Skip to main content

Osako Takes Isesaki 3000 m

by Brett Larner

Members of Japan's top two university teams, 2011 Hakone Ekiden winner Waseda University and 2009-2010 winner Toyo University, held a midsummer face-off July 23 in Isesaki Gunma at the Trial in Isesaki meet hosted by locally-based Jobu University.  With early pacing provided by Jobu graduate Yusuke Hasegawa (Team S&B), Waseda second-year Suguru Osako, the Asian junior area record holder in the half marathon, won the men's 3000 m A-heat with a gap of nearly six seconds over Toyo's Takanori Ichikawa and Hiroyuki Uno, running 8:05.70.  2009 Ageo City Half Marathon winner Shota Hiraga (Waseda Univ.) was off his game as he finished only 7th in 8:18.29.

For Osako the meet was a tuneup for next month's World University Games in Shenzhen, China.  Although he set the Asian junior record at the half marathon last fall as a first-year, Osako has since backed off the distance and focused on the track.  At the World University Games he is likely to double in the 5000 m and 10000 m but will not run the half marathon.

Trial in Isesaki
Isesaki Civic Track and Field Grounds
Isesaki, Gunma, 7/23/11
Men's 3000 m Heat 8
1. Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.) - 8:05.70
2. Takanori Ichikawa (Toyo Univ.) - 8:11.41
3. Hiroyuki Uno (Toyo Univ.) - 8:11.53
4. Fuminori Shikata (Waseda Univ.) - 8:13.09
5. Keita Shitara (Toyo Univ.) - 8:14.65
6. Toshiki Sadakata (Toyo Univ.) - 8:16.86
7. Shota Hiraga (Waseda Univ.) - 8:18.29
8. Shun Sato (Jobu Univ.) - 8:24.28
9. Takaaki Tanaka (Toyo Univ.) - 8:25.90
10. Kento Otsu (Toyo Univ.) - 8:26.61

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

  Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...