Skip to main content

Omwamba Secures Triple Title; More World-Class Sprinting at Kanto Regionals

by Brett Larner

After doubling in the 1500 m and 10000 m last weekend, Yamanashi Gakuin University sophomore Enock Omwamba took his third title of this year's Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships, outrunning #1-ranked Japanese collegiate Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.) and fellow Kenyan Daniel Kitonyi (Nihon Univ.) for the win in the Div. I 5000 m, clocking a solid 13:31.54.  Kosei Yamaguchi (Josai Univ.), 6th in 13:55.85, deserves special mention for running the 5000 m just after winning his fourth-straight Kanto Div. I steelechase title.  The Div. II 5000 m was a nearly perfect replica of the Div. I race, Duncan Muthee (Takushoku Univ.) outkicking Yudai Okamoto (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) and Ethiopian Leul Gebrselassie (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) for the win in 13:56.22.

Earlier the same morning, Takumi Honda of 2013 Hakone Ekiden champion Nittai University took the honors in the Div. I half marathon, running 1:04:25 just ahead of a 1:04:38 photo finish between Shogo Sekiguchi (Hosei Univ.) and Kento Otsu (Toyo Univ.).  Hiroshi Ichida (Daito Bunka Univ.), whose identical twin Takashi Ichida impressed in last week's 10000 m, was the top in the Div. II half marathon in 1:05:43.

Sprint action continued the momentum among Japan's younger set over the last month with a 20.41 (-0.5) win by London Olympian Ryota Yamagata (Keio Univ.) in the Div. I men's 200 m final, a sizeable PB and well under the World Championships A-standard.  Yamagata is now the third Japanese man to get the A-standard this season, all collegiates.  One of those other collegiates, 2010 World Junior 200 m gold medalist Shota Iizuka of Chuo University, led an incredible Div. I 4x100 m relay final, with Iizuka anchoring Chuo to the win in 38.75 just ahead of rival Waseda University in 38.81.  Chuo's time was just short of its own 38.54 national collegiate record from Iizuka's first year at Chuo in 2010, but with a thrilling near photo-finish and two teams under 39 nobody was complaining.  With the three star collegiates and high school star Yoshihide Kiryu (Rakunan H.S.) Japan has the makings of a pretty impressive relay team for August's World Championships even without any of the established names.

92nd Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships Pt II
Nissan Stadium and environs, 5/25-26/13
click here for complete results

Men's Div. I 200 m Final (-0.5 wind)
1. Ryota Yamagata (Keio Univ.) - 20.41 - PB
2. Asuka Cambridge (Nihon Univ.) - 20.73
3. Masafumi Naoki (Chuo Univ.) - 20.81
4. Kotaro Taniguchi (Chuo Univ.) - 20.87
5. Keisuke Nakamura (Juntendo Univ.) - 20.89

Men's Div. I 4x100 m Relay Final
1. Chuo University - 38.75
2. Waseda University - 38.81
3. Hosei University - 39.31
4. Keio University - 39.34
5. Nihon University - 39.35

Men's Div. I 5000 m
1. Enock Omwamba (Kenya/Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 13:31.54
2. Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.) - 13:34.30
3. Daniel Kitonyi (Kenya/Nihon Univ.) - 13:35.21
4. Shota Hattori (Nittai Univ.) - 13:50.01
5. Shuho Dairokuno (Meiji Univ.) - 13:50.13
6. Kosei Yamaguchi (Josai Univ.) - 13:55.85
7. Kazuma Kubota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:56.69
8. Keigo Yano (Nittai Univ.) - 13:59.20
9. Kazuto Nishiike (Hosei Univ.) - 14:06.95
10. Ken Yokote (Meiji Univ.) - 14:09.72

Men's Div. II 5000 m
1. Duncan Muthee (Kenya/Takushoku Univ.) - 13:56.22
2. Yudai Okamoto (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 13:58.29
3. Leul Gebreselassie (Ethiopia/Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) - 13:58.76
4. Ikuto Yufu (Komazawa Univ.) - 14:00.23
5. Hironori Tsuetaki (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 14:01.30

