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Nittai Time Trials, National Corporate Track and Field Championships and Other Long Weekend Highlights

The first Nittai University Time Trials meet of the season and the National Corporate Track and Field Championships delivered most of the weekend's pre-Doha World Championships action on the track.

At Nittai, Australian Melissa Duncan (Shiseido) and Minami Yamanouchi (Kyocera) tuned up for Doha with a head-to-head race over 3000 m, Duncan taking it by 0.40 in a sprint finish with a 9:05.45. The men's 10000 m was reasonably quick, with newcomer Razini Lemeteki (Takushoku Univ.) running a PB of almost two minutes to lead the top three under 28 minutes in 27:51.91.

But the most interesting result came in the women's 5000 m A-heat, where amateur club runners Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) and Shiho Kaneshige (GRlab Kanto) went 1-2 in another sprint finish, outkicking 2016 Gold Coast Marathon winner Misato Horie (Noritz), 2:23 marathoner Mao Kiyota (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and every other corporate leaguer in the field to do it. Yamaguchi, who ran a PB of 2:33:09 last weekend for 4th at the Sydney Marathon, held off a hard finish from Kaneshige after leading much of the race to take 22 seconds off her PB with a 15:49.82 for the win. Kaneshige was also under 16 minutes for the first time, bettering her PB by 19 seconds in 15:50.02. Yamaguchi's focus for the season is November's Kobe Marathon, with Kaneshige heading overseas for the first time to run the Chicago Marathon in October.

With many of the best corporate league athletes already en route to Doha for the World Championships, this year's Corporate Nationals were a little thin at the front end, but that didn't stop a few meet records from going down. The women's 1500 m wasn't one of them, but in it 5000 m national champion Tomoka Kimura (Shiseido) got back on track after a disastrous run in Andujar, Spain two weeks ago, outkicking national champion Ran Urabe (Nike Tokyo TC) for the win in 4:13..38. Urabe was under her PB in 2nd at 4:14.52.

Of the three meet records that did fall, Takuto Kominami (Tsukuba Ginko) delivered the biggest with a 81.73 m to win the men's javelin. The previous meet record of 80.98 m dated back to 1986 and was set by Kazuhiro Mizuguchi who later went on to set the still-standing national record of 87.60 m. The 1999-era men's 400 m hurdles meet record also went down, with Ryo Kajiki (Sumitomo Denko) bettering the old mark by 0.07 in 48.92. Tomohiro Shinno (Kyudenko) tied the men's high jump meet record of 2.28 m which also was set in 1999. He didn't break any records, but Jonathan Ndiku (Hitachi Butsuryu) earned special mention with a 5000 m / 3000 mSC double, winning in 13:23.82 and 8:27.27 respectively.

272nd Nittai University Time Trials

Yokohama, Kanagawa, Sept. 21-22, 2019
complete results

Men's 10000 m Heat 10
1. Razini Lemeteki (Takushoku Univ.) - 27:51.91
2. Vincent Kipkemoi (YKK) - 27:52.00
3. Simon Kariuki (Togami Denki) - 27:56.41
4. Vincent Laimoi (Kokushikan Univ.) - 28:03.74
5. Titus Wanbua (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) - 28:08.01

Women's 5000 m Heat 2
1. Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) - 15:49.82
2. Shiho Kaneshige (GRlab Kanto) - 15:50.02
3. Hiromi Katakai (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 15:53.40
4. Misato Horie (Noritz) - 15:53.80
5. Michi Numata (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 15:55.55

Men's 5000 m Heat 23
1. Simon Saidim (Chuo Hatsujo) - 13:37.58
2. Robert Muei (Asahi Kasei) - 13:41.06
3. Bernard Muia (Toyota Boshoku) - 13:41.56
4. Ren Tazawa (Komazawa Univ.) - 13:41.82
5. Gideon Kipngetich (Mazda) - 13:43.59

Women's 3000 m Heat 8
1. Melissa Duncan (Shiseido) - 9:05.45
2. Minami Yamanouchi (Kyocera) - 9:05.85
3. Miku Sakai (Kitakyushu Municipal H.S.) - 9:07.34
4. Yuka Mazubuchi (Kinjo Gakuen H.S.) - 9:13.26
5. Ruruko Hosaka (Kinjo Gakuen H.S.) - 9:13.34

67th National Corporate Track and Field Championships

Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Sept. 20-22, 2019
complete results

Men

Men's 100 m Final -0.7 m/s
1. Kotaro Iwasaki (Yutic) - 10.41
2. Yu Onabuta (Tsukuba Ginko) - 10.54
3. Takuya Kawakami (Osaka Gas) - 10.56

Men's 200 m A-Final +1.9 m/s
1. Kazushi Kimura (Shidenko) - 20.86
2. Akiyuki Hashimoto (Fujitsu) - 20.91
3. Kotaro Taniguchi (Toppan) - 20.99

Men's 400 m Final
1. Kazushi Kimura (Shidenko) - 45.96
2. Takamasa Kitagawa (Fujitsu) - 46.65
3. Mizuki Obuchi (Torihei) - 46.91

