17-Year-Old Ko Ochiai 1:44.80 NR to Win National High School Championships 800 m

After missing the men's 800 m national record by 0.07 at last month's National Championships, 17-year-old Ko Ochiai of Shiga Gakuen H.S. made history as the first Japanese man to break 1:45 with a 1:44.80 NR to win today's National High School Championships 800 m.

Ochiai got lucky when Seita Kikuchi (Morioka Daiyon H.S.) took it out fast, going through 200 m just under 25 seconds and hitting 400 m in 52. Ochiai went to the front a step past 400 m, but he got another big break when Felix Muthiani (Yamanashi Gakuin H.S.) surged past him just before 600 m. That forced him to keep working, and Ochiai pulled even again with 50 m to go.

Both went way under Ochiai's 1:45.82 high school record from Nationals last month, Ochiai cutting 0.95 off the senior national record in 1:44.80 and Muthiani, 19, next in an almost 4-second PB of 1:45.10. In an interesting article in mid-June, national champion Saku Chosei H.S. head coach Masaru Takamizawa speculated that the controversial decision to limit non-Japanese high school athletes to the shortest stage, 3.0 km, at the National High School Ekiden might have the side effect of raising the bar in middle distance on the track. Count this as a data point in Takamizawa's favor.

Also coming out hard after becoming the first Japanese woman to break 2:00 for 800 m with a 1:59.93 two weeks ago, Rin Kubo of Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. crushed the women's meet record with a 2:00.81 for the win by 6 seconds off a 59-second first lap. Because her 1:59.93 was run at a small local meet that was JAAF-certified but not registered to the World Athletics calendar, her 2:00.81 will count as her official PB, at least until she goes sub-2 again.

Complete results from the National High School Championships coming shortly.

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