#1 High Schooler Nanaka Yonezawa Graduates from Sendai Ikuei, Headed to National Champ Meijo University
Nanaka Yonezawa showed incredible growth during her three years at Miyagi's Sendai Ikuei H.S., and with her graduation she's now poised to go to the next level. Her first and third years at Sendai Ikuei its girls' team won the National High School Ekiden, she was 2nd in the National Track and Field Championships 1500 m in 2020, and she was the top-placing Japanese athlete in the 1500 m and 3000 m at last year's National High School Track and Field Championships. All that is more than enough to cement her place as the leader of her generation. In April Yonezawa will enter national champion Meijo University, but before she goes she talked about her memories of her three years of high school and her ambitions for the future.
Originally from Shizuoka, Yonezawa travelled over 500 km to attend Sendai Ikuei. There she focused on the 1500 m and 3000 m, setting bests of 4:14.74 and 8:59.97, as well as a 5000 m best of 15:31.33. All three times put her in Japan's all-time high school top 7, and her 1500 m and 3000 m are in the U20 all-time best 8. "I wanted to get strong," she says. "and the place to do that was at one of the strongest schools."
The method of coaching at Sendai Ikuei was different from what she'd experienced in the past, and she felt refreshed by the change. "You're pretty much responsible for yourself there," she says. "You have to pay attention to your own condition, just do jogging when you need to, and ask for advice on training based on how you're feeling. By constantly examining yourself that way you learn to understand yourself and your body better."
Better knowledge of herself helped Yonezawa hone one of the sharpest weapons in her arsenal, the ability to perform up to potential in big races. "I'd say that most of the time I ran my fastest times when I was competing for place. I ran my 1500 m PB trying to win at the National High School meet last summer. Not every race went perfectly, but I think learning how to be able to deliver at the biggest races and run fast while going for the win were really good lessons. I'm pretty good at timing my peak for important races, so in the future I hope that will help me be a strong racer without a lot of ups and downs."
The ultimate goal for every high school team is the National High School Ekiden. Yonezawa's first year at Sendai Ikuei the team won. Her second year they finished 3rd, and her senior year they won again with her as captain. In that senior year win she ran the First Stage, the ekiden's most competitive, and soloed a fast stage win that set the team's winning momentum in motion. "I was really, really happy when we won my first year, but when we couldn't pull off a repeat my second year it was so disappointing. It made the desire to win again stronger and stronger my third year. During my first two years the older runners on the team helped me a lot, so when it was my turn I wanted us seniors to do our part to lead the way. It was the best year out of the three years. I was so happy when we won."
The different training approach at Sendai Ikuei wasn't the only major change. Living in a dorm for the first time made Yonezawa appreciate her parents back in Shizuoka more, and it deepened her connection with the other girls she spent all her time with. "Making the decision to come here I kind of talked to my parents about my career path, and I think they really support what I want to do. Sometimes when they send me things there's a little note inside saying things like, 'Do your best! We're behind you all the way.' Sometimes a handwritten letter shows your feelings the best. At school, all of us are going back to the same dorm, so it really feels like we're always together. We can talk to each other about anything, like family. I feel like I've met people who will be friends for the rest of my life."
Throughout the pandemic, the places Yonezawa has been able to go have been "basically the dorm, the track, and school, that's about it." Recently, though, things have opened up enough that she's been able to go around town more. "I went and wandered around downtown Sendai. I'd been there before to get physio, but I hadn't gone into any shops or anything on my own before. I was a little afraid I'd get lost."
Whenever Yonezawa was going home, or when she was going back to school, she'd always buy local sweets to give people as souvenirs. "When I was going home I'd usually buy haginotsuki sponge cakes. When I was coming back from Shizuoka it'd be unagi pie cookies and whatnot. People are always happy with the classics."
In January Yonezawa ran the National Women's Ekiden as part of the Miyagi prefecture team. Up against collegiate and corporate league runners on the Fourth Stage, she finished 3rd just 5 seconds slower than Japan's great new hope, Seira Fuwa of Takushoku University, who broke the course record set by 5000 m national record holder Ririka Hironaka.
In April Yonezawa will join Meijo University, who this past season scored a fifth-straight National University Women's Ekiden title. "When I took part in one of their training camps, the people on the team were unbelievably nice, and I could tell everyone got along and had good team spirit," Yonezawa says. "I could tell it was somewhere I would fit in and thrive. I want to take it one race and one year at a time, learn everything I can from the older runners on the team, and keep getting even better."
At her graduation ceremony on Feb. 28, Yonezawa took a picture with her classmates, including 2nd-year ekiden team member Kokone Sugimori. They were all smiles. Yonezawa's ability to perform when it counts puts the 2024 Paris Olympics in range, and with further development at Meijo her road to the Olympics is set to open up.
translated and edited by Brett Larner
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