Kamata and Kobayashi Win National University Half Marathon Titles

Even windier and warmer than in Nagoya, the airfield runway in Tokyo's western suburbs offered no shade or shelter to the men and women competing in the National University Half Marathon Championships Sunday in Tachikawa, keeping times slower than usual and more people in the race late.

In the men's race, Koki Kamata (Hosei Univ.) repeated his run on the Hakone Ekiden's First Stage back in January, kicking hard to drop a pack in the final straight for the win in 1:03:00. Hakone champ Komazawa University's star first-year Mebuki Suzuki was 2nd in 1:03:07 with Yoshinori Shimazaki (Koku Gakuin Univ.) 3rd in 1:03:08 a step ahead of teammate Kota Fujiki and Komazawa 4th-year Ayumu Kobayashi, 4th and 5th in 1:03:09. Kamata, Suzuki and Shimazaki all scored places on the Japanese team for this summer's Chengdu World University Games.

The women's race was even closer up front. 2020 National University Women's Ekiden champion Meijo University teammates Narumi Kobayashi and Yuna Arai worked together to put pressure on 2019 World University Games half marathon gold medalist Yuka Suzuki (Daito Bunka University). In the final kilometers Arai dropped off, but it came down to a photo finish between Kobayashi and Suzuki. Both clocked 1:14:36, with Kobayashi given the title and Suzuki 2nd. Arai was 9 seconds back in 3rd in 1:14:45 to join Kobayashi and Suzuki on the Chengdu team. Suzuki will have a rare opportunity to defend as gold medalist in Chengdu, assuming the Games happen.

24th National University Half Marathon Championships

Tachikawa, Tokyo, 14 Mar. 2021

complete men's results

complete women's results

Men

1 Koki Kamata (Hosei Univ.) - 1:03:00

2. Mebuki Suzuki (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:07

3. Yoshinori Shimazaki (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:08

4. Kota Fujiki (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:09

5. Ayumu Kobayashi (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:09

6. Tatsuya Iyoda (Juntendo Univ) - 1:03:12

7. Keigo Kurihara (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:24

8. Yuhi Nakaya (Waseda Univ.) - 1:03:31

9. Ryunosuke Chigira (Waseda Univ.) - 1:03:32

10. James Bunuka (Surugadai Univ.) - 1:03:38

Women

1. Narumi Kobayashi (Meijo Univ.) - 1:14:36

2. Yuka Suzuki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:14:36

3. Yuna Arai (Meijo Univ.) - 1:14:45

4. Momoko Yao (Kansai Gaikokugo Univ.) - 1:15:14

5. Mio Kuroda (Nittai Univ.) - 1:15:22

6. Yui Komatsu (Matsuyama Univ.) - 1:15:24

7. Hiyori Takahashi (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 1:15:52

8. Hikaru Kitagawa (Osaka Geijutsu Univ.) - 1:16:00

9. Yuka Masubuchi (Meijo Univ.) - 1:16:03

10. Shihoka Kato (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 1:16:04

Japan's First Goldless Day - Asian Athletics Championships Day Four Highlights

Day 4 of the Bangkok Asian Athletics Championships was the first without a single gold medal going to Japan, but there were still enough silvers and bronzes to go around. Robyn Lauren Brown of the Philippines outclassed the rest of the women's 400 mH final field, taking gold in 57.50. Eri Utsunomiya and Ami Yamamoto made it a Japanese 2-3, Utsunomiya running 57.73 for silver and Yamamoto 57.80 for bronze. Yusaku Kodama also scored silver in the men's 400 mH, running 48.96 behind Qatari winner Bassem Hemeida 's 48.64. Yuki Yamasaki won bronze in the heptathlon with 5696 points, Uzbekistan's Ekaterina Voronina taking gold in 6098 and Swapna Barman silver in 5840. Teammate Karin Odama was 4th in 5487. Another bronze came in the mixed 4x400 m relay, with Japan running 3:15.71 behind India's 3:14.70 and Sri Lanka's 3:15.41. Naoto Hasegawa and Ryoichi Akamatsu both cleared 2.23 m in the men's high jump, Hasegawa finishing 4th overall and Akamatsu 5th. ...

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