On and off heavy rain held back the kind of world-leading performances seen on day one and day two of the 89th National Track and Field Championships, but there was no shortage of records and near-misses on the last day of the meet.
Riku Ito (Kinki Univ.) had maybe the most surprising performance of the day, jumping 16.35 m (-0.1 m/s) for a new U20 national record, the second-best junior mark worldwide this year. Double meet records came in the men's 800 m and men's 4x400 m relay. In the 800 m, Junya Matsumoto (Hosei Univ.) held off Daichi Setoguchi (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) for the win in a meet record 1:47.02, Setoguchi also getting under the old record in 1:47.28.
The men's 4x400 m was one of the best races of the day. In heavy rain Nihon University anchor Tatsuhiro Yamamoto started with a comfortable lead over Waseda University anchor Rikuya Ito, but Ito was all in over the first 150 m to take over the top spot. Yamamoto lost ground, but over the last 100 m Yamamoto came back, outleaning Ito at the line to win by 0.02. Both Nihon and Waseda broke the meet record, Nihon taking the national title in 3:04.32 to Waseda's 3:04.34.
Other quality races saw 100 m champs Soshi Mizukubo (Josai Univ.) and Mei Kodama (Fukuoka Univ.) double with wins in the 200 m, Kodama 0.06 off the meet record at 23.68 (-0.08) after breaking the 100 m MR. The women's 5000 m was also a solid race, Saya Nakajima (Kanoya Taiiku Univ.) taking advantage of a tactical error by 10000 m champ Rika Kaseda (Meijo Univ..) to kick over the last 100 m for the win in 16:13.76.
The men's 5000 m was the other highlight of the day. After his DNF in the 10000 m defending champ Vincent Yegon (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) was a DNF, leaving the door open for Ledama Kisaisa (Obirin Univ.) to pick up a final national title after missing out in the 10000 m. But the Japanese runners in the field had other ideas. From the bell, U20 national record holder and Chuo University 1st-year Yamato Yoshii kicked hard opening a lead over Kisaisa, fellow first-year Mebuki Suzuki (Komazawa Univ.) and non-Kanto Region titan Shoya Kawase (Kogakkan Univ.). Kisaisa lacked the wheels to close the gap, but while Kawase and Suzuki started to close from 200 m out Yoshii proved he was the real deal as he held them off over the last 100 m to pick up a rare first-year national title in 13:40.04. Kawase was next in 13:42.60, with Suzuki 3rd in 13:43.07. The top ten all cleared 14 minutes, an exceptionally high-level 5000 m to wrap the final day of Nationals.
89th National University Track and Field Championships
Day Three HighlightsDenka Big Swan Stadium, Niigata, 9/13/20
complete results
Men's 200 m Final -0.6 m/s
1. Soshi Mizukubo (Josai Univ.) - 20.75
2. Ryota Suzuki (Josai Univ.) - 20.83
3. Keigo Yasuda (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 21.00
Men's 800 m Final
1. Junya Matsumoto (Hosei Univ.) - 1:47.02 - MR
2. Daichi Setoguchi (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:47.28 (MR)
3. Daiki Nemoto (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:47.94
Men's 5000 m Final
1. Yamato Yoshii (Chuo Univ.) - 13:40.04
2. Shoya Kawase (Kogakkan Univ.) - 13:42.60
3. Mebuki Suzuki (Komazawa Univ.) - 13:43.07
4. Atsushi Kato (Komazawa Univ.) - 13:43.61
5. Ledama Kisaisa (Obirin Univ.) - 13:44.23
6. Luka Musembi (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) - 13:46.26
7. Kiseki Shiozawa (Tokai Univ.) - 13:48.59
8. Keita Yoshida (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:50.66
9. Taiga Nakanishi (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 13:54.88
10. Kenta Usui (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 13:55.52
Men's 110 mH Final -0.3 m/s
1. Rachid Muratake (Juntendo Univ.) - 13.69
2. Taiga Yokochi (Hosei Univ.) - 13.86
3. Rikuto Higuchi (Hosei Univ.) - 13.86
Men's 400 mH Final
1. Tatsuhiro Yamamoto (Nihon Univ.) - 49.12
2. Kazuki Kurokawa (Hosei Univ.) - 49.19
3. Kyohei Yoshida (Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 49.40
Men's 4x400 m Relay Final
1. Nihon University - 3:04.32 - MR
2. Waseda University - 3:04.34 (MR)
3. Toyo University - 3:05.84
Men's Pole Vault Final
1. Masaki Ejima (Nihon Univ.) - 5.40 m
2. Yusuke Osaki (Nittai Univ.) - 5.30 m
3. Takaaki Yoshida (Nihon Univ.) - 5.20 m
Men's Triple Jump Final
1. Riku Ito (Kinki Univ.) - 16.35 m -0.1 m/s - U20 NR
2. Yuta Takenouchi (Juntendo Univ.) - 15.90 m -0.3 m/s
3. Koshi Iwasaki (Kanoya Taiiku Univ.) - 15.81 m +0.1 m/s
Men's Hammer Throw Final
1. Shota Fukuda (Nihon Univ.) - 69.61 m
2. Takahiro Kobata (Chukyo Univ.) - 69.31 m
3. Yudai Kimura (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 67.24 m
Women's 200 m Final -0.8 m/s
1. Mei Kodama (Fukuoka Univ.) - 23.68
2. Ami Saito (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 23.98
3. Aiko Iki (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 24.23
Women's 800 m Final
1. Ayaka Kawata (Higashi Osaka Univ.) - 2:07.55
2. Ayano Shiomi (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 2:07.75
3. Ririka Arihiro (Higashi Osaka Univ.) - 2:11.03
Women's 5000 m Final
1. Saya Nakajima (Kanoya Taiiku Univ.) - 16:13.76
2. Rika Kaseda (Meijo Univ.) - 16:15.08
3. Wakana Kabasawa (Keio Univ.) - 16:18.71
4. Yui Komatsu (Matsuyama Univ.) - 16:19.67
5. Erika Sano (Takushoku Univ.) - 16:19.89
Women's 100 mH Final +0.6 m/s
1. Mao Shimano (Nittai Univ.) - 13.36
2. Yumi Tanaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 13.39
3. Hikari Tanaka (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 13.65
Women's 400 mH Final
1. Aisha Ibrahim (Sapporo Gakuin Univ.) - 57.50
2. Kana Koyama (Waseda Univ.) - 57.60
3. Rui Tsugawa (Waseda Univ.) - 57.96
Women's 4x400 m Relay Final
1. Aoyama Gakuin University - 3:39.22
2. Waseda University - 3:39.59
3. Chuo University - 3:39.61
Women's Shot Put Final
1. Fumika Ono (Saitama Univ.) - 15.58 m
2. Yuka Takahashi (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) - 14.86 m
3. Meari Hiroshima (Nihon Univ.) - 14.70 m
Women's Hammer Throw Final
1. Miharu Kodate (Ryutsu Keizai Univ.) - 58.67 m
2. Momoko Watanabe (Tsukuba Univ.) - 58.44 m
3. Sara Fujimoto (Chukyo Univ.) - 57.73 m
© 2020 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
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