Skip to main content

Hakone Ekiden Uphill Ace Kashiwabara Looking for 2:06, Olympics in New Pro Career

http://www.47news.jp/CN/201203/CN2012033001001929.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Having dominated the Hakone Ekiden's uphill Fifth Stage for his four years at Toyo University, men's long distance athlete Ryuji Kashiwabara, 22, made his debut in the uniform of his new corporate sponsor Fujitsu at a press conference in Minato Ward, Tokyo.  "I expect my career to last until I'm around 32 or 33," Kashiwabara told the media of his goals for the future.  "Within that time I want to go to the Olympics once.  My goal in the marathon is 2:06."

Beginning this season Kashiwabara will focus on the track to improve his speed, with a planned marathon debut his third year as a pro in 2014.  Having joined the Fujitsu team effective April 2, his first race in the new uniform will be at the April 21-22 Hyogo Relay Carnival.  Already one step ahead, he will be training in Miyazaki until April 28 as part of a corporate league-sponsored selective training camp.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...

3 Athletes Provisionally Suspended After Positive Drug Tests at Asian Games (updated)

The International Testing Agency announced on Oct. 2 that provisional suspensions have been imposed on two athletes, Kazakhstan's Aiana Bolatbekkyzy in track and field, and Tajikistan's Issamjon Sharifov in tennis, after they tested positive for prohibited substances at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Aichi. Bolatbekkyzy, 19, tested positive for the steroid drostanolone in a sample collected during an in-competition test at the Games. A diuretic drug was found in the sample collected from Sharifov, 23. Update:  On Oct. 3 a third athlete, kurash wrestler Yash Kumar Chauhan  of India, was provisionally suspended after an in-competition test detected the steroid metandienone, the metabolic modulator GW1516, and the stimulant mephentermine in his system. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/article/20261002-X4FJLT5MMZKFND6WXPOESAKETQ/ translated by Brett Larner