Skip to main content

Rio Olympians Kiryu and Takamizawa Break Meet Records at National University Championships

by Brett Larner
videos by Ekiden News and no1231y



Rio Olympics 4x100 m silver medalist Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) was the hardest-working man in Japan this weekend, running nine races in three days and winning three of his four finals at the 85th National University Track and Field Championships in Kumagaya, Saitama.  Kiryu started off his haul with a meet record 10.08 (+1.1 m/s) to win the 100 m final, following up with a 20.60 (-0.1 m/s) in the 200 m.  Running anchor in the men's 4x100 m, Kiryu made a rare flub, blowing his exchange and dropping Toyo to last in 48.71, showing that the baton work that earned Japan worldwide praise in its silver medal run in Rio isn't always easy and takes hard work to get right.  Cbuo University made it four-straight National titles, winning in 38.92.



Coming back from the 4x100 m embarrassment, with his Rio teammate Julian Walsh, who won the National University 400 m final with ease in 45.93, running anchor, Kiryu made a rare 4x400 m appearance as Toyo's second runner to wrap up his weekend.  Starting well enough, Kiryu faded badly in the last 100 m but helped put Toyo in position for Walsh to bring them home for the win by almost a second in 3:05.48.



Another Rio team member, Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) became the first woman to break ten minutes in the National University Championships 3000 mSC, taking the win in a meet record 9:56.96.  First-year teammate Kako Okada joined her under ten in 9:59.17 with 3rd-placer Yui Yabuta (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) running 10:00.65 to clear the previous meet record by 0.04 seconds.  Having also run the steeplechase in Rio, Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.) likewise took the men's 3000 mSC in 8:38.27 with a winning margin of over five seconds.

Other Rio Olympians in action included Nobuya Kato (Waseda Univ.), 6th in the 400 m final, Takamasa Kitagawa (Juntendo Univ.), eliminated in the 400 m heats, and Kohei Yamashita (Tsukuba Univ.), far off his best in the triple jump in 15.54 m (-0.4 m/s) for 9th.  Having also featured on the Rio team, university national record and meet record holder Daisuke Matsunaga (Toyo Univ.) was a DNS in the men's 10000 mRW, leaving the title for Toshikazu Yamanishi (Kyoto Univ.) in 40:38.01.

Along with the marks set by Kiryu and Takamizawa, four other women's events saw new meet records.  Satsuki Umehara (Ritsumeikan Univ.) won a close race against Haruko Ishizuka (Higashi Osaka Univ.) in the 400 mH, both dipping under the meet record and Ishizuka getting the win by 0.02 seconds in 56.79.   Hitomi Katsuyama (Tsukuba Univ.) threw a meet record 62.70 m in the hammer throw, Marina Saito (Kokushikan Univ.) doing the same in the women's javelin throw with a record-setting 58.21 m throw. Heptathlon national university record holder Meg Hemphill (Chuo Univ.) broke the meet record with a score of 5547.  Hemphill received unexpected pressure from Yuki Yamasaki (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.), close behind and also under the meet record with 5536.



In long distance action, Patrick Wambui (Nihon Univ.) outran rival Dominic Nyairo (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) for a second-straight 10000 m National University title in a conservative 29:00.51.  In the absence of defending 5000 m champ Hazuma Hattori (Toyo Univ.) Wambui pulled off the double, winning the 5000 m over teammate Soma Ishikawa in 13:51.99 to extend the winning streak that started with his Kanto Regionals double in May to seven-straight races.  Little-known Suzuna Seiyama (Kanoya Taiiku Univ.) was a surprise winner in the women's 10000 m, outrunning sub-32 first-year Yuki Munehisa (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) to win in 33:03.93.  Munehisa returned in the 5000 m but couldn't compete in the last kick battle between Misuzu Nakahara (Matsuyama Univ.) and 2013-14 champ Natsuki Omori (Ritsemeikan Univ.).  Nakahara took the title by a fraction of a second, running 15:48.16 to Omori's 15:48.85.

