japan running news

Most of the weekend's focus was on the MGC Race 2020 Olympic marathon trials in Tokyo, but at the same time the National University Track and Field Championships were going on to the southwest in Gifu. The highlights of the meet were a pair of junior national records, one in the men's triple jump by Riku Ito (Kindai Kogyo Univ.) who jumped 16.34 m (+0.6 m/s) for the win, and another in the women's hammer throw by Momoko Watanabe (Tsukuba Univ.), whose 60.49 m throw was good for 2nd behind winner Miharu Kodate (Ryutsu Keizai Univ.).

The women's triple jump also saw a meet record, with winner Kanna Kawai (Osaka Seikei Univ.) jumping 13.65 m (+0.3 m/s). The highest-level race of the meet was probably the men's 4x100 m relay, where Tsukuba University led the top three under 39 seconds in 38.73.



88th National University Track and Field ChampionshipsNagaragawa Field, Gifu, Sept. 12-15, 2019
complete results

Men

100 m Final-0.0 m/s
1. Akihiro Higashida (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.…

Jakarta Asian Games men's 3000 m steeplechase bronze medalist, national champion and Rio Olympian Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.) ended his university track career with one of the better of his many great performances, breaking the National University Track and Field Championships meet record set by Moroccan Aziz Driouch in 1999 by 2 seconds to win in 8:31.98. As at the Asian Games he frontran the entire race, but where he was outkicked in Jakarta over the last lap this time he opened a lead of 13 seconds over runner-up Taisei Ogino (Kanagawa Univ.).

The home to Shiojiri's teammate in Rio and women's meet record holder Anju Takamizawa, Matsuyama University extended its domination of Japanese collegiate women's steeplechase, taking the top three spots in the final. 3rd-year Kako Okado took the national title in 10:02.04 just over 5 seconds off Takamizawa's record, with 1st year duo Manami Nishiyama and Moka Ouchi going 2-3.

Apart from the steeple, the women's…

After a disappointing 5th-place finish in this year's Jakarta Asian Games 400 m, Julian Walsh (Toyo Univ.) brought the highlight of the third day of the 87th National University Track and Field Championships as he tied the meet record 45.75 to win the 400 m national title. It was a very close race with newcomer  Rikuya Ito (Waseda Univ.) pushing Walsh to the record and finishing 2nd in 45.79. Just a 2nd-year, Ito looks set to take over as Japan's top collegiate 400 m runner following Walsh's graduating next spring. 3rd-year Mitsuki Kawauchi (Kinki Univ.) may give him a challenge for the title next year, close behind this time in 3rd in 45.96.



In the women's 5000 m 1st-year Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu (Meijo Univ.) outkicked her older competition in a slow race to complete a 1500 m / 5000 m national title double in 16:06.83. Her male counterpart Josphat Ledama Kisaisa (Obirin) also pulled off a double, dropping Patrick Mathenge Wambui (Nihon) as he did in the 10000 m to a…

Following up the Ritsumeikan University women's 4x100 m meet record in the qualifying heats on the first day of the 87th National University Track and Field Championships, Nittai University did Ritsumeikan one better in day two's final. Nittai came on strong on the third leg with a solid run from third year Mae Hirosawa, but it was first-year anchor Miku Yamada who really impressed, pulling away to open almost half a second on Ritsumeikan in the best first-year relay anchor performance since future Olympic silver medalist Shota Iizuka's 2010 Kanto Regionals run. Yamada crossed the line in 44.59 to take 0.23 off Ritsumeikan's day-old meet record and 0.21 off the 12-year-old national university record.



Just a week after missing out on a medal at the Jakarta Asian Games, Meg Hemphill (Chuo Univ.) rounded out her collegiate heptathlon career by tying the meet record of 5550 set last year by Jakarta bronze medalist Yuki Yamasaki. Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu (Meijo Univ.) cont…

Thursday saw the first day of the 87th National University Track and Field Championships get underway at Kanagawa's Todoroki Stadium. The most surprising result of the day came in the first heat of the women's 4x100 m relay qualifying round, where both Ritsumeikan University and Aoyama Gakuin University broke the meet record. Ritsumeikan was just 0.02 off the national collegiate record in 44.82 with AGU right behind in 44.89. No other team broke 45 seconds, promising a head-to-head race for the collegiate record and national title in tomorrow's final.

In the men's 4x100 m qualifying round national collegiate record holder Chuo University was the only team to break 39 seconds, marking itself as the heavy favorite in the final with a time of 38.90.



In early finals action, Rika Kaseda (Meijo Univ.) and Josphat Ledama Kisaisa (Obirin Univ.) won the women's and men's 10000 m, Kaseda in 33:29.20 and Kisaisa in 28:28.48. Mayu Nasu (Sonoda Gakuen Joshi Univ.) won the …

Front-page news and the top story in just about every mainstream Japanese media outlet, the 2017 National University Track and Field Championships in Fukui will always be remembered for the first-ever Japanese men's legal sub-10 clocking in the 100 m from Toyo University 4th-year Yoshihide Kiryu. After his historic 9.98 (+1.8 m/s) national record, Kiryu wrapped his university career by anchoring Toyo's 4x100 m team to a 2nd-place finish and making a major contribution to Toyo's solid 3rd-place in final overall university scoring.



