Hironaka and Suzuki Top 2021 Japanese Distance Rankings

Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) and Kengo Suzuki (Fujitsu) topped JRN's 2021 women's and men's Japanese distance rankings. Hironaka ran big at the Olympics, making the women's 5000 m final and then running a national record 14:52.84 there for 9th. Five days later she was back with a near-miss on a rare Japanese sub-31 in the 10000 m, running 31:00.71 for 7th. Steadily improving over the last few seasons and unafraid to go further, Hironaka this year was the clear leader among the talented group of women aged 18-22 that is currently coming up to the top of the Japanese ranks.

After winning the 12.1 km Sixth Stage to help Fujitsu win the New Year Ekiden Suzuki ran a stellar 2:04:56 national record to win February's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon. But apart from a 2:08:50 for 4th at October's Chicago Marathon and marrying marathoner Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) that was just about all he did this year. 

Ichiyama and Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) were #2 and #3 in the women's overall rankings. Ichiyama won January's Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2:21:11 and May's Olympic Test Event half marathon in 1:08:28, both the fastest Japanese times of the year, and was 8th in the Olympic marathon, the best Japanese women's placing. Matsuda, the Olympic alternate, ran the 2nd-fastest marathon and half marathon times of the year, winning March's Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:21:51 and beating Olympic marathon team members Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) and Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) for 2nd behind Ichiyama in the Test Event half in 1:08:32. Matsuda clearly should have replaced one of the starters in the Olympic marathon, but the Japanese system often prioritizes other interests over putting the best team it could on the starting line. The question of how she might have done will always remain.

Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) and Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima) were the men's overall #2 and #3. Ichida was mostly overlooked this year, not setting any national records and not making the Olympic team. But in February he was just 1 second off the course record at the National Corporate Half Marathon, finishing 2nd in an all-time Japanese #4 time of 1:00:19 almost a minute faster than the next-best Japanese man this year. In May he finished 4th in the 10000 m National Championships in 27:54.45, and six days later he won the Olympic Test Event 5000 m in 13:27.73, beating a field that included Tokyo Olympians Akira Aizawa (Asahi Kasei) and Yuta Bando (Fujitsu). Nobody else had Ichida's range, and nobody else dominated a single event like he did in the half. The little-known Hosoya started the year off with a solid 4th-place finish on the 22.4 km Fourth Stage in 1:04:33, pace for a 1:00:48 half marathon, then backed that up with a 1:01:16 for 6th at the National Corporate Half Marathon. At Lake Biwa he was 3rd in 2:06:35, rocketing him to the top ranks of the all-time Japanese lists. After mid-year PBs for 5000 m and 10000 m on the track he was back for 2nd overall at the final Fukuoka International Marathon, running 2:08:16.

JRN's editor's picks go to two U20 runners, 18-year Seira Fuwa (Takushoku Univ.) and 19-year-old Ryuji Miura (Juntendo Univ.). Fuwa ran 15:20.68 for 5000 m in the summer, 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese-born collegiate runner, but her college ekiden debut at October's Morinomiyako Ekiden was just jaw-dropping. In her first time racing a longer distance Fuwa beat the old CR for the 9.2 km anchor leg by 1:14, running 28:00 and fearlessly speeding up the entire way. Extrapolate that out another 800 m and you have 30:26, 6 seconds off the track 10000 m national record. In November she won her 10.0 km stage at the East Japan Women's Ekiden in a conservative 31:29. On Dec. 11 she soloed a 30:45.21 track 10000 m debut, speeding up the entire way again and coming in at all-time Japanese #2. It's a lot of heavy-duty long racing for someone her age, and with Fuwa looking like she has the potential to be Japan's best ever you just have to hope that she and her coach can hold it together and not do too much too soon.

3000 m steeplechase specialist Miura was one of the Japanese athletes who benefitted the most from the Olympics being postponed, exploding into the national level in the summer last year and growing steadily all year this year. He won February's National XC Championships, broke the 3000 m SC national record to win May's Olympic Test Event in 8:17.46, broke it again to win June's National Championships in 8:15.99 despite falling on the water obstacle with a lap and a half to go, then broke it again in the opening heat at the Olympics with a 8:09.92 for 2nd. That kind of time could have earned him a medal at many previous Olympics, but in the final he looked tired from racing the heat so hard, finishing 7th in 8:16.90. Not that that's a failure of any kind. Hopefully he learned what to do better next time.

Miura and Fuwa were the most exciting things in Japanese distance this year. Both look totally different from anyone else in their generation, genuine world-class talents and unafraid to run like it. While Miura has already proven that he thrives racing against other world-class talent, we've still got Fuwa's debut against real international competition to look forward to. Hopefully that wait won't take longer than next summer's World Championships.

© 2021 Brett Larner, all rights reserved