Sato Breaks 1500 m U18 National Record

Sato Breaks 1500 m U18 National Record - Weekend Track Roundup

It was a busy weekend on the track across Japan. At Saturday's Kanaguri Memorial Meet in Kumamoto, the biggest news came in the men's 1500 m where 17-year-old Keita Sato (Rakunan H.S.) ran 3:40.36, a new U18 national record, the 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese high schooler, and 3rd-fastest-ever U20 mark. Sato took 4th after leading the first three laps, with two of the three people who finished ahead of him going under 3:40. Winner Kazuki Kawamura (Toenec) broke into the all-time Japanese top ten at 3:38.83 and Keisuke Morita (Komori Corp.) was 2nd in 3:39.37.

Steeplechase specialist Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) followed up his 10000 m win last month in Nobeoka with a 5000 m PB at Kanaguri, dropping a Kenyan trio led by Justus Kevasa (Honda) for the win in 13:22.80. A total of thirteen people broke 13:40 across heats. Joan Kipkemoi (Kyudenko) led Japan-based Africans to sweep the top five spots in the women's 5000 m in 15:30.45, with Ethiopian Burka Desta (Denso) taking the B-heat in 15:32.49.

One of the favorites for the women's 5000 m team if the Tokyo Olympics go ahead, 20-year-old Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) had a good 10000 m debut, winning in 31:30.03 just over 5 seconds off the Olympic qualifying standard. Marathoner Yuka Ando (Wacoal) was the only other runner under 32 minutes, 2nd in 31:46.80. Only two men broke 28 minutes at Kanaguri, Stanley Waithaka (Yakult) taking the top spot in 27:47.15 and Yudai Okamoto (Sunbelx) getting there for the first time with a 27:58.43 for 2nd.

Two other men went sub-28 Saturday at the IUAU 10000 m Time Trials meet at Kanagawa's Nittai University track. Originally planned as the qualifying race for this summer's Chengdu World University Games, the meet saw a lot of DNS when the Games were postponed to next year earlier this month. All the same, corporate leaguer Yuki Muta (Hitachi Butsuryu) and 20-year-old Ryuto Igawa (Waseda Univ.) both went under 28 minutes for the first time, Muta winning in 27:57.15. Igawa just pulled it off in 27:59.74, becoming the third Waseda runner to break 28 minutes in the last four months. Wataru Tochigi (Hitachi Butsuryu), Mebuki Suzuki (Komazawa University) and Tomoya Ogikubo (Yakult) just missed, all three clearing 28:01.Yuna Wada (Meijo Univ.) took the women's race in her debut, winning by over 10 seconds in 32:22.83.

The Chugoku Corporate Time Trials meet Saturday in Kure, Hiroshima was low-key, with Takumi Komatsu (NTT Nishi Nihon) leading the top four under 14 minutes in 13:55.98 in the men's 5000 m A-heat. Kazane Iwamoto (Funyu H.S.) was the only woman to run in the meet, clocking 10:15.54 for 3000 m.

Three others men went under 14 minutes at Sunday's Six-University Meet in Konosu, Saitama. Ken Tansho (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) won in 13:50.84, alongside Kenyan teammate Luka Musemi's 8:53.37 win in the 3000 m SC helping lead Tokyo Kokusai University to its first win in the meet's 17-year history.

Tokyo Marathon Top Japanese Man Tsubasa Ichiyama Works 4 Days a Week, Walked On in College

38,000 people ran the 2025 Tokyo Marathon . Every runner had their own story, but one of the most special was Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx). Despite being on almost nobody's radar, he outran some of the best in the country to finish as the top Japanese man. Ichiyama ran most of the race in the 3rd pace group, going through halfway in 1:02:44 and 30 km in 1:29:13. When the pacers stopped, he showed what he could really do. "I'm not good at downhills, so in the first part it was hard to run smoothly," he said at the post-race press conference. "But after the downhill part ended I got into my rhythm, and I think that helped me over the 2nd half." After dropping Asian Games gold medalist Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) and others, he quickly bore down on the Japanese athletes who had gone out faster in the 2nd pace group. Overtaking Paris Olympics 6th placer Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuhei Urano (Fujitsu), at 39.8 km he caught all-time Japanese #2 man Yohei I...

Chepkirui Wins Nagoya Women's Marathon

Heavy-duty favorite Sheila Chepkirui took the win at Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon , pulling away after 30 km to cruise in for 1st in 2:20:40. Erratic pacing early saw the first and second groups only seconds apart for much of the first half of the race, the top group slower than planned and the 2nd group a bit ahead of schedule. At halfway in 1:10:37 the front group included Chepkirui, #2-ranked Ruti Aga and last year's runner-up Eunice Chumba , and Japanese contingent Sayaka Sato , Rika Kaseda , Natsuki Omori and Mao Uesugi . Omori was the first to drop, then Uesugi, then Aga, who ultimately dropped out before 30 km. When the pacers stopped at 30 km Chepkirui made a move that dropped Kaseda and strung out Chumba and Sato behind her, but all four came back together once before another surge put Kaseda away for good. As Chepkirui inched away Sato and Chumba passed each other repeatedly, and Chumba could only watch as the top Japanese runner got away from her again thi...

Who's Running Tokyo Worlds?

The Japanese marathon teams will be the most prestigious ones to be on for September's Tokyo World Championships, and with Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon the window for Japanese athletes to get onto the JAAF's shortlist closed. Who's on it? The final decision won't be made until Mar. 26, but let's look through the selection criteria and see who's guaranteed, who's pretty likely, and who has a chance. 1. Marathon medalists at the Paris Olympics - There weren't any, so nobody makes the team this way. Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) were the top placers, both of them running PBs in the Olympics to finish 6th. You'd think that would count for something a year later, but you'd think wrong. 2. JMC Series IV Champions - The top point scorers in the Japan Marathon Championship Series IV, which ran from April, 2023 to March, 2025, earn places on the marathon teams along with cash prizes. For women that's Yuka ...

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