Niiya and Aizawa Crush 10000 m National Records In Incredible National Championships Distance Finale
What an amazing night that was. When the spring's National Track and Field Championships were postponed the JAAF split them up into chunks over the fall, with the long distance events, women's and men's 3000 m steeplechase, 5000 m and 10000 m, to go off Dec. 4 in Osaka, right after the reopening of Olympic qualification and right at the peak of ekiden season tune-up. And it was awesome. Like one of the millions of big time trial meets this fall, as super deep as you'd expect, but faster, way faster, with stellar conditions and an Olympic spot on the line for anyone who won and got the standard. Six of the night's seven races were won by people who set PBs, two of them in national records, and one with a junior national record down in 3rd.
The women's 3000 m steeplechase was expected to be a duel between defending champ and all-time JPN #4 Reimi Yoshimura (Daito Bunka) and all-time JPN #6 Yuno Yamanaka (Ehime Ginko), but all-time JPN #7 Yukari Ishizawa (Edion) decided to rain on their parade and drop a 5-second PB of 9:48.76 to knock them both down on the all-time lists. Ishizawa, the 2018 national champ, was far off the 9:30.00 Olympic standard, but she ran a great race that put her back on top. A total of six women cleared 10 minutes, four in PBs, making it one of if not the deepest women's steeple in Japanese history.
The men's 3000 m SC saw defending champ Ryohei Sakaguchi (SGH Group) take it out, but a mid-race loss of rhythm right before the hurdle at the end of the back straight opened the door for Kosei Yamaguchi (Aisan Kogyo) to go to the front with support from Kenyan teammate Philemon Kiplagat. It also knocked Taisai Ogino (Asahi Kasei) out of the race as he tripped and faceplanted into the hurdle trying to avoid Sakaguchi. Ogino later tweeted that he was OK, but it was a dangerous moment that could have been tragic if his left shoulder hadn't caught the initial impact.
阪口選手、フィレモン選手が前だと距離感が掴みにくかったのかも。荻野選手エグい転倒。 pic.twitter.com/g2KZVMrET5
— 青春のすべて-大学駅伝情報局- (@kasokusuruinfo) December 4, 2020
Yamaguchi and Kiplagat got late company via a crafty late-race move from far back by Yasunari Kusu (Ami AC), but it was all Yamaguchi as he took the win in a PB 8:24.19, just over two seconds off the Olympic standard but moving him up to all-time JPN #5. Kiplagat was a step behind, with Kusu taking 2nd in the standings in a PB 8:28.01 that put him at all-time JPN #10.
The women's 5000 m was the weak link in the night's action, with a slow first half that left favorite Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) vulnerable to the better kick of rival Nozomi Tanaka (Toyota Jidoshokki). Following a slower runner through 2000 m in 6:15, Hironaka took over at 2400 m and ratcheted down the pace, going 3:03, 2:56 and 2:53 for the next 3000 m. That burned off everyone except Tanaka, who kicked from 200 m out to win in 15:05.65, 5 seconds slower than her PB but enough to make her the first athlete of the night to score an Olympic spot. Hironaka was next in 15:07.11, not guaranteed to be on the Olympic team yet but sure to be added. Kenyan Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was third across the line in 15:09.63, with Kaede Hagitani (Edion) the official 3rd placer in 15:19.41. It was an especially young podium, with all three Japanese women aged 20 or 21.
The men's 5000 m saw a Kenyan trio including Hachioji Long Distance 10000 m winner Justus Soget (Honda) lead most of the way with defending champ Hiroki Matsueda (Fujitsu), 2019 national XC champ Yuta Bando (Fujitsu) and U20 NR holder Yamato Yoshii (Chuo) taking turns in the top Japanese spot behind them. Bando kicked hard at the bell to pass all three Kenyans for the win in a PB of 13:18.49, 5 seconds off Olympic qualification but landing at all-time Japanese #7. Matsueda held on for 2nd in 13:24.78, with the 18-year-old Yoshii closing hard to better his U20 NR in 13:25.87 for 3rd. One of the most interesting men to emerge this year, non-Kanto Region collegian Shoya Kawase (Kogakkan Univ.) took another step up with a PB of 13:28.70 for 4th.
