Skip to main content

High School 5000 m NR Holder Kosuke Ishida Enters Toyo University


Toyo University's entrance ceremonies for the 2021-22 academic year took place Apr. 6 in Tokyo. Kosuke Ishida, the 5000 m high school boys' national record holder with a best of 13:34.74, was among the incoming first-years. He will be guided by head coach Toshiyuki Sakai, 44, who at Toyo previously coached 10000 m national record holder Akira Aizawa, former half marathon and marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara, Tokyo Olympics marathon team member Yuma Hattori, 2:06:45 marathoner Ryu Takaku and many other top-level talents. Through a statement issued by the university, Ishida said that he is aiming to make to the 5000 m at the 2024 Paris Olympics during his senior year.

"This spring I've entered Toyo University," Ishida wrote. "The reason I chose Toyo University is that I want to become a world-class athlete, and I wanted head coach Toshiyuki Sakai to help me get there. My goals while a student at Toyo are to make the 5000 m at the 2024 Olympics and to help Toyo win all three of the Big Three University Ekidens. I'm proud to wear the Iron Blue uniform so many great alumni have worn before me, and I will take the team slogan "Prove the Iron Blue" to heart and become the best I can be."

The very top of his generation, Ishida is still just 18. In an online interview on Apr. 2 he expanded on his written comments, saying, "When I heard Coach Sakai say, 'My goal is to develop world-class athletes,' it really resonated with me." Discussing his plans he was already focused on becoming internationally competitive, saying, "My first year will be about laying the groundwork for the main goal, the 2024 Paris Olympics. For the team, it's winning all three ekidens. My third year especially it'll be the 100th Hakone Ekiden, and I want to be there in the winners' circle to throw coach into the air in celebration."

While at Fukuoka's Asakawa J.H.S. Ishida set junior high school national records for 1500 m, 3000 m and 5000 m. His third year at Tokyo Nogyo Daini H.S. he broke the 5000 m high school national record twice. Coach Sakai commented, "He's an athlete who can establish his own plans and achieve records. He's coming to us with very big goals, and I want to give him the maximum support and guidance in achieving them." Ishida is scheduled to make his debut in the Toyo uniform in May.

source article: 
translated and edited by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Very few Japanese fast high school distance runners become world class in the 1500m, 5k, or 10k. They work hard when young but don't have the talent to get to a higher level. So they move to the marathon.
April 9, 2021 at 2:43 AM
Brett Larner said…
I think you're both confusing cause and effect here, and thinking in terms of where things were, not where they're going.
April 9, 2021 at 8:46 AM
Anonymous said…
There seems to be more interest in the marathon for Japanese runners, at least based on the amazing depth, but 13:34 is faster than Galen Rupp ran in high school. Now, I think the spike technology would account for a few seconds but nonetheless he is a going to be a contender in any event he chooses and will probably have the range to run good marathons and track times.
April 11, 2021 at 2:31 AM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Rui Aoki and Shunsuke Kuwata Making U.S. Debut at United Airlines NYC Half

When the National University Half Marathon was canceled in 2011 after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan 2 days before the race, JRN talked to the New York Road Runners about bringing 2 collegiate runners to the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon the next weekend as a show of support. It wasn't possible to pull it together in the immediate aftermath of the disasters, but a year later we brought 2 young 2nd-years from Hakone Ekiden CR breaker Toyo University , Kento Otsu and Yuta Shitara , who had been the top 2 Japanese collegiate finishers at the Ageo City Half Marathon in November before Hakone. Shitara ran 1:01:48, at the time the fastest-ever by a Japanese man on U.S. soil, with Otsu running a solid 1:03:15. Thanks to that great start the Ageo-NYC partnership became a regular thing, and except for the pandemic it's continued every year since, expanding this year to June's New York Mini 10 km when 2 runners from Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden runne...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...
2 comments
Read more

16 Women and 26 Men on the Current Olympic Trials Qualifier List

Last weekend's Nagoya Women's Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon the weekend before brought the main part of the first year of qualification for the Marathon Grand Championship Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials to be held in Nagoya in October, 2027, to an end. There are still a few races like the Nagano Marathon and overseas World Athletics platinum label races this season where people might qualify, but for the most part we're not likely to see many new additions until August's Hokkaido Marathon, where the qualifying period opened last year. As of right now 16 women and 26 men have qualified, although the first woman to make the cut, Ai Hosoda , announced that she was retiring after Tokyo earlier this month. Out of the 16 women to have qualified so far, Mikuni Yada is the fastest with her 2:19:57 debut at Osaka Women's in January. Including Hosoda that makes 2 qualifiers for the Edion corporate team, but Daihatsu has the biggest share of the field so ...
Post a Comment
Read more