Skip to main content

Charles Ndirangu 13:15.44 National High School Record at Oita Challenge 5000 m

by Brett Larner

Sera High School’s scouts are on top of their game.First Sera’s Bitan Karoki (Team S&B) came a hairsbreadth from cracking Samuel Wanjiru's legendary National High School Ekiden stage record his senior year before going on to impress this year at the Cardinal Invitational, Kenyan Championships and the Africa Games. Then as a junior last year current Sera senior Charles Ndirangu likewise missed Wanjiru’s record by the slimmest of margins. Now Ndirangu has come through.

Seemingly unaware of the international declaration of the end of track season last month, Ndirangu rocketed a 13:15.44 at the Oct. 22 Oita Prefecture Challenge Games track meet to break the Japanese national high school 5000 m record. Officially called a new Japanese high school international student record, Ndirangu’s time is a full 16 seconds better than the best ever run by a Japanese high school student.  In comparison, past Kenyan national XC champion Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) ran 13:32.25 to win the Tokai Univ. Time Trials 5000 m A-heat the same day. Another solid shot at Wanjiru’s stage record at December’s Nationals looks to be in the cards for Ndirangu.

Sera first-year John Gasaya was also under the 14 minute mark in Oita, taking 2nd in 13:56.34. The top Japanese finisher, Kaoru Hirosue, was 3rd in 14:16.25, narrowly escaping being lapped. Sera senior Susan Wylim likewise dominated the women’s 3000 m, winning by 25 seconds in 8:59.07 over Nihon Bunri Prep first-year Madoka Uesugi who was 2nd in 9:24.63.

2011 Oita Prefecture Challenge Games
Oita Bank Dome, Oita, 10/22/11
click here for complete results

Men’s 5000 m Heat 13
1. Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Sera H.S.) – 13:15.44
2. John Gasaya (Kenya/Sera H.S.) – 13:56.34
3. Kaoru Hirosue (Kobayashi H.S.) – 14:16.25
4. Yusuke Egashira (Shiroishi H.S.) - 14:17.74
5. Shuhei Kondo (Oita Tomei H.S.) - 14:18.42

Women's 3000 m Heat 5
1. Susan Wylim (Kenya/Sera H.S.) - 8:59.07
2. Madoka Uesugi (Nihon Bunri Prep. H.S.) - 9:24.63
3. Mikako Kodama Kodama (Oita Nishi H.S.) - 9:29.44
4. Karen Yakushi (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 9:30.02
5. Fumika Shinohana (Sera H.S.) - 9:31.42

Women's 5000 m Heat 1
1. Ayano Kubo (Kobayashi H.S.) - 16:07.17
2. Mai Nakamura (Oita Nishi H.S.) - 16:07.70
3. Misuzu Nakahara (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 16:12.41
4. Nozomi Nishiyama (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 16:13.10
5. Miki Yasutomi (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 16:23.51

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

TokyoRacer said…
13:15! That's amazing....
October 23, 2011 at 7:09 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

World Marathon Majors Japanese Entries

We're back from a short summer break. A week and a half out from the first race of the season's four World Marathon Majors races, here's a look at Japanese athletes scheduled to run. Everything right now is about qualifying for the MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to be held in the fall of 2027 in Nagoya. The JAAF makes no mistake about wanting to keep its top people racing domestically where it can get a share of revenue from the TV broadcast and race operations, so anyone who decides to race overseas has to do it in a WA platinum label race and hit either 2:06:30 or 2:23:30, regardless of place, course or weather if they want to make the trials. At the same time concessions are make for domestic races, like for example the late-August Hokkaido Marathon where up to 3 men and 3 women can qualify if they go 2:12:00 or 2:32:00. As a result, you get things like last year where amateur runner Yudai Fukuda made the trials by finishing 3rd Jap...
1 comment
Read more

Nakajima Breaks 100 mH NR Twice, Kitaguchi Returns - August Track Roundup

Catching up on what's been happening in track and field this month during our summer break: Men's 3000 m NR holder Nagiya Mori was just off his 5000 m PB at the IFAM Oordegem meet in Belgium on Aug. 1, taking 16th in 13:15.01. Shota Nakano was 26th of 28 in 13:35.02. This year's national champion Ryoma Aoki ran the 3000 mSC but didn't finish. Naoto Hasegawa was the only Japanese athlete at Mutaz Essa Barshim 's What Gravity Tour stop at the Monaco Athletics Festival meet on Aug. 5. Having cleared 2.30 m for the first time earlier this year Hasegawa only managed 2.18 m in Monaco, taking 7th of 10. There were a lot of good performances at the Fuji Hokuriku World Trial meet in Fujiyoshida on Aug. 9, but the one that got the headlines was a 12.62 (-0.2) NR in the women's 100 mH by Hitomi Nakajima . Nakajima actually did it twice, running 12.62 (+2.0) in the heats before repeating in the final. Masumi Aoki also ran big in the heats, with a 12.68 (+2.0) for al...
1 comment
Read more

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more