Kanto Regionals Day Three Highlights

Day 3 of the 103rd Kanto Regionals meet at Tokyo's National Stadium was mostly one of qualifying rounds on the track, the only finals being the D1 and D2 men's 10000 m race walks. Usual race walking power Toyo University was absent from the D1 podium, 3rd yr., Misaki Kondo (Meiji Univ.) clocking a PB 40:32.85 for the win with 2nd and 3rd-placers Riku Oie (Juntendo Univ.) and Yushi Nakajima (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) within 12 seconds of him, both also PBing. 4th-yr Chisato Hasegawa took the D2 title in 41:34.39.

Qualifying rounds in the men's 3000 mSC didn't see many surprises, with D1 favorites Boniface Mutech (Ryutsu Keizai Univ.) and So Yamasaki (Juntendo Univ.) both getting through to the final and D2 win contenders Oju Tsujimoto (Teikyo Univ.) and Kai Ogata (Kanto Gakuin Univ.) doing the same.

Kanto Regionals wrap up Sunday with the men's half marathon in the morning and the 3000 m SC, 5000 m and other finals in the afternoon.

103rd Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships

Day Three Highlights

National Stadium, Tokyo, 11 May 2024

complete results

D1 Men's 10000 m RW Final

1. Misaki Kondo (3rd yr., Meiji Univ.) - 40:32.85 - PB

2. Riku Oie (3rd yr., Juntendo Univ.) - 40:39.78 - PB

3. Yushi Nakajima (2nd yr., Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 40:44.57 - PB

D2 Men's 10000 m RW Final

1. Chisato Hasegawa (4th yr., Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 41:34.39

2. Taisei Yoshizako (2nd yr., Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 41:53.38

3. Mitowa Makino (4th yr., Rikkyo Univ.) - 43:21.68

D2/D3 Men's High Jump Final

1. Tsuguru Miyata (1st yr., Nihon Univ. Grad School) - 2.06 m

2. Kaishi Maruono (4th yr., Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 2.03 m

3. Tatsuki Yamamoto (1st yr., Tokai Univ. Grad School) - 2.03 m

D1 Women's Pole Vault Final

1. Mitsuki Kobayashi (2nd yr., Nittai Univ.) - 4.00 m

2. Michiko Takahashi (4th yr., Tokyo Joshi Taiiku Univ.) - 3.90 m

3. Riho Okada (1st yr., Nittai Univ.) - 3.80 m

D1 Men's Long Jump Final

1. Ryo Saito (4th yr., Juntendo Univ.) - 7.54 m (+0.1) - PB

2. Ryutaro Tanaka (4th yr., Juntendo Univ.) - 7.53 m (+1.0)

3. Junpei Takisawa (3rd yr., Nihon Univ.) - 7.49 m (-0.2)

D2/D3 Men's Shot Put Final

1. Shoma Ishizaka (2nd yr., Juntendo Univ. Grad School) - 14.95 m

2. Kei Sato (2nd yr., Tokai Univ. Grad School) - 14.94 m

3. Ryu Inoue (4th yr., Toin Univ.) - 14.88 m

D1 Men's Hammer Throw Final

1. Shoma Anan (3rd yr., Juntendo Univ.) - 65.60 m

2. Tokiya Yamaguchi (2nd yr., Tsukuba Univ.) - 63.56 m - PB

3. Rikiya Sakoda (4th yr., Nihon Univ.) - 61.60 m

D1 Men's Javelin Throw Final

1. Hiroya Kiyokawa (3rd yr., Tokai Univ.) - 76.97 m

2. Ryusei Nakamura (4th yr., Kokushikan Univ.) - 74.57 m

3. Kota Yamada (3rd yr., Tokai Univ.) - 70.79 m - PB

D2/D3 Men's Javelin Throw Final

1. Genki Hirota (2nd yr., Tsukuba Univ. Grad School) - 68.02 m

2. Ibuki Kato (3rd yr., Kokushikan Univ.) - 63.30 m - PB

3. Shugo Araoka (2nd yr., Tsukuba Univ. Grad School) - 63.17 m - PB

Arao Becomes 1st Man in 40 Years to Score Back-to-Back Ome Road Race Wins

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

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Osaka Marathon Preview

The Osaka Marathon is Sunday, one of Japan's biggest mass-participation races and the next stop on the calendar for its elite marathoners hoping to qualify for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials in the fall of 2027. Last year it snowed mid-race, but this year is looking warmer than ideal given the season, with sunny skies, almost no wind, and temps forecast to be 11˚ at the start and rising to 19˚ by the time the winners are finishing. NHK is broadcasting Osaka with a heavy emphasis on the men's race, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it from overseas. There's also official streaming on Youtube starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, although it doesn't look like it's the same as what NHK will be showing. Given Osaka's history at the elite level as the continuation of the men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the women's field is small relative to the men's, just enough to tick World Athletics' label requirements and with almost no do...

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