With half marathon NR holder Hitomi Niiya (Sekisui Kagaku) having split 30:31 for 10 km on the road last month at the Queen's Ekiden the women's 10000 m was entirely her show, her stated goal a win under Yoko Shibui's 18-year-old 30:48.89 NR. Teammate Sayaka Sato (Sekisui Kagaku), co-holder of the 25 km NR, deserves a lot of credit for getting it off right with a 3:02 first 1000 m, but when she slowed to 3:06 for the second 1000 m Niiya took off. Women-only marathon NR holder Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) was the only one to try to go with her, but Niiya was quick to kill her off with a 2;57 third 1000 m.
From there on out it was purely solo, no pacers, Niiya clocking between 3:00 and 3:04 for every 1000 m until the finish. Her halfway split of 15:06 tied Tanaka's winning time in the 5000 m. The last time she won Nationals in 2013, Niiya lapped 2nd en route to setting the meet record of 31:06.67. This time she lapped 3rd and came within 100 m of lapping 2nd-place Ichiyama, but came up with bigger prizes, a 30:20.44 national record, the second-fastest time in the world this year, and a place at the Olympics.
Ichiyama ran a PB 31:11.56 for 2nd and all-time Japanese #6, under the Olympic standard but unlikely to run as she's already marathon-bound. To her credit, Sato held on for 3rd in a PB of 31:30.19, sadly missing the Olympic standard by 5 seconds. The top 10 all broke 31:50, 8 of them in PBs, but Niiya was just in another league.
And that wasn't even the most exciting race of the night. That went to the men's 10000 m A-heat, which saw 17 men go under 28 minutes, the first three all breaking the Japanese national record and the top two clearing the Olympic standard. A huge chunk of the credit goes to Kenyan pacers Bernard Koech (Kyudenko) and Cleophas Kandie (Mitsubishi Juko), who alternated the lead in laying down these splits along the way:
2:45 - 2:44 - 2:44 - 2:44 - 2:44 - 2:43 - 2:46 - 2:45 - 2:46 - 2:38
Just about everyone who was anyone not running Fukuoka was in the race, including the 5000 m, 10000 m, half marathon and marathon national record holders. Marathon man Suguru Osako (Nike) and 10000 m all-time #2 Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) spent the first 6000 m up there, but at 7000 m Tatsuhiko Ito (Honda) took over, pushing Koech to go harder and opening a gap. Right after him came Akira Aizawa (Asahi Kasei).
And just like that you had a replay of one of the best moments in Hakone Ekiden history, this year's Second Stage where Aizawa, then at Toyo University, caught Ito, a student at Tokyo Kokusai University, mid-stage. Rather than lying down and dying, Ito hammered back at Aizawa, not just hanging on but attacking over and over and pushing Aizawa to break the stage record, Hakone's most competitive. Here it was again! Aizawa went by Ito and got a gap, but Ito fought back, on NR pace, and actually had the guts to go back in front. It was awesome. Everything you could have wanted.
Like at Hakone Aizawa had the closing speed to pull it out, dropping both Ito and Koech for the win in 27:18.75, 11 seconds under the national record and well inside the standard to finalize his spot at the Olymipcs. Koech was next across the line in 27:19.42, Ito taking 2nd under both the Olympic standard and old NR in 27:25.73. Defending champ Kazuki Tamura (Sumitomo Denko) also broke the NR in 27:28.92 but was an agonizing fraction of a second off the Olympic standard. It was the second time in a row that more than one Japanese man broke the 10000 m in a single race, Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) and Yoroizaka having done it in 2015 in Hachioji.
And the times kept coming. 5000 m and marathon NR holder Osako ran a PB of 27:36.93 but was only 6th. The top 17 finishers including the two Kenyans all broke 28 minutes, 11 in PBs and two of them college students. And in the B-heat three more men broke 28 minutes, led by Aizawa's teammate Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) in a PB of 27:52.35 and joined under 28 by Waseda University third-year duo Yuhi Nakaya and Naoki Ota. There's just never been anything like this night, the perfect combination of the right people, the right conditions, the right point in the season, and the right motivation. And shoe tech. What a way to kick 2020 to the curb and open 2021 with light, optimism and confidence.