His London World Championships 4x100 m teammate Shuhei Tada (Kwansei Gakuin University) was also in good form, breaking Kiryu's old meet record in the 100 m in 10.07 and anchoring Kwansei Gakuin to 3rd in the 4x100 m. But there was no shortage of other record-breaking performances at this year's Nationals.



Biggest among those came in the women's 800 m where Nittai University 4th-year Yume Kitamura set a meet and national university rec…

The day Japan has been waiting for has finally arrived.

Riding a wave of success in Japanese men's sprinting that in the last year has seen 4x100 m medals at the Rio Olympics and London World Championships and six men clear 10.10, Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo University) outran his London teammate Shuhei Tada (Kwansei Gakuin University) to become the first Japanese man ever to legally clear the 10-second barrier as he won the National University Championships 100 m final in 9.98 (+1.8 m/s) Saturday in Fukui.

After struggling with a sluggish start at the Taipei World University Games late last month Tada was back to his usual form, quick out of the blocks to open an early lead over Kiryu and the rest of the field. But over the second half Kiryu continued to build, passing Tada and dipping across the line to stop the clock at 9.99. The crowd erupted, but with the memory of Koji Ito's 10.00 national record, initially a 9.99 that was adjusted to 10.00 in the official results, the noise …

by Brett Larner
videos by Ekiden News and no1231y



Rio Olympics 4x100 m silver medalist Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) was the hardest-working man in Japan this weekend, running nine races in three days and winning three of his four finals at the 85th National University Track and Field Championships in Kumagaya, Saitama.  Kiryu started off his haul with a meet record 10.08 (+1.1 m/s) to win the 100 m final, following up with a 20.60 (-0.1 m/s) in the 200 m.  Running anchor in the men's 4x100 m, Kiryu made a rare flub, blowing his exchange and dropping Toyo to last in 48.71, showing that the baton work that earned Japan worldwide praise in its silver medal run in Rio isn't always easy and takes hard work to get right.  Cbuo University made it four-straight National titles, winning in 38.92.



Coming back from the 4x100 m embarrassment, with his Rio teammate Julian Walsh, who won the National University 400 m final with ease in 45.93, running anchor, Kiryu made a rare 4x400 m appeara…

by Brett Larner

Led by men'x 4x100 m relay silver medalist Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.), eight members of Japan's Rio de Janeiro Olympic team top the entry lists at this weekend's 85th National University Track and Field Championships in Kumagaya, Saitama.  Kiryu is entered in both the 100 m and 200 m. The men's 400 m features his Toyo University teammate Julian Walsh and Walsh's Rio 4x400 m partners Nobuya Kato (Waseda Univ.) and Takamasa Kitagawa (Juntendo Univ.).  Another Toyo Olympian, Daisuke Matsunaga, leads the men's 10000 m race walk, while Juntendo University's Kazuya Shiojiri, a last-minute add to the Rio team in the men's 3000 m steeplechase, is entered in the 5000 m and 10000 m along with the steeple.  Going for a triple of his own is Kohei Yamashita (Tsukuba Univ.) in the men's triple jump.  The only female collegiate Rio Olympian in athletics, Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) is set to add the 2016 national collegiate title to her res…

by Brett Larner

The favorite to win the women's 3000 mSC at the weekend's National University Track and Field Championships after her runner-up finish last year, 19-year-old Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) instead opted to head to France as part of the Japanese team for the Sept. 13 DécaNation meet at Paris' Stade Charléty.  On June 28 Takamizawa broke the junior national record with a 9:55.79 to win the National Championships in Niigata.  A month later on July 26 she was back in Niigata to break her own junior national record with a 9:54.95 at the Niigata Prefecture Championships.  In Paris Takamizawa did it again, running another junior national record of 9:53.72 for 4th.  Her Paris performance also just broke the 9:53.87 collegiate national record set by Mayuko Nakamura (Tsukuba Univ.) at last year's National Championships, establishing Takamizawa as Japan's leading current steepler.  The 9:33.93 Japanese national record set by the great Minori Hayakari (Kyoto…

by Brett Larner

Following its pair of wins from Hazuma Hattori and Yoshihide Kiryu yesterday, Toyo University again delivered the performance of the day on the third day of the National University Track and Field Championships at Osaka’s Nagai Stadium. Toyo’s men’s 10000 mRW junior national record holder Daisuke Matsunaga, the Kanto Region champion, dueled with Kansai region champ Toshikazu Yamanishi (Kyoto Univ.) in the first race of the day, pushing each other throughout the race and both breaking the meet record in PB time. Matsunaga was first across the line in 39:18.04, the only new record at this year’s Nationals, with Yamanishi falling back but still clearing the old meet record in 39:28.63, more than a minute better than his previous best.

Along with the Matsunaga – Yamanishi duel, the women’s 4x400 m relay was another of the day’s highlights. Osaka Seikei University and Shigakkan University overtook each other multiple times on almost every leg and on the anchor leg Ritsum…