Corporate League Runner Struck by Car During Chugoku Yamaguchi Ekiden

One of the highlights of the new year, the Chugoku Yamaguchi Ekiden took place Jan. 27, with the Mazda corporate team winning the open division for the fourth year in a row. Including the open, municipal and high school divisions a total of 46 teams took part in the Chugoku Yamaguchi Ekiden's 82nd running, covering 84.4 km in seven stages starting in front of Ube City Hall, passing the Yamaguchi Prefectural Government offices and finishing in front of Shunan City Hall.

Mazda's Shiferaw Bekele set a new stage record of 43:35 on the 15.1 km First Stage, outrunning the Chudenko team's lead runner Amos Kipruto by 3 seconds and establishing a lead that was never broken all the way to the finish. In the high school division, 2018 National High School Ekiden champion Kurashiki H.S. of Okayama won for the second-straight year, with the Sera T&F Association team winning the municipal division for the first time thanks in part to stage record runs by its second man John Mwaniki and 17-year-old anchor Rintaro Kajiyama, who covered the 11.1 km Seventh Stage in 32:05.

Running in 2nd place on the final stage, Chudenko anchor Daisuke Koyama was struck from behind by a compact car midway through the stage. The car, driven by a man in his 80s, knocked Koyama down. An eyewitness described the accident, saying, "There was a big bang, so there's no doubt he hit him. The runner fell and didn't move."

Bleeding from a head injury, Koyama was unable to continue the race. He was taken to a hospital by an ambulance where an examination revealed no broken bones or serious injuries. According to police the driver apparently crossed out of his lane before making contact with Koyama. They are investigating further. A spokesperson from the race organizers commented, "We did everything we could to ensure a safe race, but it is extremely unfortunate that there was a traffic accident that prevented an athlete and team from finishing."

82nd Chugoku Yamaguchi Ekiden

Yamaguchi, 1/27/19
46 teams, 7 stages, 84.4 km
complete results

Top Team Performances
Open
1. Mazda - 4:09:31
2. JFE Steel - 4:14:17
3. Sanyo Tokushu Seiko - 4:17:05
-----
DNF - Chudenko

High School
1. Kurashiki H.S. - 4:19:09
2. Saikyo H.S. - 4:20:31
3. Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. - 4:21:17

Municipal
1. Sera T&F Assoc. - 4:17:11 - CR

Top Individual Stage Performances
First Stage - 15.1 km - Bekele Shiferaw (Mazda) - 43:35 - CR
Second Stage - 11.3 km - John Mwaniki (Sera T&F Assoc.) - 31:56 - CR
Third Stage - 11.9 km - Gaku Hirose (Takeda Yakuhin) - 35:37
Fourth Stage - 10.4 km - Shoya Osaki (Chudenko) - 31:00
Fifth Stage - 8.7 km - Yusei Tsutsumi (JFE Steel) - 24:48
Sixth Stage - 15.9 km - Kenji Yamamoto (Mazda) - 47:49
Seventh Stage - 11.1 km - Rintaro Kajiyama (Sera T&F Assoc.) - 32:05 - CR

source articles:
http://www.news24.jp/nnn/news16321037.html
https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_society/articles/000146256.html
translated and edited by Brett Larner

Japan Post Holds Off Sekisui Kagaku to Win Queens Ekiden National Title

Japan Post was back on top at the Queens Ekiden corporate women's national championships Sunday in Sendai, holding off last year's winner Sekisui Kagaku over the second half of a race that came as close as 1 second to take 1st with a final margin of victory of 27 seconds. Sekisui Kagaku was out fast with a win on the 7.0 km opening leg by Erika Tanoura and a new CR for the 12:56 second leg by Yuma Yamamoto , 17 seconds better than her own CR from last year. Last year's 4th-placer Shiseido briefly led on the 10.6 km third leg with an excellent 33:17 stage win from Rino Goshima , but behind her Japan Post's Ririka Hironaka returned from her latest injury problems to pass Sekisui Kagaku's Sayaka Sato and hand off 6 seconds ahead. New recruit Caroline Kariba ran Shiseido down on the 3.6 km fourth leg and put Japan Post 22 seconds ahead of Sekisui Kagaku, but a duel of marathoners between JP's Ayuko Suzuki and Sekisui's Hitomi Niiy...

Saku Chosei H.S. Makes It 2 In a Row - National High School Ekiden Boys' Race

While the girls' race was a blowout by 2022 champ Nagano Higashi H.S. , the boys' race at Sunday's National High School Ekiden was a tense battle of turnover that saw all of the final top four teams take a stab at leading. 2023 3rd-placer Yachiyo Shoin H.S. handled the first 2 of the 7 stages in the 42.195 km race, with lead runner Rui Suzuki delivering a bold run on the 10.0 km First Stage that produced the fastest-ever time by a Japanese runner on the stage, 28:43, and put Yachiyo Shoin 29 seconds out front. Last year's Fifth Stage CR breaker Tetsu Suzuki ran Yachiyo Shoin down to put 2023 champ Saku Chosei H.S. into 1st on the 8.1075 km Third Stage, but Genta Sugano of last year's 8th-placer Sendai Ikuei H.S. had other plans and took the lead on the 8.0875 km Fourth Stage. Smiling and fist pumping to the crowd almost the entire way, Taketo Tsukada of last year's 6th-placer Omuta H.S. moved up from 3rd to 1st by 2 seconds over Saku Chosei on the 3.0 k...

Nagano Higashi Girls Lead Start to Finish to Win National High School Ekiden

2022 National High School Ekiden girls' champion Nagano Higashi H.S. was back in force after a 5th-place finish last year, leading start to finish to win this year's national title Sunday in Kyoto. Lead runner Airi Mashiba kicked it off with a 19:30 stage win on the 6.0 km opening leg, something that head coach Fumio Yokouchi said later that he hadn't been expecting. That ended up being Nagano Higashi's only individual stage win in the 5-leg, 21.0975 km race, but the rest of its team ran well enough to hold a lead that was never less than 11 seconds but never more than 21. Last year's 4th-placer Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. spent most of the race in 2nd, but over the second half of the race Sendai Ikuei H.S. , 2nd last year by just 1 second, came from further back to run Kunei down on the anchor stage thanks in big part to a critical stage win on the 4th leg by Tsubomi Tezuka that put anchor Aoi Hosokawa in position to catch Kunei's Mizuki Oda . Nagano Higashi ...

japan running news

Search This Blog