85th National University Track and Field Championships
Kumagaya, Saitama, Sept. 2-4, 2016
click here for complete results

Men
Men's 100 m Final  +1.1 m/s
1. Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) - 10.08 - MR
2. Takuya Nagata (Hosei Univ.) - 10.28
3. Shuhei Tada (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) - 10.30

Men's 200 m  Final -0.1 m/s
1. Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) - 20.60
2. Takanori Kawase (Nittai Univ.) - 20.82
3. Akiyuki Hashimoto (Waseda Univ.) - 21.01

Men's 400 m Final
1. Julian Walsh (Toyo Univ.) - 45.93
2. Naoki Kobayashi (Tokai Univ.) - 46.87
3. Kakeru Yamaki (Nihon Univ.) - 46.89
-----
6. Nobuya Kato (Waseda Univ.) - 47.03

Men's 800 m Final
1. Jun Mitake (Nihon Univ.) - 1:49.18
2. Taichi Ichino (Gifu Keizai Univ.) - 1:49.21
3. Kazuyoshi Tamogami (Chuo Univ.) - 1:49.58

Men's 1500 m Final
1. Masahide Saito (Waseda Univ.) - 3:50.01
2. Shoma Funatsu (Chuo Univ.) - 3:50.70
3. Ryunosuke Hayashi (Tokai Univ.) - 3:50.90

Men's 5000 m
1. Patrick Mathenge Wambui (Nihon Univ.) - 13:51.99
2. Soma Ishikawa (Nihon Univ.) - 13:53.86
3. Tadashi Isshiki (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:54.60
4. Shiki Shinsako (Waseda Univ.) - 13:55.34
5. Kazuma Taira (Waseda Univ.) - 13:57.70

Men's 10000 m
1. Patrick Wambui (Nihon Univ.) - 29:00.51
2. Dominic Nyairo (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 29:08.38
3. Rintaro Takeda (Waseda Univ.) - 29:25.95
4. Geoffrey Gichia (Daiichi Kogyo Univ.) - 29:46.15
5. Koki Ido (Waseda Univ.) - 29:46.41

Men's 110 m Hurdles Final -1.9 m/s
1. Shunya Takayama (Meiji Univ.) - 14.02
2. Takumu Furuya (Waseda Univ.) - 14.09
3. Anthony Kuriki (Kokusai Budo Univ.) - 14.11

Men's 400 m Hurdles Final
1. Kohei Ueno (Doshisha Univ.) - 49.69
2. Naoto Noguchi (Juntendo Univ.) - 50.13
3. Ryosuke Hamai (Hosei Univ.) - 50.51

Men's 3000 m Steeplechase Final 
1. Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.) - 8:38.27
2. Yasutaka Ishibashi (Tokai Univ.) - 8:43.92
3. Issei Miyagi (Tokai  Univ.) - 8:44.06

Men's 4x100 m Relay Final
1. Chuo Univ. - 38.92
2. Tsukuba Univ. - 39.23
3. Nihon Univ. - 39.44
-----
8. Toyo Univ. - 48.71

Men's 4x400 m Relay Final
1. Toyo Univ. - 3:05.48
2. Nihon Univ. - 3:06.42
3. Hosei Univ. - 3:06.60

Men's 10000 m Race Walk
1. Toshikazu Yamanishi (Kyoto Univ.) - 40:38.01
2. Fumitaka Oikawa (Toyo Univ.) - 40:49.85
3. Kota Yamada (Juntendo Univ.) - 41:10.50
-----
DNS - Daisuke Matsunaga

Men's High Jump
1. Shuichi Matsumoto (Fukuoka Univ.) - 2.21 m

Men's Pole Vault
1. Kota Suzuki (Chukyo Univ.) - 5.45 m

Men's Long Jump
1. Shotaro Shiroyama (Tokai Univ. Hokkaido) - 7.93 m +0.2 m/s

Men's Triple Jump
1. Ryoma Yamamoto (Juntendo Univ.) - 16.58 m +0.0 m/s
-----
9. Kohei Yamashita (Tsukuba Univ.) - 15.54 m -0.4 m/s