Men's Div. I Half Marathon
1. Takumi Honda (Nittai Univ.) - 1:04:25
2. Shogo Sekiguchi (Hosei Univ.) - 1:04:38
3. Kento Otsu (Toyo Univ.) - 1:04:38
4. Yusuke Suzuki (Nittai Univ.) - 1:04:39
5. Hiroto Inoue (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:04:47
6. Masaya Taguchi (Toyo Univ.) - 1:04:55
7. Yoshiki Takenouchi (Nihon Univ.) - 1:05:03
8. Shota Kai (Nittai Univ.) - 1:05:13
9. Koki Takada (Waseda Univ.) - 1:05:45
10. Yuma Morii (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:05:54

Men's Div. II Half Marathon
1. Hiroshi Ichida (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:05:43
2. Keita Shioya (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:05:51
3. Junji Katakawa (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:06:01
4. Kota Kakinuma (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:06:16
5. Yusei Tsutsumi (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:06:25

(c) 2013 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Khishigsaikhan and Kuira Break Ageo City Half Marathon CRs (updated)

Stellar conditions and a solid fields meant times were going to be fast at the Ageo City Half Marathon , and in both the women's and men's races the front end took full advantage of the day. In the midst of the super-deep men's field Khishigsaikhan Galbadrakh , the top Mongolian in this summer's Budapest World Championships marathon and in last month's Hangzhou Asian Games marathon, ran steady and strong, splitting 33:29 at 10 km, 1:10:38 pace, before pushing the 2nd half. Khishigsaikhan crossed the finish line 1:10:32, 1:22 under the old course record, 3:35 ahead of 2nd-place Kana Kobayashi , and a massive 4:16 off the Mongolian women's national record. Khishigsaikhan is currently training in Japan and ran Ageo in prep for next month's Taipei City Marathon, where she was 3rd last year. The men's race went out hard, with Kenyan Brian Kipyegon (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.), NR holder Yusuke Ogura (Yakult) and the ambitious Rei Matsunaga (Hosei) leading the ...
1 comment
Read more

A Few Words on Chicago

by Brett Larner photos by Dr. Helmut Winter Chicago comes at a tough time for Japan's corporate leagues, just before the start of the fall ekiden season's regional qualifiers.  Although just about every team has more than enough people to fill their lineups for these relatively minor events, head coaches will usually not let their better athletes do an October marathon, whether because of the limited recovery time in the event that they decide a big gun has to run in a qualifier, or because it would give them the hassle of explaining to the parent corporation why a star is off doing his or her own thing instead of being there for the team.  As a result you typically only see Japanese runners at Chicago when they are looking to drop something big, as with Yukiko Akaba  (Team Hokuren) and Yoshinori Oda  (Team Toyota) this year, or, like the block of  Japanese men at 2:12~2:13 , as part of a corporate federation junket for promising third-tier men to get the exp...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tanaka and Hashioka Win Gold - World U20 Championships Day Two Japanese Results

Working together to execute an aggressive frontrunning team strategy born from failure two years ago in Bydgoszcz , 2018 Asian U20 3000 m gold medalist Nozomi Tanaka and 2018 Asian Junior Cross Country gold medalist Yuna Wada opened a massive lead over the African Junior Cross Country medalist Ethiopian duo of Meselu Berhe and Tsige Gebreselama in the early going of the Tampere World U20 Championships women's 3000 m. Tanaka took the lead from the gun before Wada went out front at 200 m to set a fast pace. Through splits of 3:00 and 3:03 for the first 2000 m, Tanaka kicked hard from 300 m out to close with a 2:51 for Japan's first-ever gold medal in the event, winning in a PB of 8:54.01. Berhe and Gebreselama caught Wada on the back corner but weren't even close to matching Tanaka, taking 2nd and 3rd in PBs just under the 9-minute mark. Wada just held off Kenyan Jenali Jemutai Yego for 4th in 9:00.50, seeming happy in post-race interviews to have helped a teammate ...
Post a Comment
Read more