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

2026 Tokyo Marathon Elite Field

The Mar. 1 Tokyo Marathon has great fields this year, so let's get right to it. The women's field has 3 of last year's top 10, winner for the 2nd year in a row and Tokyo CR holder Sutume Asefa Kebede , 3rd-placer and 2025 Chicago winner Hawi Feysa , and 5th-placer and 2025 Berlin winner Rosemary Wanjiru , plus 2024 Valencia winner Megertu Alemu , 2025 Prague winner Bertukan Welde , 2024 Paris winner Mestawut Fikir , 2024 Osaka winner Waganesh Mekasha , former WR holder Brigid Kosgei , and a lot more. Japanese hopes pretty much go to all-time #7 Ai Hosoda , 2:20:31 in Berlin 2024 but who announced this month that she is retiring after Tokyo despite having qualified for the 2028 Olympic marathon trials with her 2:23:27 for 6th in Sydney last year. Other internationals include Canadian Malindi Elmore , American Sara Hall , a big Chinese group led by Yuyu Xia , Poland's Aleksandra Brzezińska and Australian Vanessa Wilson . The men's race has 5 of last year's top 1...
4 comments
Read more

Measuring Marathon Courses by Bicycle

http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2013&d=0110&f=column_0110_034.shtml translated by Brett Larner The full marathon is a sport where you compete over 42.195 km, but how do they go about measuring that distance?  Today we're going to look a little bit at how they go about certifying the distance of a marathon. The reality is that major international marathons use a bicycle to measure the distance.  This rule is an international standard, and the same method of measurement is used everywhere.  It was put into place in 1986.  In order to ensure that the same method is used everywhere, a bicycle that meets IAAF specifications must be used for measurement. In the case of Japan's major marathons, to be certain that the distance is correct a provisional measurement is first made.  Before the course is certified using a bicycle the course is measured using a 50 m-long length of wire to determine that it is in fact 42.195 km.  When a bicycle is u...
2 comments
Read more

Ai Hosoda Announces Retirement

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/Photo Run, all rights reserved On Jan. 8 the Edion women's corporate team announced that Ai Hosoda , 30, will retire at the end of March this year. The Tokyo Marathon will be her last race. At Nagano Higashi H.S. Hosoda ran in the National High School Ekiden her 2nd and 3rd years. During her 3rd year at Nittai University she won both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, going on to win the bronze medal in the 10000 m at the World University Games in her 4th year at Nittai. After graduating she joined the Daihatsu corporate team, debuting at the 2019 Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:29:27. 2 years later she transferred to Edion. She qualified for the Paris Olympics marathon trials at the 2022 Nagoya Women's Marathon and finished 3rd in the trials in the fall of 2023, but was later bumped down to Olympic alternate after another athlete ran a faster time. Instead of the Olympics, Hosoda ran the 2024 Ber...
2 comments
Read more