Skip to main content

Katsuhiko Hanada to Take Over as Head Coach at Waseda


After falling out of the top 10 for the first time in 3 years to 13th at this year's Hakone Ekiden, Waseda University is set to name Olympian, former GMO corporate head coach and Waseda alum Katsuhiko Hanada, 50, as its new head coach. Former head coach Yutaka Sagara, 41, is expected to remain on as head coach. Under the new arrangement Waseda hopes to regain its former stature.

Having left GMO at the end of March, Hanada is already overseeing Waseda team training at the university's Tokorozawa campus in Saitama. Asked about his role, Sagara commented, "Nothing has been finalized yet." But according to an involved source, the decision about Hanada is final and only a few last details are still under discussion.

Hanada ran well at the Hakone Ekiden during his collegiate years and was part of Waseda's winning team his third year at the school. After joining the S&B corporate team, he competed on the track at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics. After retiring in January, 2004, he got an email from students at Jobu University asking him to become their coach, which he did in April the same year. In his fifth season coaching them Jobu finished 3rd at the October, 2008 Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying race, going on to make the school's Hakone debut at its 85th anniversary edition in January, 2009.

After turning Jobu into a Hakone regular, in 2016 he resigned as head coach to become the first head coach of the new GMO corporate team. At GMO he helped cultivate athletes including Yuya Yoshida, 25, winner of the 2020 Fukuoka International Marathon. At both Jobu and GMO Hanada earned a reputation for a detailed and respectful approach to coaching.

Sagara served as assistant coach to Yasuyuki Watanabe, 48, head coach at Waseda until his departure to take over the Sumitomo Denko corporate team in 2015. Under the duo's leadership, in 2010 Waseda became the only school in history to break the course records at all three major university ekidens in a single season. After Watanabe's departure Sagara was promoted to head coach, but with Hanada's entry he will now return to a prominent supporting role.

Its track and field team having been founded in 1914, Waseda University was one of the four schools to run the first Hakone Ekiden in 1920. It has won Japan's most prestigious race 13 times and appeared in 91 of the 98 editions to date, 2nd only to Chuo University at 14 wins and 95 appearances. This year it will attempt to qualify for its 92nd appearance at October's Yosenkai qualifying half marathon. The Hanada-Sagara coaching team will represent a new chapter in the history of Japan's most illustrious university track and field team.

source article:
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Ayaka Suzuki, Younger Sister of Olympic Marathoner Yuka Suzuki, Faces Final East Japan Women's Ekiden

The final edition of the East Japan Women's Ekiden takes place Nov. 10. 18 teams representing the eastern prefectures will bring high-level women's competition to the streets of Fukushima. Getting attention on the Akita team is Ayaka Suzuki , the younger sister of Paris Olympics marathon 6th-placer Yuka Suzuki . Ayaka is a 3rd-year at Akita's Omagari H.S. She began running seriously after entering high school, citing her sister's influence. "When I saw her winning her stages and helping her team in university ekidens, I thought that I might be able to do the same and decided to give it a try," she said. Before her excellent run at the Paris Olympics Yuka ran the East Japan Women's Ekiden 3 times, inspiring others as she went from a young athlete to one of the best in the world. "I was surprised that she was competitive at that level," said Ayaka. "When I saw how strong she was running it really moved me." In junior high school Ayaka w...
1 comment
Read more

CR Holder Teruki Shimada Returns to Launceston Half - Preview and Streaming

Last year's McGrath Launceston Running Festival Peppers Silo Half Marathon in Tasmania, Australia shaped out into a great Australia vs. Japan dual meet , with Jessica Stenson outrunning Yumi Yoshikawa to take the women's title in a 1:09:51 CR, and Teikyo University school record holder Teruki Shimada executing a tactically brilliant race to drop Isaac Heyne , then-NR holder Brett Robinson , and Teikyo teammate Jinya Ozaki for the win in 1:01:12, just a second off the Australian all-comers record. Marathon NR holder Andy Buchanan took that record down to 1:01:08 at the Gold Coast Half a month later, but its chances of surviving this weekend aren't looking good. Shimada leads last year's top 4 back to Launceston this year, and there's a lot of tough new competition. 2025 National Corporate Half winner Tsubasa Ichiyama , Australia's Haftu Strintzos , new Teikyo record holder Yuta Asakawa and American Ethan Shuley have all run faster that Buchanan's rec...
Post a Comment
Read more

Weekend Track and Road Update

Kanto Regionals were the big domestic meet this weekend, but there were other important results here and overseas. At the Xiamen Diamond League meet: 110 mH NR holder Rachid Muratake (JAL) was 2nd in 13.13 (+0.5) behind winner Jamal Britt (U.S.A.) in 13.07. The only other Japanese athlete in Xiamen, women's javelin throw NR holder Haruka Kitaguchi (JAL) was 7th at 60.08, down from her performance last week at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix Meet in Tokyo and eclipsed by the brilliant all-time #2 71.74 m throw by China's Ziyi Yan . 4 Japanese athletes ran at the Sound Running L.A,.Track Fest meet, 3 of them graduates of Kyoto's Rakunan H.S. like Kanto Regionals D1 men's 5000 m winner Kaisei Okada (Chuo Univ.). The only non-Rakunan guy there, Hibiki Obara (GMO) ran only 8:33.21 for 9th in the men's 3000 mSC A-heat. Daichi Shibata (Chuo Univ.) was last in the same heat in 8:49.91. Itta Tameike (SG Holdings) had a great run in the men's 5000 m B-heat, breakin...
Post a Comment
Read more