by Brett Larner
Entry lists are up for the 2011 Oda Memorial Track and Field Meet on Apr. 29 in Hiroshima, one of the big meets on the spring Japanese calendar. This year's meet features an extra round of distance events with separate 5000 m qualifier heats for the World University Games 5000 m teams alongside the regular open 5000 m heats.
The university men's 5000 m may be the most exciting race of the day, with 2011 Hakone Ekiden champion Waseda University fielding big guns Shota Hiraga, Suguru Osako, Yuki Yagi and Yo Yazawa and rival Meiji University its ace Tetsuya Yoroizaka along with star first-year recruits Yuki Arimura and Genki Yagisawa. #1-ranked first-year Kazuto Nishiike will be debuting for Hosei University, while 2010 Kanto Regional 5000 m champion Taku Fujimoto (Kokushikan Univ.) will tune up to defend his title at May's Kanto Regionals.
Like Waseda, Ritsumeikan University will be putting all its best people into the university women's 5000 m, including seniors Michi Numata, Risa Takenaka and Hanae Tanaka along with outstanding sophomore Akane Yabushita. 2010 national champion Bukkyo University has star Hikari Yoshimoto in the open women's 5000 m and will instead field senior Mai Ishibashi, junior Shiho Takechi and first-year Risa Shibuya.
The open men's 5000 m features a number of Japan-based Kenyan pros as well as high school sensation Charles Ndirangu (Sera H.S.). 2009 national 5000 m champion Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) leads the domestic men. The open women's 5000 m looks to be more competitive, with top Japan-based Africans Sally Chepyego (Team Kyudenko), Betelhem Moges (Team Denso) and Felista Wanjugu (Team Univ. Ent.) lining up against 10000 m junior national record holder Megumi Kinukawa (Team Mizuno), 10000 m collegiate national record holder Hikari Yoshimoto (Bukkyo Univ.), road 10 km collegiate national record holder and 2010 university 5000 m national champion Kasumi Nishihara (Bukkyo Univ.), and 2011 World Championships marathon team member Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku).
2011 Oda Memorial Meet Entry List Highlights
Big Arch Stadium, Hiroshima, April 29, 2011
University Men's 5000 m
Yuki Arimura (Meiji Univ.)
Taku Fujimoto (Kokushikan Univ.)
Shota Hattori (Nittai Univ.)
Shota Hiraga (Waseda Univ.)
Kazuto Nishiike (Hosei Univ.)
Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.)
Wataru Ueno (Komazawa Univ.)
Yuki Yagi (Waseda Univ.)
Genki Yagisawa (Meiji Univ.)
Yo Yazawa (Waseda Univ.)
Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Meiji Univ.)
Ikuto Yufu (Komazawa Univ.)
University Women's 5000 m
Mai Ishibashi (Bukkyo Univ.)
Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.)
Michi Numata (Ritsumeikan Univ.)
Risa Shibuya (Bukkyo Univ.)
Ayuko Suzuki (Nagoya Univ.)
Shiho Takechi (Bukkyo Univ.)
Risa Takenaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.)
Toshika Tamura (Matsuyama Univ.)
Hanae Tanaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.)
Akane Yabushita (Ritsumeikan Univ.)
Open Women's 5000 m
Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko)
Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku)
Megumi Kinukawa (Team Mizuno)
Kazue Kojima (Team Unv. Ent.)
Betelhem Moges (Ethiopia/Team Denso)
Shoko Mori (Team Otsuka Seiyaku)
Hitomi Niiya (Team Toyota Jidoshokki)
Kasumi Nishihara (Team Yamada Denki)
Felista Wanjugu (Kenya/Team Univ. Ent.)
Hikari Yoshimoto (Bukkyo Univ.)
Open Men's 5000 m
Joseph Gitau (Kenya/Team JFE Steel)
Kazuo Ietani (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko)
Soji Ikeda (Team NTT Nishi Nihon)
Peter Kariuki (Kenya/Team Mazda)
Nicholas Makau (Kenya/Team Yachiyo Kogyo)
Kota Murayama (Josai Univ.)
Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Sera H.S.)
Tsuyoshi Ogata (Team Chugoku Denryoku)
Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku)
Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B)
(c) 2011 Brett Larner
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