Weekend Track Roundup

The two-day Hyogo Relay Carnival was the biggest meet of the weekend on the Japanese calendar. Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) kicked off her 2nd academic year with a 31:48.11 win in the GP women's 10000 m, beating Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) by 4 seconds. Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) had a tighter win in the GP men's 10000 m, 27:58.01 to 27:58.35 over Jonson Mugeni (Asia Univ.). Kenyans also dominated the men's B and C-heats, Nelson Mandela (Obirin Univ.) taking the B-heat by 0.06 over Stephen Muthini (Soka Univ.) in 28:05.37 and Patrick Wambui (NTT Nishi Nihon) the C-heat in 28:14.83. Top Japanese marks across the four races were 32:24.50 by Sora Shinozakura (Panasonic), 28:11.30 by Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon), 28:41.68 by Masashi Nonaka (Toyota), and 28:42.38 by former Rikkyo University head coach Yuichiro Ueno (Hiramatsu Byoin).

The GP women's 3000 mSC might have been the best race of the meet, both Miu Saito (Nittai Univ.) and Manami Nishiyama (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) going under the old meet record in 9:47.76 and 9:49.77, and previous MR holder Reimi Yoshimura (Cramer Japan TC) also getting under 10 minutes in 9:59.14 for 3rd. Four of the top five men in the GP 3000 mSC ran PBs, World XC relay team member Yutaro Niinae (Aisan Kogyo) winning in 8:33.43, Shintaro Nakazono (SID Group) 2nd in 8:34.76, and Asahi Kuroda (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) 3rd in 8:35.10.

NR holder Nozomi Tanaka (New Balance) duly set a MR 4:07.79 to win the GP women's 1500 m by over 3 seconds. The GP men's 800 m was unremarkable, Kaishi Kitamura taking the win in 1:48.29. Mitsu Ozaki (Sysmex) won the non-GP women's 5000 m in 15:59.91 in a photo finish with Rina Shimizu (North), who clocked in at 15:59.92. Only a high school boys' 5000 m was on the menu for men, with local Koki Niizuma (Nishiwaki Kogyo) 1st in 14:25.87.

The Tokai University Time Trials meet also had some quality marks, led by Hibiki Yoshida (Soka Univ.) with a 28:12.82 PB for the win in the men's 10000 m A-heat. A trio of men from Toyo University took the next three spots, Mashu Nishimura 2nd in 28:45.98, Ryota Kobayashi 3rd in 28:49.53, and former H.S. 5000 m NR setter Kosuke Ishida continuing his comeback with a 28:49.61 for 4th. Patrick Kamau (Jobu Univ.) took the B-heat in 29:51.22. Hayato Sano (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) ran a decent 3:48.95 to win the men's 1500 m A-heat.

The Kokushikan University Time Trials meet had a good men's 10000 m, where Koei Yahara (Hosei Univ.) got the win in 29:00.29 over Goki Higashihara (Meiji Univ.), 2nd in 29:00.94.

Overseas, four Japanese athletes were in action at the Xiamen Diamond League meet. Shunsuke Izumiya was 3rd in the men's 110 mH with a 13.17 -0.3 m/s SB Tomohiro Shinno was 4th in the men's high jump, clearing 2.24 m on his 2nd attempt but missing 2.27 m. Ryo Wada was 5th in the men's 100 m in 10.31 -0.6 m/s, former NR holder Yoshihide Kiryu 7th in 10.38.

10000 m National Championships Preview

Less than five months since the 2023 10000 m National Championships went down at the 2021 Olympic stadium in Tokyo, the 2024 edition happens Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium, with NHK broadcasting it live starting at 19:25 local time. Doubling up on Nationals like this lets Japanese athletes double dip on placing points to try to get into the Paris Olympics on rankings. But between the number of people who've hit the 30:40.00 women's standard and 27:00.00 men's standard and the lopsided eight spots given away to top placers at World XC, there are only four women's spots and three men's available via rankings. Of those, three of the four women's spots and two of the three men's spots are currently occupied by top placers at December's 2023 Nationals, Ririka Hironaka , Haruka Kokai and Rino Goshima for women and Ren Tazawa and Tomoki Ota for men. The 2023 Nationals did get close to the standards, with Hironaka leading the top four women under

Chesang and Kipkoech Win Hot Gifu Half

Hot conditions held back fast times at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon Sunday, where Ugandan Stella Chesang and Kenya Hillary Kipkoech took the top spots over last year's winners Dolphine Nyaboke Omare and Amos Kurgat . In the women's race Chesang, Omare and Kenyan-born Bahraini Eunice Chebichii Chumba went out as a trio, Japan-based Hellen Ekarare with them initially but eventually dropping out. After a 15:39 opening 5 km Chumba started to slip off, and by 15 km Chesang was on her own. Chesang won in 1:07:59, solid given the conditions, with Omare 2nd in 1:08:31 and Chumba 3rd in 1:09:10. Rinka Hida was the first Japanese woman, 5th overall in 1:12:06 behind Australian Genevieve Gregson . A lead men's pack of 11 went through 5 km in 14:31, but by 10 km it was down to Kipkoech, Kurgat, , Timothy Kiplagat , Ugandan Stephen Kissa and Japan-based Kenyans Patrick Mathenge Wambui and Anthony Maina . At 15 km in 43:40 only Kurgat and Kipkoech were left, and over the last 5

Drury and Mashiko Lead Four Japanese Golds - U20 Asian Championships Day 4

The closing day of the Dubai U20 Asian Athletics Championships saw Japan go out big, with four gold medals led by dominant runs by Sherry Drury (Tsuyama H.S.) and Yota Mashiko (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.). Making her international debut, the 16-year-old Drury led start to finish in the women's 1500 m final, grinding down the rest of the field and putting over 4 seconds on runner-up Sandilea Vinod of India over the last 300 m to win in 4:21.41. Drury's splits: 1:11-2:24-(3:19)-3:35-4:21. There's still a long way for Drury to go, but in terms of form and confidence this was the best she has looked since her legendary breakthrough CR at last year's National Women's Ekiden, and you could see more than a glimmer of what everyone is hoping is really there. Mashiko was even more dominant in the men's 3000 m. Coming out on the front end of some pushing and shoving in the first 50 m, Mashiko led the entire way. By 300 m he had a measurable gap that never got smaller, and af

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