National Track and Field CHampionships
Long Distance Events
Yanmar Stadium Nagai, Osaka, 4 Dec. 2020
Women's 3000 m Steeplechase
1. Yukari Ishizawa (Edion) - 9:48.76 - PB
2. Reimi Yoshimura (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 9:49.45
3. Yui Yabuta (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 9:52.19 - PB
4. Yuno Yamanaka (Ehime Ginko) - 9:55.61
5. Yuzu Nishide (Kansai Gaikokugo Univ.) - 9:55.01 - PB
6. Yumi Yoshikawa (Uniqlo) - 9:58.12 - PB
7. Manami Nishiyama (Matsuyama Univ.) - 10:07.05
8. Soyoka Segawa (Sysmex) - 10:10.61
9. Nana Sato (Starts) - 10:20.74
10. Chikako Mori (Sekisui Kagaku) - 10:21.65
Men's 3000 m Steeplechase
1. Kosei Yamaguchi (Aisan Kogyo) - 8:24.19 - PB
(OP) Philemon Kiplagat (Aisan Kogyo) - 8:24.74
2. Yasunari Kusu (Ami AC) - 8:28.01 - PB
3. Ryoma Aoki (Honda) - 8:30.81
4. Seiya Shigeno (Press Kogyo) - 8:31.88 - PB
5. Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) - 8:34.55
6. Jun Shinoto (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 8:46.18
7. Ryohei Sakaguchi (SGH Group) - 8:48.30
8. Hironori Tsuetaki (Fujitsu) - 8:51.13
9. Naoyuki Jin (Hokusei Byoin) - 8:55.11
10. Aoi Matsumoto (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 8:58.29
Women's 5000 m
1. Nozomi Tanaka (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 15:05.65
2. Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) - 15:07.11
(OP) Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 15:09.63
3. Kaede Hagitani (Edion) - 15:19.41
4. Kasumi Nishihara (Yamada Holdings) - 15:23.88
5. Momoka Kawaguchi (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 15:24.24 - PB
6. Yuri Tasaki (Yamada Holdings) - 15:24.61 - PB
7. Yuna Wada (Meijo Univ.) - 15:25.14 - PB
8. Rino Goshima (Shiseido) - 15:29.03 - PB
9. Misuzu Nakahara (Kyocera) - 15:29.91 - PB
10. Harumi Okamoto (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 15:32.46
Men's 5000 m
1. Yuta Bando (Fujitsu) - 13:18.49 - PB
(OP) Justus Soget (Honda) - 13:20.55
(OP) Amos Kurgat (Chudenko) - 13:21.39
(OP) Bernard Kimeli (Fujitsu) - 13:24.53
2. Hiroki Matsueda (Fujitsu) - 13:24.78
3. Yamato Yoshii (Chuo Univ.) - 13:25.87 - U20 NR
4. Shoya Kawase (Kogakkan Univ.) - 13:28.70 - PB
5. Jinnosuke Matsumura (Comody Iida) - 13:34.53 - PB
6. Keisuke Morita (Komori Corp.) - 13:34.57 - PB
7. Aritaka Kajiwara (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 13:35.24 - PB
8. Ryota Matono (Aisan Kogyo) - 13:35.63 - PB
9. Takuya Hanyu (Toyota Boshoku) - 13:35.88 - PB
10. Daichi Takeuchi (Toenec) - 13:40.77 - PB
Women's 10000 m
1. Hitomi Niiya (Sekisui Kagaku) - 30:20.44 - NR
2. Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) - 31:11.56 - PB
3. Sayaka Sato (Sekisui Kagaku) - 31:30.19 - PB
4. Rina Nabeshima (Japan Post) - 31:31.52
5. Mikuni Yada (Denso) - 31:34.39 - PB
6. Ayumi Hagiwara (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 31:36.04 - PB
7. Sakiho Tsutsui (Yamada Holdings) - 31:36.19 - PB
8. Yuka Ando (Wacoal) - 31:37.71 - PB
9. Rika Kaseda (Meijo Univ.) - 31:39.86 - PB
10. Shiori Yano (Denso) - 31:46.84
11. MIsaki Nishida (Edion) - 32:09.91 - PB
12. Ikumi Fukura (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 32:10.29 - PB
13. Hikari Onishi (Japan Post) - 32:10.56 - PB
14. Shuri Ogasawara (Denso) - 32:10.56 - PB
15. Yuka Suzuki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 32:11.66
Men's 10000 m A-Heat
1. Akira Aizawa (Asahi Kasei) - 27:18.75 - NR
(OP) Bernard Koech (Kyudenko) - 27:19.42
2. Tatsuhiko Ito (Honda) - 27:25.73 (NR)
