Sub-13:30 High Schoolers, 17 Teammates Sub-14 in One Race and More

Sub-13:30 High Schoolers, 17 Teammates Sub-14 in One Race and More - Weekend Track Roundup

The National Corporate Track and Field Championships in Gifu were the main track action this weekend, but there were also two big time trial meets in the greater Tokyo area. At the Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama Saturday, Charles Kamau Wanjiku (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) was right up there with the best in the corporate leagues, soloing a 27:29.56 to win the B-heat by over 40 seconds. Antipas Kibet (Komori Corp.) won what was technically the A-heat in 27:57.48, with the next three runners including Taisei Nakamura (Yakult) squeezing under 28 minutes, in Nakamura's case in 27:59.96.

Erika Tanoura (Sekisui Kagaku) won the women's 5000 m A-heat in 15:47.07, but there wasn't much difference from the B-heat where Momoa Yamada (Tamagawa Univ.) won in 15:50.92. The women's 3000 m was low-key, with Harumi Okamoto (Yamada Holdings) taking the A-heat in 9:10.92 and the next four runners all getting under 9:12.

The men's 1500 m saw one noteworthy performance by Japanese standards as A-heat winner Hayato Oguma (Tokyo Jitsugyo H.S.) ran 3:44.36, the 5th-fastest ever by a Japanese-born high schooler. Steepler Reimi Yoshimura (Cramer Japan TC) took the women's 1500 m in 4:25.31.

As usual Sunday at Nittai was dedicated to men's 5000 m, with a total of 17 heats on the program. In the A-heat, Edwin Kisalsak (Fujisan no Meisui) scored the win with a very decent 13:20.75 and the top six all going under 13:30. 6th among those was 12-grader Sota Orita (Suma Gakuen H.S.), whose 13:28.78 was the 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese high schooler and 5th on the U20 lists.

In the B-heat Yamato Hamaguchi (Saku Chosei H.S.) outkicked 10000 m NR holder Akira Aizawa (Asahi Kasei) for the win 13:38.40 to 13:39.25 in Aizawa's return to competition after injury. Hamaguchi's mark put him at #8 on the all-time high school list and #1 among 11th-graders but came up short of the U20 top 10.

Nearby at Aoyama Gakuin University the Kizuna Time Trials meet was dual between AGU and Soka University with a splash of high schoolers and miscellaneous others. The big result came in Heat 3 of the men's 5000 m, with Soka's Kamina Leakey and Riki Koike going 1-2 in 13:30.54 and 13:34.82. A graduate of Hamaguchi's school Saku Chosei H.S. in his first year at Soka, Koike's time landed him at #9 on the all-time U20 list. 17 runners from AGU went sub-14 in Heat 3, led by Kento Yamauchi in 13:35.04.

Asian Games Preview - Entries, Timetable and Live Results

Back in Japan for the first time in 32 years and representing 60% of the world's population, with more athletes competing across all sports than at the Olympics, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are already underway. Athletics competition starts tomorrow and runs through Tuesday the 29th. Some of the biggest names on the entry list include: Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (SRI) - men's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships gold and 2026 Diamond League champion Haruka Kitaguchi (JPN) - women's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships and 2024 Paris Olympics gold Birhanu Balew (BRN) - men's 5000 m/10000 m - 2026 Diamond League 5000 m champion Sanghyeok Woo (KOR) - men's high jump - 2025 Tokyo World Championships silver Hayato Katsuki (JPN) - men's marathon race walk - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Abderrahman Samba (QAT) - men's 400 mH - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Jiale Zhang (CHN) - women's hammer throw - 2025 Tokyo W...

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...

2 Athletes Provisionally Suspended After Positive Drug Tests at Asian Games

The International Testing Agency announced on Oct. 2 that provisional suspensions have been imposed on two athletes, Kazakhstan's Aiana Bolatbekkyzy in track and field, and Tajikistan's Issamjon Sharifov in tennis, after they tested positive for prohibited substances at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Aichi. Bolatbekkyzy, 19, tested positive for the steroid drostanolone in a sample collected during an in-competition test at the Games. A diuretic drug was found in the sample collected from Sharifov, 23. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/article/20261002-X4FJLT5MMZKFND6WXPOESAKETQ/ translated by Brett Larner

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