Skip to main content

Aoki and Ogawa Make Top 5 at Zevenheuvelenloop


A group of Japanese university runners competed in the Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km road race in the Netherlands on Nov. 17. Every year a group of students is selected to compete based on their results at the National University Half Marathon and National University Track and Field Championships 10000 m.

Having won both the Izumo Ekiden and National University Ekiden this season, Koku Gakuin University was out in force in the men's race too. Rui Aoki was part of a 5-way sprint finish for 2nd behind Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo's 40:42 world best, taking 4th in 43:23, the best-ever Japanese men's performance at the race.

Aoki won this year's National University Half Marathon in 1:02:06. He was 3rd on the First Stage at October's Izumo Ekiden and 7th on the Second Stage at the National University Ekiden, playing a key role in KGU's wins at both. His teammate Hikaru Tsujihara was 10th in 43:55, having handled the Third Stage at both Izumo and Nationals. Hinata Shirakawa (Chuo Univ.) was 26th in 44:52, and Keigo Amimoto (Toyo Univ.) 47th in 46:51.

National University 10000 m winner Haruka Ogawa (Rikkyo Univ.) was 5th in the women's race in 49:36. Mariya Noda (Daito Bunka Univ.) was 8th in 49:55, Ayaka Maeda (Kansai Univ.) 9th in 49:58, and Saki Harada (Meijo Univ.) 20th in 20:52. Competing independently of the official university group, Nanase Tanimoto (Meijo Univ.) was 6th in 49:38 and Nanaka Yonezawa (Meijo Univ.) 13th in 50:39.

Also competing abroad, collegiate women's 10000 m record holder Seira Fuwa (Takushoku Univ.) ran in a 10 km road race held on the runway at Hong Kong International Airport Sunday alongside 2017 World XC bronze medalist Lilian Kasait Rengeruk and last year's African 10000 m champion Janeth Chepngetich. Fuwa ran 35:05 for 9th.

Fuwa's track 10000 m PB of 30:45.21 is the collegiate record and ranks her at all-time Japanese #3. Since setting that time at the end of 2021 she has suffered serial injuries, but at last month's National University Women's Ekiden she was 7th on the Fifth Stage, helping Takushoku made the podium and guarantee itself a place at next year's Nationals.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Entry Roster Sizes Increased from 14 to 16

Hakone Ekiden organizers KGRR have announced details for the qualifying half marathon for next year's 103rd Hakone Ekiden. The Yosenkai qualifying race will be held Oct. 17 in Tachikawa, Tokyo. The combined times of the 10 fastest finishers from each participating team will be used for team scoring, with the 10 fastest teams going on the the main event next January and top-placing individuals from teams that do not qualify being names to the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team. One change from previous years is that the number of runners each school can enter has been increased from 14 to 16. Teams will still only be allowed to have from 10 to 12 athletes on the starting line, but the move gives coaches greater flexibility in making the final decision on their starting rosters. No changes have been made to the qualifying times of 34:00 for 10000 m or 1:13:00 for the half marathon, and the new earlier starting time of 8:30 a.m. introduced last year in an effort to mitigate ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox  for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...
82 comments
Read more

Japan's Team for Nagoya Asian Games

The JOC announced the full lineups for the men's and women's teams for September's Nagoya Asian Games . Being hosted in Japan the Asian Games are a pretty big deal, and it's pretty close to the maximum of 2 athletes per event. The men's and women's triple jump, the women's 400 m and the women's discus throw only have 1 athlete on the Japanese team, and it's a big FU to the shot putters apparently as nobody was named to either the men's or women's teams even though people ranked lower in the World Athletics Asian rankings than top JPN shot putters Daichi Morishita and Chiharu Saka did make the team in other events. But, let's focus on what it is, not what it isn't. Going off this week's Asian rankings 8 men and 5 women are ranked #1 in their event, with a total of 19 men and 14 women ranked in the top 3. Factor in a limit of 2 per nationality and the relays and Japan's chances of scoring a great medal haul are looking good. M...
1 comment
Read more