Men's 800 m Final
1. Jun Mitake (TSP Taiyo) - 1:50.74
2. Kenta Umetani (Sunbelx) - 1:50.98
3. Daisuke Sakura (Seiko) - 1:51.20

Men's 1500 m Final
1. Keisuke Morita (Komori Corp.) - 3:45.72
2. Shogo Hata (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 3:46.28
3. Hazuma Hattori (Toenec) - 3:46.58

Men's 5000 m A-Final
1. Jonathan Ndiku (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 13:23.82
2. Evans Keitany (Toyota Boshoku) - 13:24.90
3. Wesley Ledama (Subaru) - 13:25.23
4. Evans Yego (Sunbelx) - 13:29.83
5. Benuel Mogeni (Asahi Kasei) - 13:32.76

Men's 10000 m A-Final
1. Enock Omwamba (MHPS) - 27:47.36
2. Macharia Ndirangu (Aichi Seiko) - 27:56.46
3. Peter Langat (SGH Group) - 28:00.28
4. Daniel Kipkemoi (Nishitetsu) - 28:24.76
5. Patrick Muendo Mwaka (Aisan Kogyo) - 28:28.37

Men's 110 m Hurdles Final -0.5 m/s
1. Anthony Kuriki (Niigata Albirex RC) - 13.67
2. Wataru Yazawa (Descente TC) - 13.72
3. Ryota Fujii (Mie Sports Assoc.) - 13.86

Men's 400 m Hurdles Final
1. Ryo Kajiki (Sumitomo Denko) - 48.92 - MR
2. Keisuke Nozawa (Mizuno) - 49.08
3. Yuki Matsushita (Mizuno) - 49.23

Men's 3000 m Steeplechase Final
1. Jonathan Ndiku (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 8:27.27
2. Kosei Yamaguchi (Aisan Kogyo) - 8:31.37
3. Yasunari Kusu (Ami AC) - 8:36.03

Men's 10000 m Racewalk Final
1. Satoshi Maruo (Aichi Seiko) - 39:43.72
2. Kazuki Takahashi (AD Works) - 40:30.98
3. Isamu Fujisawa (Alsok) - 40:37.88

Men's 4x100 m Relay Final
1. Fujitsu - 39.41
2. Sumitomo Denko - 39.55
3. Yutic - 39.86

Men's 4x400 m Relay Final
1. Fujitsu - 3:09.71
2. Axle - 3:09.85
3. Roble - 3:14.87

Men's High Jump Final
1. Tomohiro Shinno (Kyudenko) - 2.28 m - MR (tie)
2. Hiromi Takahari (Hitachi ICT) - 2.16 m
3. Naoto Hasegawa (Niigata Albirex) - 2.16 m

Men's Pole Vault Final
1. Hiroki Ogita (Mizuno) - 5.30 m
2. Shingo Sawa (Kiraboshi Ginko) - 5.30 m
3. Koki Kuruma (Striders) - 5.20 m

Men's Long Jump Final
1. Kota Minemura (Fujitsu) - 7.89 m +0.9 m/s
2. Minato Ishikura (NTN) - 7.83 m +1.2 m/s
3. Natsuki Yamakawa (Tobu Top Tours) - 7.80 m +0.6 m/s

Men's Triple Jump Final
1. Ryoma Yamamoto (JAL) - 16.24 m +1.8 m/s
2. Yuki Yamashita (Ibaraki Sport Assoc.) - 16.24 m +1.3 m/s
3. Kohei Yamashita (ANA) - 16.21 m -0.6 m/s

Men's Shot Put Final
1. Daichi Morishita (Wizas) - 17.81 m
2. Masahira Sato (Niigata Albirex RC) - 17.60 m
3. Daichi Nakamura (Mizuno) - 17.36 m

Men's Discus Throw Final
1. Yuji Tsutsumi (Alsok) - 60.69 m
2. Masateru Yugami (Toyota) - 57.15 m
3. Shigeyuki Maisawa (Orico) - 56.38 m

Men's Hammer Throw Final
1. Hiroki Ako (Manabiyaen) - 67.75 m
2. Ryota Kashimura (Yamada Denki) - 65.26 m
3. Yoshiro Hosaka (Saitama Ika Univ. Group) - 65.15 m

Men's Javelin Throw Final
1. Takuto Kominami (Tsukuba Ginko) - 81.73 m - MR
2. Yuta Sakiyama (Ehime Sports Assoc.) - 77.33 m
3. Kenji Ogura (Nihon Taiiku Assoc.) - 77.30 m

Women

Women's 100 m A-Final +0.9 m/s
1. Anna Doi (JAL) - 11.74
2. Yukina Shimada (Hokkaido Hi-Tec) - 11.87
3. Momoko Takahashi (World Wing) - 1187

Women's 200 m A-Final +1.8 m/s
1. Sayaka Fujisawa (Cerespo) - 23.90
2. Yukina Shimada (Hokkaido Hi-Tec) - 24.14
3. Mariko Nagano (Denso) - 24.41

Women's 400 m Final
1. Nanako Matsumoto (Toho Ginko) - 54.35
2. Mayu Inaoka (Run Journey) - 54.81
3. Mayu Kobayashi (Ibaraki Sports Assoc.) - 55.35

