyan Hiram Ngatia (Team Toyota) came up with a major PB at Saturday's Kanaguri Memorial Meet, beating Moscow World Championships 10000 m bronze medalist Paul Tanui (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) to win the 5000 m A-heat in a world-leading 13:13.66.  Running on his birthday, Yamanashi Gakuin University star Enock Omwamba (Kenya) likewise PBd in 13:28.41, with Keita Shitara (Team Konica Minolta) edging his twin brother Yuta Shitara (Team Honda) for top Japanese honors at 6th in 13:41.04.

The Shitara twins' former Toyo University teammate Takanori Ichikawa (Team Hitachi Butsuryu) came up with a PB almost identical to theirs to win the B-heat in 13:41.84 just ahead of top collegiate Hironori Tsuetaki (Chuo Gakuin Univ.).  After running last month's United Airline NYC Half with support from JRN, Takashi Ichida (Team Asahi Kasei) and his former Kagoshima Jitsugyo H.S. teammate Koki Takada (Waseda Univ.) both PBd in the B-heat, Ichida 4th in 13:43.38…