Men's Shot Put
1. Reiji Takeda (Nihon Univ.) - 17.60 m

Men's Discus Throw
1. Shigeyuki Maisawa (Tokai Univ.) - 56.39 m

Men's Hammer Throw
1. Hiroki Uchibori (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 65.73 m

Men's Javelin Throw
1. Katsuya Nakamura (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 77.79 m

Men's Decathlon
1. Kazuya Kawasaki (Juntendo Univ.) - 7665

Women
Women's 100 m Final  -0.8 m/s
1. Anna Fujimori (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 11.83
2. Anna Doi (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 11.84
3. Miyu Maeyama (Niigata Iryo Fukushi Univ.) - 11.85

Women's 200 m Final -0.5 m/s
1. Seika Aoyama (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 24.06
2. Miyu Maeyama (Niigata Iryo Fukushi Univ.) - 24.46
3. Mizuki Nakamura (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 24.48

Women's 400 m Final
1. Seika Aoyama (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 52.85
2. Yuna Iwata (Chuo Univ.) - 54.18
3. Kaede Kashiyama (Shigakukan Univ.) - 54.30

Women's 800 m Final
1. Ran Urabe (Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 2:05.34
2. Hana Yamada (Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 2:05.46
3. Yuki Hirota (Akita Univ.) - 2:06.04

Women's 1500 m Final
1. Natsu Hashimoto (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) - 4:20.11
2. Ran Urabe (Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 4:21.71
3. Chika Mukai (Meiji Univ.) - 4:21.72

Women's 5000 m
1. Misuzu Nakahara (Matsuyama Univ.) - 15:48.16
2. Natsuki Omori (Ritsemeikan Univ.) - 15:48.85
3. Yuki Munehisa (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 15:51.28
4. Sakie Arai (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 16:06.75
5. Mina Ueda (Josai Univ.) - 16:10.18

Women's 10000 m
1. Suzuna Seiyama (Kanoya Taiiku Univ.) - 33:03.93
2. Yuki Munehisa (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 33:06.18
3. Anna Matsuda (Matsuyama Univ.) - 33:21.99
4. Kaede Furuya (Matsuyama Univ.) - 33:27.10
5. Saori Imamura (Juntendo Univ.) - 33:38.48

Women's 100 m Hurdles Final -0.2 m/s
1. Sayaka Kobayashi (Aichi Kyoiku Univ.) - 13.50
2. Yuki Nakamura (Kansai Univ.) - 13.59
3. Mako Fukube (Nittai Univ.) - 13.59

Women's 400 m Hurdles Final
1. Satsuki Umehara (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 56.79 - MR
2. Haruko Ishizuka (Higashi Osaka Univ.) - 56.81 (MR)
3. Kana Kondo (Kantai Heiyo Univ.) - 58.22

Women's 3000 m Steeplechase Final
1. Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) - 9:56.96 - MR
2. Kako Okada (Matsuyama Univ.) - 9:59.17 (MR)
3. Yui Yabuta (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) - 10:00.65 (MR)

Women's 4x100m Relay Final
1. Osaka Seikei Univ. - 45.08
2. Keio Univ. - 45.50
3. Aoyama Gakuin Univ. - 45.58

Women's 4x400m Relay Final
1.  Osaka Seikei Univ. - 3:40.24
2. Niigata Iryo Fukushi Univ. - 3:41.41
3. Surugadai Univ. - 3:41.52

Women's 10000 m Race Walk
1. Rena Goto (Chubu Gakuin Univ.) - 46:10.01
2. Kaori Kawazoe (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 47:22.71
3. Yukiho Mizoguchi (Waseda Univ.) - 48:26.30

Women's High Jump
1. Haruka Nakano (Waseda Univ.) - 1.81 m

Women's Pole Vault
1. Rina Suzuki (Nittai Univ.) - 3.90 m

Women's Long Jump
1. Narumi Sunaga (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 6.13 m +1.1 m/s 

