Skip to main content

Former Sendai Ikuei H.S. Coach Junichi Seino Named Teikyo Teika University Women's Head Coach

On Feb. 21 Teikyo Teika University announced that former Sendai Ikuei H.S. head coach and Juntendo University alum Junichi Seino, 38, will take over as the new head coach of its women's ekiden team starting Mar. 1.

As an athlete Seino was a member of Sendai Ikuei's winning team at the 2001 National High School Ekiden during his second year, and of Juntendo's winning team at the 2007 Hakone Ekiden his fourth year there. After graduating from Juntendo he served as head coach at Sendai Ikuei from 2008 to 20012, then as assistant coach at the Sekisui Kagaku women's corporate team from 2014 to 2018. Following that he worked in sales for home builder Sekisui Heim.

With a proven record of achievement as a coach and athlete and business experience outside athletics, Teikyo Teika felt that Seino was the ideal choice to lead its women's ekiden team, launched in 2018, to its first National University Women's Ekiden appearance. Located in Adachi ward, Tokyo, the school's campus features a 400 m track and team dormitory and is situated near the Arakawa river, making daily running easy. "It's an excellent training environment," Seino commented. "I look forward to working together with the athletes to make the National University Women's Ekiden as quickly as we can."

Seino ran the downhill Sixth Stage for Juntendo at the 2007 Hakone Ekiden, the team's last win. His teammates that year included famed uphill Fifth Stage star Masato Imai (Toyota Kyushu) and current Juntendo head coach Shunsuke Nagato. "Imai is still competing and has qualified for the MGC Race Olympic marathon trials this fall," Seino said. "Nagato is doing great work as a coach too. As head coach at Teikyo Teika I want to match their success."

Junichi Seino - Born Oct. 11, 1984 in Zhao, Miyagi. 38 years old. Ran the National High School Ekiden all three years at Sendai Ikuei H.S., placing 3rd on the Seventh Stage as a 1st-year, 4th on the Third Stage as a 2nd-year, and 5th on the Fourth Stage as a 3rd-year. The team finished 2nd, 1st, and 6th those years. Entered Juntendo in 2003, running the Hakone Ekiden three times and placing 17th on the Fourth Stage as a 2nd-year, 10th on the Tenth Stage as a 3rd-year, and 8th on the downhill Sixth Stage as a 4th-year when Juntendo won the overall title.

source article:
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Most-Read This Week

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...