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

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

With three sub-2:09 Japanese men in the race and good weather conditions by Boston standards the chances were decent that somebody was going to follow 1981 winner Toshihiko Seko 's 2:09:26 and score a sub-2:10 at the Boston Marathon . But nobody thought it was going to be by a 2:14 amateur. Paris Olympic team member Suguru Osako had taken 3rd in Boston in 2:10:28 in his debut seven years ago, and both he and 2:08 runners Kento Otsu and Ryoma Takeuchi were aiming for spots in the top 10, Otsu after having run a 1:01:43 half marathon PB in February and Takeuchi of a 2:08:40 marathon PB at Hofu last December. A high-level amateur with a 2:14:15 PB who scored a trip to Boston after winning a local race in Japan, Yuma Morii told JRN minutes before the start of the race, "I'm not thinking about time at all. I'm going to make top 10, whatever time it takes." Running Boston for the first time Morii took off with a 4:32 on the downhill opening mile, but after that  Sis
Post a Comment
Read more

Saturday at Kanaguri and Nittai

Two big meets happened Saturday, one in Kumamoto and the other in Yokohama. At Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet , Benard Koech (Kyudenko) turned in the performance of the day with a 13:13.52 meet record to win the men's 5000 m A-heat by just 0.11 seconds over Emmanuel Kipchirchir (SGH). The top four were all under 13:20, with 10000 m national record holder Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) bouncing back from a DNF at last month's The TEN to take the top Japanese spot at 7th overall in 13:24.57. The B-heat was also decently quick, Shadrack Rono (Subaru) winning in 13:21.55 and Shoya Yonei (JR Higashi Nihon) running a 10-second PB to get under 13:30 for the first time in 13:29.29 for 6th. Paris Olympics marathoner Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) was 9th in 13:30.62. South Sudan's Abraham Guem (Ami AC) also set a meet record in the men's 1500 m A-heat in 3:38.94. 3000 mSC national record holder Ryuji Miura made his debut with the Subaru corporate team, running 3:39.78 for 2n
1 comment
Read more

93-Year-Old Masters Track and Field WR Holder Hiroo Tanaka: "Everyone has Unexplored Intrinsic Abilities"

  In the midst of a lot of talk about how to keep the aging population young, there are people with long lives who are showing extraordinary physical abilities. One of them is Hiroo Tanaka , 93, a multiple world champion in masters track and field. Tanaka began running when he was 60, before which he'd never competed in his adult life. "He's so fast he's world-class." "His running form is so beautiful. It's like he's flying." Tanaka trains at an indoor track in Aomori five days a week. Asked about him, that's the kind of thing the people there say. Tanaka holds multiple masters track and field world records, where age is divided into five-year groups. Last year at the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Poland he set a new world record of 38.79 for 200 m in the M90 class (men's 90-94 age group). People around the world were amazed at the time, which was almost unbelievable for a 92-year-old. After retiring from his job as an el
Post a Comment
Read more