Skip to main content

Endo Breaks 3000 m Junior National Record in Kitami

Already the U18 national record holder for 3000 m, 18-year-old Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko) stepped up with an U20 record in the men's 3000 m at the third meet in the Hokuren Distance Challenge series Sunday in Kitami, Hokkaido.


The men's and women's 3000 m races on the program as a step toward Wednesday's fourth and final HDC meet in Abashiri where people will be shooting for last-minute London World Championships qualifying standards. With pacer Evans Keitany (Toyota Boshoku) targeting 7:55 the men's race came down to a sprint finish between Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei), Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) and Chiharu Nakagawa (Toenec) over the last lap. Yoroizaka dropped Ichida in the home straight to win in 7:52.70, the fastest-ever 3000 m time by a Japanese man on Japanese soil and one that made him all-time #10 in the Japanese record books. Closing fast, Endo overtook Nakagawa and came up just short of catching Ichida, who took 2nd in 7:54.11. Endo was 3rd in 7:54.79, taking almost three seconds off the U20 record set back in 2004 by Athens Olympian Ryuji Ono.


The women's race very nearly saw a straight up national record. A trio of pacers took the race out on track for 8:45, putting Kayoko Fukushi's national record of 8:44.40 in range. Riko Matsuzaki (Sekisui Kagaku), Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) and Misaki Onishi (Sekisui Kagaku) looked up for the challenge, but over the last 1000 m each slipped off the pace in turn. Onishi was the first to go, ending up 3rd in a PB of 9:00.32. Ichiyama and Matsuzaki pushed on before Ichiyama dropped, taking 2nd in 8:53.54 to become all-time Japanese #6. With one lap to go it was clear that Matsuzaki was too far off pace to take Fukushi's mark down, but keeping it together with a fast kick she became just the second Japanese woman to break 8:50 as she won in 8:49.61.


Another near-miss on a national record came in the women's 5000 m A-heat. Having landed at all-time South Korean #3 for 5000 m at last week's Hokuren Distance Challenge Shibestu meet with a 15:49.17, Do Yeon Kim (K Water) was out on pace for the 15:38.60 national record behind early leader Azusa Sumi (Universal Entertainment) with teammate Da Eun Jeong (K Water) pulling the chase pack. Sumi was out at sub-15:30 pace, but as she slowed in the second half of the race Kim caught up to her, the pair running together all the way to the end. With a lap to go it was going to be very close, and despite a sprint battle with Sumi Kim came up just short. Sumi took the win in 15:38.95, Kim an agonizing 0.52 off the Korean record in 15:39.12 for 2nd. Jeong pulled away from the chase pack for 3rd in a 17-second PB of 15:46.94 to move up to all-time Korean #4.


Another noteworthy race came in the men's 800 m A-heat. London Olympics 1500 m silver medalist Leo Manzano (U.S.A.) found himself up against a mostly collegiate field in a race that came down to a crowded last 100 m. Tatsuya Nishikubo (Waseda Univ.) got the better of Manzano with a PB of 1:48.34 for the win. Manzano was next in 1:48.45, with Shunichi Takagi (Kanoya Taiiku Univ.) 3rd in a PB 1:48.56.

2017 Hokuren Distance Challenge Kitami Meet

Kitami, Hokkaido, 7/9/17
click here for complete results

Men's 800 m A-Heat
1. Tatsuya Nishikubo (Waseda Univ.) - 1:48.34 - PB
2. Leo Manzano (U.S.A.) - 1:48.45
3. Shunichi Takagi (Kanoya Taiiku Univ.) - 1:48.56 - PB
4. Naoto Arayasu (Fujitsu) - 1:48.88
5. Koki Kanbe (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:49.28 - PB

Men's 1500 m
1. Nanami Arai (Honda) - 3:42.70 - PB
2. Yasunari Kusu (Komori Corp.) - 3:43.01
3. Riku Tanaka (Tokai Univ.) - 3:43.13 - PB
4. Renya Maeda (Meiji Univ.) - 3:43.37 - PB
5. Ko Kobayashi (Tsukuba Univ.) - 3:43.78 - PB

Women's 3000 m
1. Riko Matsuzaki (Sekisui Kagaku) - 8:49.61 - PB - all-time JPN #2
2. Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) - 8:53.54 - PB - all-time JPN #6
3. Misaki Onishi (Sekisui Kagaku) - 9:00.32 - PB
4. Rika Kaseda (Meijo Univ.) - 9:03.76 - PB
5. Yuna Wada (Nagano Higashi H.S.) - 9:06.87 - PB

Men's 3000 m
1. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 7:52.70 - PB - all-time JPN #10
2. Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 7:54.11 - PB
3. Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko) - 7:54.79 - U20 NR
4. Chiharu Nakagawa (Toenec) - 7:56.05 - PB
5. Ryo Matsumoto (Toyota) - 7:58.00 - PB

Women's 5000 m A-Heat
1. Azusa Sumi (Universal Entertainment) - 15:38.95
2. Do Yeon Kim (South Korea / K Water) - 15:39.12 - PB - all-time KOR #2
3. Da Eun Jeong (South Korea / K Water) - 15:46.94 - PB - all-time KOR #4
4. Yuki Mitsunobu (Denso) - 15:52.57
5. Madoka Nakano (Noritz) - 15:53.32 - PB
-----
DNF - Tomoka Kimura (Universal Entertainment)

Men's 5000 m A-Heat
1. Patrick Mathenge Wambui (Nihon Univ.) - 13:40.62
2. Simon Kariuki (Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 13:45.10
3. Toshiyuki Yanagi (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 13:49.19
4. Yuki Arimura (Asahi Kasei) - 13:53.05
5. Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku) - 13:55.01

Women's 10000 m A-Heat
1. Sayaka Kuwahara (Sekisui Kagaku) - 32:27.36
2. Risa Yokoe (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:35.86
3. Yuki Munehisa (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 32:36.83
4. Ayaka Inoue (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 32:43.87 - PB
5. Yui Fukuda (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:44.45 - debut
-----
DNF - Bridley Delaney (Australia)

© 2017 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

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...

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...

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...