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2:06:26 Marathoner Hijikata Leaves National Champ Honda for Asahi Kasei



On Sept. 1, New Year Ekiden national champion Honda announced that Hidekazu Hijikata, the 5th-fastest Japanese marathoner ever with a best of 2:06:26, has left its team. Following his departure, Hijikata will transfer to the Asahi Kasei team, 3rd at the New Year Ekiden.

Hijikata was a successful ekiden runner at Koku Gakuin University, running a 2:09:50 marathon debut at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon while still a student there. After joining Honda, he ran a massive 2:06:26 PB at the 2021 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon. At the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden this year he anchored Honda to its first-ever national title. Following up with a 2:08:02 at the Tokyo Marathon in March, he secured his place at the September, 2023 MGC Race Olympic marathon trials.

In a statement Hijikata said, "Thanks to everyone who has shown me support the last two and a half years. I'll always be proud of having run for Honda, for having trained with their fantastic coaching staff, and for having gotten to run next to teammates who were some of the best in Japan. My team is changing but what I do isn't, so I hope you won't forget the name Hidekazu Hijikata."

2018 men's 5000 m national champion Hazuma Hattori also announced that he was leaving the Toenec team for NTT Nishi Nihon, while Shunsuke Imanishi announced a transfer from Toyota Kyushu to SG Holdings. Hattori and Imanishi were previously teammates at Toyo University.

Translator's note: Transfers of this kind have become more common in the last two years since the corporate federation relaxed its regulations governing transfers in response to an antitrust investigation by the Japan Fair Trade Commission. The relaxation of rules increased athletes' control over their own careers but opened the door for wealthier teams like Asahi Kasei to cherry pick talent from smaller teams like Toenec, potentially making it impossible for the bottom tier of teams to survive.

source article:
translated by Brett Larner

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