Fujitsu and Asahi Kasei Take Regional New Year Ekiden Qualifier Wins

Regional qualification for the New Year Ekiken corporate men’s national championships started Wednesday with two of the most competitive regions, East Japan and Kyushu. In East Japan, 2020 national champ Fujitsu returned with an anchor stage reversal to win East Japan for the second year in a row. Honda’s Olympic 10000 m man Tatsuhiko Ito led on the 13.4 km opening stage, but on the 8.4 km Second Stage Yakult’s Stanley Waithaka put his team out front where they stayed until another Honda Olympian, steepler Ryoma Aoki regained the top spot on the 8.4 km Fourth Stage.

Over the next two stages Honda maintained the lead, but behind them Fujitsu drew closer and closer. Fujitsu anchor Ken Yokote started just one second behind Honda’s Yuta Shitara and had no trouble running him down and opening an 8-second margin of victory by the end of the stage. The top 12 teams in East Japan qualified, with the Comodi Iida supermarket team not moving into the 12th spot until late in the final stage.

In Kyushu, Yusuke Tamura improbably outran 10000 m NR holder Akira Aizawa and 2:06 marathoner Hiroto Inoue to put the minor Kurosaki Harima team out front with a 36:28 course record on the 12.9 km First Stage. Benard Koech took over the top spot for Kyudenko on the next stage, but a 30:37 record from Takashi Ichida on the 10.9 km Third Stage put top regional power Asahi Kasei into 1st, where they stayed for the rest of the race.

With wins on all four stages after Ichida’s including three in course record time Asahi Kasei broke the overall course record for the win in 3:48:11. Fresh off the announcement that he'll run next month's Fukuoka International Marathon, 2:07 marathoner Shuho Dairokuno was especially strong on the 16.3 km anchor stage, running a course record 45:57. Inoue’s Mitsubishi Juko was almost four minutes behind in 2nd, with Kurosaki Harima anohther minute back in 3rd. Further back, Togami Denki beat Hiramatsu Byoin by almost six minutes to take the final spot in the eight-deep qualifying bracket.

62nd East Japan Corporate Ekiken

Kumagaya Sports Park, Saitama, 11/3/21

23 teams, 7 stages, 76.4 km

complete results

Top Individual Stage Results

First Stage (13.4 km) - Tatsuhiko Ito (Honda) - 39:13

Second Stage (8.4 km) - Stanley Waithaka (Yakult - 22:41

Third Stage (16.8 km) - Naoki Koyama (Honda) - 48:00

Fourth Stage (8.4 km) - Ryoma Aoki (Honda) - 23:40

Fifth Stage (8.4 km) - Shota Maeda (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 23:45 - CR

Sixth Stage (8.4 km) - Hironori Tsuetaki (Fujitsu) - 23:34

Seventh Stage (12.6 km) -Tadashi Isshiki (GMO) - 35:56

Top Team Results

top 12 qualify for New Year Ekiden

1. Fujitsu - 3:40:04

2. Honda - 3:40:12

3. Hitachi Butsuryu - 3:40:17

4. Yakult - 3:41:09

5. GMO - 3:41:10

6. Kanebo - 3:41:15

7. Subaru - 3:41:43

8. Komori Corporation - 3:43:18

9. JR Higashi Nihon - 3:43:43

10. Konica Minolta - 3:43:56

11. Sunbelx - 3:44:36

12. Comodi Iida - 3:45:15

-----

13. Saitama Ika Daigaku Group - 3:45:32

14. Press Kogyo - 3:45:37

15. Tokyo Police Headquarters - 3:47:44

58th Kyushu Corporate Ekiken

Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, 11/3/21

18 teams, 7 stages, 90.5 km

complete results

Top Individual Stage Results

First Stage (12.9 km) - Yusuke Tamura ‘(Kurosaki Harima) - 36:28 - CR

Second Stage (7.0 km) - Benard Koech (Kyudenko) - 19:06

Third Stage (10.9 km) - Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei A) - 30:37 - CR

Fourth Stage (9.5 km) - Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei A) - 27:07

Fifth Stage (13.0 km) - Chihiro Ono (Asahi Kasei A) - 37:06 - CR

Sixth Stage (10.9 km) - Tetsuya Yoroizuka (Asahi Kasei A) - 31:24 - CR

Seventh Stage (16.3 km) -Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei A) - 45:57 - CR

Top Team Results

top 8 qualify for New Year Ekiden

1. Asahi Kasei A - 3:48:11 - CR

2. Mitsubishi Juko - 3:51:55

3. Kurosaki Harima - 3:52:54

4. Kyudenko - 3:54:28

5. Toyota Kyushu - 3:54:50

6. Yasukawa Denki - 3:55:57

7. Nishitetsu - 3:55:59

OP - Jitsugyodan Select Team - 3:56:17

8. Togami Denki - 3:57:39

-----

OP - Asahi Kasei B - 3:58:59

9. Hiramatsu Byoin - 4:03:29

10. Kyocera Kagoshima - 4:08:33

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...

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