3. Kazuki Tamura (Sumitomo Denko) - 27:28.92 (NR)
4. Daiji Kawai (Toenec) - 27:34.86 - PB
5. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 27:36.29
6. Suguru Osako (Nike) - 27:36.93 - PB
7. Yuki Sato (SGH Group) - 27:41.84
(OP) Cleophas Kandie (Mitsubishi Juko) - 27:43.51
8. Ren Tazawa (Komazawa Univ.) - 27:46.09 - PB
9. Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 27:50.09
10. Tatsuya Maruyama (Yachiyo Kogyo) - 27:52.27 - PB
11. Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) - 27:57.36 - PB
12. Tatsuya Oike (Toyota Boshoku) - 27:58.40 - PB
13. Yohei Ikeda (Nittai Univ.) - 27:58.52 - PB
14. Yuto Aoki (Toyota) - 27:58.63 - PB
15. Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) - 27:59.40
Men's 10000 m B-Heat
1. Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 27:52.35 - PB
2. Yuhi Nakaya (Waseda Univ.) - 27:54.06 - PB
3. Naoki Ota (Waseda Univ.) - 27:55.59 - PB
4. Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei) - 28:01.29
5. Kiseki Shiozawa (Tokai Univ.) - 28:08.83 - PB
(OP) Benuel Mogeni Magma (Asahi Kasei) - 28:11.94
6. Naoki Aiba (Chudenko) - 28:12.63 - PB
7. Hiroki Suzuki (YKK) - 28:15.57) - PB
8. Mizuki Higashi (Aisan Kogyo) - 28:16.67 - PB
9. Shohei Kurata (GMO) - 28:17.60
10. Kento Kikutani (Toyota Boshoku) - 28:19.54
© 2020 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
Comments
A big surprise for me was Ririka Hironaka failing to win the 5000m. Given her performance in the Queens Exiden and her other track performances I did not understand her tactics and why she elected not to push the pace from the outset. Nozomi Tanaka was great to kick away but neither bettered their PBs.
And Hitomi Niiya in the 10000m is truly something special. Seriously I was in awe watching her. I would love to know her cadence. Ichiyama didn't disappoint either. Very impressive as was Sayaka Sato and pretty much the whole field with so many PBs!
What a great night of athletics!
Nice to have you back, Geoff, on Twitter too. Niiya's in the right place mentally. More to come, I hope.
Nobody discounted Ishizawa, js. This was a breakthrough performance from her to beat two faster athletes, and there wasn't anything in her run at Queens two weeks ago to suggest it was coming. She ran great and earned the win. Good on her.
I'm sure both Ito and Hironaka will be on the Olympic team, especially Ito as it's hard to see Tamura or anyone else getting another chance this perfect in time. He's the ideal catalyst for Aizawa.
Agreed, Andrew. I know the shoe tech plays a big role, but the wave I wrote about five years ago or so just keeps coming and coming. Hard to say what impact the economic effects of corona will have on the next generation's opportunities as there was already talk of corporate team sponsors pulling back post-Olympics before the crisis even started. The talent's there, so let's hope the funding that makes this kind of development possible stays there too.
I've been a Niiya fan since her HS days but esp. after her courageous run in Moscow.
I've been excited about her comeback and her relationship with coach Yokota is ushering a new era of athlete-coach interaction. The writing was on the wall but even then last night's performance was epic. Remindrd me of John L Parker's verse that starts with"or we can blaze!"
I hope this pandemic subsides and the emerging athletes like Niiya and Tanaka take on the world's best (I understand you arranged Niiya's half marathon record attempt).
Snyway, thank you and pls keep blogging.