Skip to main content

Weekend Track Roundup (updated)


The first meet in this year's Hokuren Distance Challenge in Hokkaido was the main meet of the weekend, but there was more action near Tokyo than in a normal year too as organizers sought to keep the number of people in one location down. At the HDC Shibetsu Meet the men's 3000 m was the highlight, with Yohei Ikeda (Kanebo) winning in 7:56.10 to lead the top eight under eight minutes. Even just five years ago it was rare to see more than one Japanese man break eight in an entire year, a sign of how much things have changed in both shoes and priorities. 

Titus Wambua (SID Group) ran 13:22.49 for 1st in the men's 5000 m A-heat, Kenyans sweeping the top four spots. In 5th Kotaro Kondo set a new school record for ekiden power Aoyama Gakuin University, running 13:34.88.  34-year-old Yuki Sato (SGH Group) was 6th in 13:35.74, bettering the time he ran at Nationals less than two weeks ago by 3 seconds.

Women's results in Shibetsu were low-key, Sakiko Naito (Panasonic) taking the 3000 m A-heat in 9:15.57 and Aoi Nomura (Sekisui Kagaku) the 5000 m in 15:58.89. The Nittai University Time Trials in Kanagawa seemed to be more the meet of choice for women, Despite heavy rain, Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) took the 3000 m A-heat at Nittai in 8:56.50, Narumi Kobayashi (Meijo Univ.) next in 9:02.54 and the top five all bettering Naito's mark in Shibetsu. 

Marathoner Mao Kiyota (Suzuki) won the women's 5000 m in 16:00.50. Taiyo Yasuhara (Komazawa Univ.) won the men's 5000 m A-heat in a PB 13:50.01 with teammate Yuto Akahoshi running 13:57.55 for 6th to give this year's Hakone Ekiden champs 18 men with sub-14 bests for 5000 m. Ethiopian great Imane Merga (Yachioyo Kogyo) continued his comeback with a 13:54.17 for 3rd.

At Chiba's Juntendo University Time Trials Keigo Kurihara turned in the fastest time in the men's 5000 m A-heat at 13:46.96, with eight Juntendo men breaking 14 minutes for 5000 m. Yusaku Nomura led the home team in 13:49.23. Juntendo first-year Mao Kogura won the women's 3000 m in 9:23.03, teammate Ryosuke Harada winning the men's 3000 m in 8:08.46.

© 2021 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Asian Games Preview - Entries, Timetable and Live Results

Back in Japan for the first time in 32 years and representing 60% of the world's population, with more athletes competing across all sports than at the Olympics, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are already underway. Athletics competition starts tomorrow and runs through Tuesday the 29th. Some of the biggest names on the entry list include: Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (SRI) - men's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships gold and 2026 Diamond League champion Haruka Kitaguchi (JPN) - women's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships and 2024 Paris Olympics gold Birhanu Balew (BRN) - men's 5000 m/10000 m - 2026 Diamond League 5000 m champion Sanghyeok Woo (KOR) - men's high jump - 2025 Tokyo World Championships silver Hayato Katsuki (JPN) - men's marathon race walk - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Abderrahman Samba (QAT) - men's 400 mH - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Jiale Zhang (CHN) - women's hammer throw - 2025 Tokyo W...
Post a Comment
Read more

Asian Games Competition Schedule

The daily athletics event schedule for September's Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games . Wednesday, Sept. 23 7:30 - Women's / Men's Half Marathon Race Walk Final Thursday, Sept. 24 10:00 - Women's Heptathlon 100 mH 10:20 - Mixed 4x400 m Relay Heats 10:30 - Men's Triple Jump Heats 10:40 - Women's Heptathlon High Jump 19:05 - Men's High Jump Heats 19:13 - Women's Heptathlon Shot Put 19:33 - Women's 100 m Heats 19:44 - Women's Triple Jump Final 20:08 - Men's 100 m Heats 20:55 - Men's Discus Throw Final 21:00 - Women's Heptathlon 200 m 21:25 - Women's 10000 m Final 22:15 - Mixed 4x400 m Relay Final Friday, Sept. 25 10:00 - Women's Heptathlon Long Jump 10:30 - Men's 400 m Heats 11:25 - Women's Heptathlon Javelin Throw 19:05 - Women's Shot Put Final 19:13 - Women's 100 m Semifinal 19:33 - Men's 100 m Semifinal 20:03 - Women's Pole Vault Final 20:11 - Women's Heptathlon 800 m 20:32 - Men's 10000 m Final 20:40 - M...
Post a Comment
Read more

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...
Post a Comment
Read more