japan running news

Unusually cool weather throughout the weekend worked to the advantage of the athletes in distance events at Kanagawa's National University Individual Track and Field Championships, where the meet records fell in both the men's and women's 5000 m. The poorer cousin of September's National University Track and Field Championships, the individual meet features a reduced program, no team scoring, and some competition from Taiwan. Coming just a week before the National Track and Field Championships many of Japan's best collegians tend to give it a miss, but the level of competition is often high all the same.

In the women's race first-year Yuka Suzuki (Daito Bunka Univ.) surprised the field, breaking the meet record set six years ago by current top-level pro Rina Nabeshima by 6 seconds to win the B-heat in 15:46.84. Fourth-year Honoka Tanaike (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) and Rino Goshima (Chuo Univ.) were both under Nabeshima's record in the A-heat in 15:49.37 and 15:5…

The National University Individual Track and Field Championships are a poorer cousin to September's National University Track and Field Championships, no team scoring, no combined events, no 10000 m, held every year in Shonan BMW Stadium Hiratsuka just south of Yokohama. It's rarely mattered much to the bigger names, but it's just as rarely been as good as this year's edition.

準決勝では追参ですが、国内初の9秒台。
自分でもびっくりしました😳
本当に嬉しかったのが、決勝10秒08で世界選手権標準記録突破✨
本当に応援ありがとうございました。
浮かれず、日本選手権に向けて追い込んでいきます！！
またご声援のほどよろしくお願いします😌 pic.twitter.com/J60282fmTO — 多田 修平 (@shu_hei_0624) June 10, 2017
Meet records fell in fourteen events across sprints, middle distance, jumps and throws, with up to five athletes breaking the old record in some of them. In the 800 m, shot put and discus throw, both the men's and women's winners set new records. The 100 m, the highlight of the weekend, almost saw the same.

After several women skimmed the 11.62 meet record in the women's 100 m, strong tailwinds p…

by Brett Larner
video by ekiden news



This weekend's National University Individual Championships, held annually at Shonan BMW Stadium in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa south of Tokyo are an anomaly on the Japanese collegiate calendar, no relays or team competition, just individual competition from universities across the country, occupying the place where you would expect the equivalent of NCAAs but relatively minor compared to both May's Kanto Regionals and Kansai Regionals meets and September's National University Championships.  Especially in the distance events, top talent rarely competes there.  Not so this year.

Men's 100 m junior national record holder Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) whipped up a storm of excitement when he tied his legal best in the semi-final, running a collegiate national record 10.01 with a +1.8 m/s tailwind.  Kiryu's time broke the existing meet record by 0.18 seconds and met the JAAF's selection standard for the Rio Olympics, giving him some brea…

by Brett Larner
videos by Ekiden News



The weekend's main domestic action came at the National University Individual Track and Field Championships, a smaller counterpart to September's National University Track and Field Championships held each year at Kanagawa's Shonan BMW Stadium.  In distance highlights, 2015 Kanto Regionals women's 10000 m runner-up Fuyuka Kimura (Daito Bunka Univ.) narrowly outkicked local rival Kotoe Chaya (Nittai Univ.) for the win in 15:56.89, Chaya just back in 15:57.01 for 2nd.  Wakana Itsuki (Fukuoka Univ.) made it a truly national race with a 15:58.30 for 3rd.  Hikaru Nakamura (Kyoto Koka Joshi Univ.) led a central/western Japan sweep of the women's 1500 m, winning in 4:26.32.  Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) scored a meet record 10:08.40 to win the women's 3000 mSC by a wide margin.



The men's 5000 m was almost a time trial for 2015 Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University, AGU runners taking 7 of the top 10 spots led by …