Singh Breaks Indian 5000 m NR to Win Yogibo Athletics Challenge Cup

After two days of flight cancelations and delays that ended up with him arriving in Niigata 4.5 hours before the race, Indian men's 5000 m NR holder Gulveer Singh came through with a record-breaking run to win the 5000 m on the first day of the Yogibo Athletics Challenge Cup Continental Tour Bronze meet.

Set up as a shot at the 13:08.40 Japanese NR, the race went out with steady 63-second laps with pacing from 10-mile world best holder Benard Koech. After the pack settled out 2024 Komazawa University grad Mebuki Suzuki was at the front behind Koech with this year's Komazawa captain Kotaro Shinohara right with him. When a gap opened Singh moved up from 5th or 6th to go with them.

Koech stepped off at 4000 m leaving Suzuki to lead, Shinohara struggling to hang on and coming back twice after falling off. At the bell Singh went to the front, and with a 55-second last lap he held off Suzuki in the last 100 m to win in 13:11.82, 7 seconds under his old NR. Suzuki ran a PB 13:18.80 for all-time Japanese #9, with Shinohara running 13:15.70, the fastest-ever outdoor 5000 m by a Japanese-born collegiate runner and 10th-fastest ever by a Japanese man, for 3rd.

"I'm very happy," Singh told JRN post-race. "That was better than I was expecting." Disappointed at missing the Japanese record, Suzuki said, "It was OK. I'd give it about an 80%." Celebrating after finishing, Shinohara said, "That was great! Next up Izumo!"

The women's 5000 m was mostly a four-way battle between Hellen Ekarare, Mirriam Cherop, Tabitha Njeri Kamau and Caroline Kariba, Olympian Haruka Kokai the only Japanese woman to try going with them at 3:02-3:03/1000 m but dropping off after a few laps. Ekarare did most of the leading until Cherop made a jab with a move to the front after 3000 m that motivated the others to all take turns surging. But Ekarare had the close to pull away over the last 1000 m for the win in 15:08.51. Cherop was next in 15:13.56 and Njeri 3rd in 15:14.62, with Kokai hanging onto the top Japanese spot at 5th in 15:31.42.

Miriam Njeri of Sendai Ikuei H.S. won the U20 women's 3000 m by over 16 seconds in 9:07.82, with Saki Katagihara taking the 1500 m in 4:15.76 over Korean Yu Jin Kim. Nanako Matsumoto won the 400 m in 52.74. On the field, in her final competition Australia-resident brit Jade Lally won the discus throw for the third year in a row with a 59.77 m on her final attempt. In the absence of NR holder Sumire Hata, Maya Takeuchi won the long jump with a 6.11 m (-1.0) last-round jump, equalling leader Ria Kitada but surpassing her 2nd-best jump at 6.05 m (+0.3) to Kitada's 5.98 m (0.0).

Korean Jong Hak Park outran South Sudanese Olympian Abraham Guem by 0.08 to win the men's 1500 m in 3:41.99, with Ryoto Aoki 3rd in 3:42.34 for top Japanese. 400 m NR holder Kentaro Sato out ran Joseph Nakajima, Fuga Sato and Sri Lankan Kalinga Kumarage for the win in 45.40. Masateru Yugami won the men's discus throw at 58.46 m.

Complete results here. The Yogibo Athletics Challenge Cup continues Sunday, with the highlight being the 800 m featuring teenaged NR holders Rin Kubo and Ko Ochiai.

110 m Hurdles NR Holder Izumiya Jumps 8.14 m to Win National Corporate Championships Long Jump

The Japanese men's 110 mH national record holder at 13.04 and a semifinalist in the Paris Olympics 110 mH, Shunsuke Izumiya (Sumitomo Denko) turned in the biggest performance at this year's National Corporate Track and Field Championships. Doing his annual shot at the long jump at Corporate Nationals, Izumiya beat his 2022 best of 8.00 m and last year's winning mark of 8.10 m with a new PB of 8.14 m (+0.7) on his first and only successful attempt. That was good enough to take the win over Hibiki Tsuha by 11 cm and moved Izumiya up to all-time Japanese #10 in the long jump. NR holder Shotaro Shiroyama (Zenrin) was 3rd with a first attempt jump of 7.81 m (+0.5). Other standout performances: Shoto Uno (Orico) got into the sub-10.1 club with a 10.09 (+1.4) win in the men's 100 m final. 400 m specialists Fuga Sato (Mizuno) and Kentaro Sato (Fujitsu) stepped down to the 200 m, beating Uno to go 1-2 in 20.67 (+0.4) and 20.79 with Uno 3rd in 20.90. Nanako Matsumoto (T

Juntendo University Legendary Coach Sawaki Steps Down Amid Abuse Allegations After 4 Athletes Taken to Hospital - "This is the Way We've Always Done It"

Juntendo University is one of the true powers of the Hakone Ekiden, with 11 wins in 65 appearances and producing current 3000 mSC and 10000 m national record holders Ryuji Miura and Kazuya Shiojiri . But an investigation by the Weekly Shincho gossip rag has uncovered students' accusations of abuse and power harassment against a famed honorary head coach. The university administration has acknowledged that student athletes were put in danger and indicated that the coach in question would step away from any coaching duties. The accused man is Keisuke Sawaki , 80, former head coach of the Juntendo track and field team and currently serving as a specially-appointed professor and honorary head coach at the university. A Juntendo alumnus and two-time Olympian who competed in long distance track events at both the 1968 Mexico City and 1972 Munich Olympics, as head coach Sawaki led Juntendo to 9 of its 11 Hakone victories. Those successes led to him serving at one point as executive dir

Police Arrest 20-Year-Old Man Charged With Assaulting Female Runner at Popular Tokyo Running Spot

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a female runner along the banks of the Tama River in Ota Ward, Tokyo. "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go for a walk and move my body a bit," the man told police. Local resident Hirai Muroyama , 20, of no known occupation, was arrested on charges of sexual assault. He is accused of acts including grabbing the breasts of a woman in her 20s at around 10 p.m. on May 31 along the banks of the Tama River. According to police, the woman was taking a break in her run when Muroyama approached her silently from behind and grabbed her breasts before running away. Under police interrogation Muroyama told investigators, "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go out for a walk and move my body. I'd had a few drinks and was feeling pretty hype. She was totally my type." source article: https://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newsey

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