Yamanaka Leads Greatest Women's Steeple in Japanese History - National Track and Field Championships Day Three Highlights

Both 3000 mSC were great, but the women's race was the unexpected highlight of day 3 of the National Track and Field Championships Saturday in Osaka. Tokyo Olympian Yuno Yamanaka (Ehime Ginko) took it out on NR and World Championships qualifying standard pace with a 3:10 first 1000 m despite steady rain, and while it wasn't a surprise to see collegiate record holder Reimi Yoshimura (Daito Bunka Univ.) go with her, relative unknowns Yuzu Nishide (Daihatsu) and Manami Nishiyama (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo). The next 1000 m was only 3:18, but none of the three could stay with Yamanaka. But even though she closed in 3:10 to win in a meet record 9:38.19, all three closed back on over the last lap. Nishide overcame at least two flubbed jumps to take 2nd in 9:38.95, Nishiyama 3rd in 9:39.28, and Yoshimura 4th in 9:39.86.

The entire group moved up to all-time Japanese 2nd-5th with the NR just 5 seconds away, and even though they were short of the standard at least Yamanaka and possibly Yoshimura look to be in position to make the Oregon team in the quota. But whatever ends up happening to them, all four made it the greatest women's 3000 mSC race in Japanese history.

NR holder Ryuji Miura (Juntendo Univ.) took the men's race out fast, initially tailed by Taisei Ogino (Asahi Kasei) but mostly soloing his way to an 8:14.47 MR and a place on the Oregon team. There was constant turnover in the group behind him, but in the end it was his fellow Tokyo Olympians Ryoma Aoki (Honda) and Kosei Yamaguchi (Aisan Kogyo) who took 2nd and 3rd, Aoki getting under the standard in a PB 8:20.09 and Yamaguchi just missing in 8:23.29. 5 others in the top 10 ran PBs, showing that the golden age of Japanese steepling is just getting going. Aoki joins Miura on the Worlds team under the JAAF's selection policy, and with this performance Yamaguchi should move up to the top position in the quota. He'll have 2 more weeks to chase the standard or wait it out.

In the men's 400 mH final, favorite Kazuki Kurokawa (Hosei Univ.) dipped under the Worlds standard with a 48.89 for the win despite the rainy conditions, securing his place in Oregon. Darkhorse Hiroya Kawagoe (Jaws) ran a PB 49.72 for 2nd, knocking Worlds team contenders Masaki Toyoda (Fujitsu) and Takayuki Kishimoto (Fujitsu) back to 3rd and 4th in 49.85 and 49.99. Toyoda will likely still make the quota, but not making top 3 may be enough to keep Kishimoto home.

In the women's 100 mH final, NR holder Masumi Aoki's bizarre decision to double in the 100 m final less than an hour after 100 mH semifinals last night might have cost her a place on the Worlds team. Aoki was ranked 36th out of 40 in the quota pre-race and needed every point she could get in her main event at Nationals, but in the final she was beaten by 48th-ranked Mako Fukube (NKK) 13.10 (+0.8) to 13.28. Either of them could still squeeze into the quota, but it's hard to see what Aoki stood to gain by risking what was an almost certain win in the 100 mH final by tiring herself out with the double a day earlier.

The favorite in the men's pole vault, Seito Yamamoto (Toyota) failed to clear any height and finished with a NM, likely enough for him to lose his 30th-ranked position in the 32-deep Worlds quota. 33-ranked Masaki Ejima (Fujitsu) stepped up to clear 5.60 m for the win, putting himself into the quota and knocking Yamamoto one step further down. Top-ranked women's triple jumper Mariko Morimoto (Uchida Kensetsu AC) jumped a PB 13.58 m (+0.0) for the win, with Akari Funada (Mukogawa Joshi Univ.) also turning a PB of 13.46 m for 2nd.

The rain prevented any really big throws in the women's javelin, but for the first time ever 3 women threw over 60 m at Nationals. NR holder Haruka Kitaguchi (JAL) took the top spot at 61.25 m, Momone Ueda (Zenrin) next at 61.20 m and Sae Takemoto (Saga Sports Assoc.) 3rd at 60.84 m. All 3 were already in the Worlds quota at 19th, 27th and 31st of 32, and these performances were exactly what they needed to stay in contention.

Complete results available here.

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview and Streaming (updated)

Japan's winter marathon season of 6 major races in 7-straight weekends wraps up Sunday with the world's largest women-only marathon, the Nagoya Women's Marathon . The weather is looking pretty good, 6˚ at the start rising to 10˚ by the finish and sunny skies, but a moderate 7 m/s NW wind means a headwind finish that might impact the potential for some fast times. Official streaming kicks off at 9:00 a.m. local time. Live results will be here . Sheila Chepkirui won last year in 2:20:40, breaking away from Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba at 30 km and hanging on for the win. Sato negative split a 2:20:59 PB for 2nd, Chumba fading to 3rd in 2:21:36. All 3 are back this time, but they have pretty serious competition from Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Selly Chepyego Kaptich , 2:20:03 in Barcelona 2023. And of course, Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda . Maeda ran 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024 to make the Paris Oly...

How it Happened

Ancient History I went to Wesleyan University, where the legend of four-time Boston Marathon champ and Wes alum Bill Rodgers hung heavy over the cross-country team. Inspired by Koichi Morishita and Young-Cho Hwang’s duel at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics I ran my first marathon in 1993, qualifying for Boston ’94 where Bill was kind enough to sign a star-struck 20-year-old me’s bib number at the expo. Three years later I moved to Japan for grad school, and through a long string of coincidences I came across a teenaged kid named Yuki Kawauchi down at my neighborhood track. I never imagined he’d become what he is, but right from the start there was just something different about him. After his 2:08:37 breakthrough at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon he called me up and asked me to help him get into races abroad. He’d finished 3rd on the brutal downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, and given how he’d run the hills in the last 6 km at Tokyo ’11 I thought he’d do well at Boston or New York. “I...

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