Skip to main content

Kyoto Wins National Women's Ekiden Title for 17th Time


Bringing together everyone from the top junior high school runners to the pros, the National Women's Ekiden took place in Kyoto on Jan. 12. Hosts Kyoto outran Miyagi and Tokyo to win the national title for the 17th time, extending its lead as the winningest team in the National Women's Ekiden 38-year history.

The race started and finished at Kyoto's Takebishi Stadium, covering the full marathon distance in nine stages. Teams from all 47 prefectures competed for the national title. On the First Stage, Nagasaki's Ririka Hironaka, who last month cleared the Tokyo Olympics 5000 m qualifying standard, opened a lead of over 30 seconds on 2nd place and broke the stage record dating back to 2003.

Nagasaki held the lead over the next two stages, but near the end of the Fourth Stage they were run down by Nagano. On the Fifth Stage high school 3rd-year Rina Kimura tied the stage record to take Miyagi from 3rd past Nagano into 1st. But from the Fifth through Seventh stages a trio of runners from Kyoto's Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. ran stage-winning times, including stage record ties by Fifth Stage runner Azusa Mihara and Seventh Stage runner Yu Muramatsu, to move up through the field, putting junior high schooler Ai Segawa into position to take over the lead.

Kyoto anchor Mao Ichiyama from the Wacoal corporate team ran conservatively to protect the team's leading position, bringing them home for a record-setting 17th national title in 2:16:15. Miyagi was 10 seconds back in 2nd, with Tokyo another 11 seconds behind in 3rd.

38th National Women's Ekiden

Kyoto, 1/12/20
47 teams, 9 stages, 42.195 km
complete results

Top Individual Stage Results
First Stage (6.0 km) - Ririka Hironaka (Nagasaki) - 18:39 - CR
Second Stage (4.0 km ) - Yuri Tasaki (Miyazaki) - 12:32
Third Stage (3.0 km) - Akari Matsumoto (Oita) - 9:19
Fourth Stage (4.0 km) - Haruka Kokai (Miyagi) - 12:54
Fifth Stage (4.1075 km) -Azusa Mihara (Kyoto) - 12:55 - CR tie
Sixth Stage (4.0875 km) - Tomo Muramatsu (Kyoto) - 12:57
Seventh Stage (4.0 km) - Yu Muramatsu (Kyoto) - 12:21 - CR tie
Eighth Stage (3.0 km) - Yumi Yamamoto (Oita) - 10:00
Ninth Stage (10.0 km) - Hitomi Niiya (Tokyo) - 30:57

Top Team Results
1. Kyoto - 2:16:15
2. Miyagi - 2:16:25
3. Tokyo - 2:16:36
4. Nagano - 2:16:37
5. Kagoshima - 2:17:04
6. Hyogo - 2:17:42
7. Gunma - 2:17:56
8. Osaka - 2:17:55
9. Okayama - 2:18:06
10. Nagasaki - 2:18:08

source article:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200112/k10012243171000.html
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee

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...

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...