Women's 800 m Final
1. Yume Kitamura (Edion) - 2:06.05
2. Ryoko Hirano (Mito Shinyo) - 2:06.73
3. Hana Yamada (Warabeya Nichiyo) - 2:06.84

Women's 1500 m Final
1. Tomoka Kimura (Shiseido) - 4:13.38
2. Ran Urabe (Nike Tokyo TC) - 4:14.52
3. Kaede Hagitani (Edion) - 4:16.94

Junior Women's 3000 m A-Final
1. Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) - 9:08.93
2. Kaede Hagitani (Edion) - 9:14.33
3. Yuri Tazaki (Yamada Denki) - 9:15.18

Women's 5000 m A-Final
1. Helen Ekarare (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 15:30.45
2. Tabitha Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 15:32.15
3. Yui Fukuda (Toyota Jidoshokki)- 15:42.05
4. Nao Yamamoto (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 15:48.19
5. Shiori Yano (Canon AC Kyushu) - 15:52.38

Women's 10000 m A-Final
1. Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) - 31:45.04
2. Sayaka Sato (Sekisui Kagaku) - 32:12.89
3. Sakiho Tsutsui (Yamada Denki) - 32:19.71
4. Shiori Yano (Canon AC Kyushu) - 32:27.62
5. Yuka Hori (Panasonic) - 32:30.72

Women's 100 m Hurdles Final +1.2 m/s
1. Mako Fukube (Nikkenko) - 13.28
2. Chisato Kiyoyama (Ichigo) - 13.38
3. Yuri Okubo (Yutic) - 13.40

Women's 400 m Hurdles Final
1. Mayu Saito (Nanajunana Ginko) - 58.24
2. Satsuki Umehara (Sumitomo Kaijo) - 58.36
3. Suzuka Kawabata (Matsumoto Doken) - 58.53

Women's 3000 m Steeplechase Final
1. Ayaka Koike (Owada Jutaku Sendai) - 10:06.06
2. Yuno Yamanaka (Ehime Ginko) - 10:13.13
3. Yui Yabuta (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 10:15.65

Women's 10000 m Racewalk Final
1. Kaori Kawazoe (SDF Academy) - 44:46.63
2. Ai Michiguchi (SDF Academy) - 46:12.70
3. Serena Sonoda (NTN) - 46:34.98

Women's 4x100 m Relay Final
1. Toho Ginko - 45.82
2. Nanajunana Ginko - 46.16
3. NTN - 46.39

Women's High Jump Final
1. Shieriai Tsuda (Tsukiji Gindako) - 1.76 m
2. Haruka Terui (Saitama Ika Univ. Group) - 1.73 m
3. Yuki Watanabe (Miraito Techno) - 1.73 m

Women's Pole Vault Final
1. Mayu Nasu (Run Journey) - 4.10 m
2. Kanae Tatsuta (Nippatsu) - 4.00 m
3. Tomoko Nemoto (Nihon Seitetsu) - 3.90 m

Women's Long Jump Final
1. Sumire Hata (Shibata Kogyo) - 6.38 m -0.8 m/s
2. Sachiko Masumi (Kyudenko) - 6.27 m +1.4 m/s
3. Hitomi Nakano (Washoku Yamaguchi) - 6.06 m -1.5 m/s

Women's Triple Jump Final
1. Mariko Morimoto (Uchida Kensetsu) - 13.00 m +1.2 m/s
2. Sachiko Masumi (Kyudenko) - 12.98 m +4.6 m/s
3. Hitomi Nakano (Washoku Yamaguchi) +0.5 m/s

Women's Shot Put Final
1. Chiaki Yoshino (Nihon Joshi Taiiku Univ. Staff) - 14.85 m
2. Aya Ota (Fukuoka Univ. AC) - 14.70 m
3. Chihiro Shigeyama (Ochiai Chukyo) - 14.40 m

Women's Discus Throw
1. Natusmi Fujimori (Fukui Sports Assoc.) - 49.32 m
2. Ai Shikimoto (Niigata Albirex RC) - 46.88 m
3. Saki Terai (Suwa Chukyo) - 45.14 m

Women's Hammer Throw
1. Tamami Saeki (Champion) - 64.44 m
2. Akane Watanabe (Maruwa Unyukikan) - 63.75 m
3. Hitomi Katsuyama (Orico) - 58.68 m

Women's Javelin Throw
1. Yuka Sato (Nikonikonori) - 58.21 m
2. Risa Miyashita (MPE) - 55.60 m
3. Orie Ushiro (Niigata Albirex RC) - 55.28 m

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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Comments

Metts said…
While the corporate runners no doubt are interesting to read about, I always like the amateur runners and the club system in Japan. Maybe its the culture of valuing effort and running. From the 60+ marathon recorder holder, the 60+ woman in Shizuoka, the veterinarian women in Saitama, to of course YK, and even the little known corporate runners, such as the woman, who runs multiple marathons with no problem. And of course don't forget Tanaka who just ran a 2:48 at the Hokkaido marathon.

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