Skip to main content

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.

© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

  Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...
1 comment
Read more

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...
Post a Comment
Read more