Women's Triple Jump
1. Mikoto Tatamino (Kansai Univ.) - 13.00 m +1.2 m/s

Women's Shot Put
1. Aya Ota (Fukuoka Univ.) - 15.76 m

Women's Discus Throw
1. Nanaka Kori (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 50.65 m

Women's Hammer Throw
1. Hitomi Katsuyama (Tsukuba Univ.) - 62.70 m - MR

Women's Javelin Throw
1. Marina Saito (Kokushikan Univ.) - 58.21 m - MR

Women's Heptathlon
1. Meg Hemphill (Chuo Univ.) - 5547 - MR
2. Yuki Yamasaki (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 5536 (MR)
3. Riko Nishimura (Mukogawa Joshi Univ.) - 5486

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Anonymous said…
What did Kiryu split on the 4x4?
Brett Larner said…
Looks like about 46.50~46.70.

Most-Read This Week

World Championships Medalist Racewalking Coach Mizuho Sakai Recognized With Highest Coaching Honor

The 2023 Mizuno Sports Mentor Awards recognizing excellence in coaching were held Apr. 23 in Tokyo. Toyo University assistant coach and race walking coach Mizuho Sakai was given a gold award, the program's highest honor, and expressed her thanks and joy in a speech at the award ceremony. The coach of 2023 Budapest World Championships men's 35 km race walk bronze medalist Masatora Kawano , Sakai said, "This is an incredible honor and I'm truly grateful. As a child I wanted to be in the sporting world and I've spent my life in that world. My end goal was always to play a supporting role for other athletes, so I'm honored to be recognized in this way." Sakai's husband Toshiyuki Sakai , head coach of Toyo's three-time Hakone Ekiden champion team, attended the awards gala with her and was also introduced to the audience. After bowing he took a seat in front of her and watched with warmth as she received recognition for her outstanding work. The Mizun

The Ivy League at the Izumo Ekiden in Review

Last week I was contacted by Will Geiken , who I'd met years ago when he was a part of the Ivy League Select Team at the Izumo Ekiden . He was looking for historical results from Izumo and lists of past team members, and I was able to put together a pretty much complete history, only missing the alternates from 1998 to 2010 and a little shaky on the reverse transliterations of some of the names from katakana back into the Western alphabet for the same years. Feel free to send corrections or additions to alternate lists. It's interesting to go back and see some names that went on to be familiar, to see the people who made an impact like Princeton's Paul Morrison , Cornell's Max King , Stanford's Brendan Gregg in one of the years the team opened up beyond the Ivy League, Cornell's Ben de Haan , Princeton's Matt McDonald , and Harvard's Hugo Milner last year, and some of the people who struggled with the format. 1998 Team: 15th of 21 overall, 2:14:10 (43

Hirabayashi Runs PB at Shanghai Half, WR Holder Nakata Dominates Fuji Five Lakes - Weekend Road Roundup

Returning to the roads after his 2:06:18 win at February's Osaka Marathon, Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin University) took 5th at Sunday's Shanghai Half Marathon in a PB 1:01:23, just under a minute behind winner Roncer Kipkorir Konga (Kenya) who clocked a CR 1:00:29. After inexplicably running the equivalent of a sub-59 half marathon to win the Hakone Ekiden's Third Stage, Aoi Ota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) was back to running performances consistent with his other PBs with a 1:02:30 for 8th. His AGU teammate Kyosuke Hiramatsu was 10th in 1:04:00. Women's winner Magdalena Shauri (Tanzania) also set a new CR in 1:09:57. Aoyama Gakuin runners took the top four spots in the men's half marathon at the Aomori Sakura Marathon , with Hakone alternate Kosei Shiraishi getting the win in 1:04:32 and B-team members Shunto Hamakawa and Kei Kitamura 2nd and 3rd in 1:04:45 and 1:04:48. Club runners took the other division titles, Hina Shinozaki winning the women's half