Coached by JAAF Long Distance and Marathon Development Project team leader Toshihiko Seko, 62, the DeNA men's corporate team announced on Sept. 28 that it will no longer run ekidens. Last year it placed 3rd at the East Japan Corporate Ekiden, qualifying for the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden national championships where it placed a competitive 6th. However, this year it did not submit an entry for the Nov. 3 East Japan race, meaning it will not run the New Year Ekiden either. An official statement is expected to be released early next week.
The DeNA team was founded in 2013. Including Seko, the majority of its staff and athletes came from the historic S&B corporate team following its dissolution. Prior to its termination S&B also stopped running ekidens. Led by 2012 London Olympics 10000 m 5th-placer Bedan Karoki of Kenya, the current team members will focus on their individual pursuits on the track and in the marathon in the coming seasons.
The DeNA news followed shortly after an announcement on Sept. 26 by the Hitachi women's corporate team that it would not the Oct. 21 Princess Ekiden, the qualifying event for November's National Corporate Women's Ekiden. The statement said that the Hitachi team did not meet the entry standards and would be unable to compete in the Princess Ekiden. Last year Hitachi was 17th of 29 teams at the qualifying race, just missing the 14-deep qualifying bracket. The statement said that Hitachi hopes to regroup and refocus upon becoming nationally competitive as a team.
source articles:
https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20180928-00000287-sph-spo
http://www.hitachi.co.jp/sports/laurus/laurus_ch/contents/laurus_ch_20180927.pdf
translated and edited by Brett Larner
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