With two weeks to go until the pre-Olympic National Championships, Saturday was a big day for the 3000 m for Japanese men. In Tokyo's western suburbs, 10000 m national record holder Akira Aizawa (Asahi Kasei) tuned up for the 5000 m at Nationals with a win in the 3000 m A-heat at the Setagaya Time Trials meet, his 7:49.66 ranked him at all-time Japanese #5 for the distance. Right next to him and also in for the Nationals 5000 m, Kyosuke Teshima (Meiji Univ.) clocked 7:49.76 for 2nd, the second-fastest collegiate time ever in Japan and best-ever by a Japanese-born university runner. The top six all broke 8 minutes, all from the Asahi Kasei and Meiji teams.
Minutes later, Ryuji Miura (Juntendo Univ.), U20 half marathon NR breaker at age 18 and 3000 mSC NR breaker earlier this season at age 19, bettered them both at the Juntendo University Time Trials in Chiba, the video above. Miura won the 3000 m there in 7:48.07, coming in at all-time JPN #4 and knocking both Aizawa and Teshima down a spot on the all-time list. He also replaced Teshima as all-time collegiate #2, just over a second behind the collegiate record of 7:46.79 set in 2004 by future sub-27 man and Fukuoka International Marathon winner Josphat Ndambiri (Ryutsu Keizai Univ.). Miura is scheduled to run the 3000 mSC at Nationals, in which he is the only Japanese man with the Tokyo Olympics qualifying standard.
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