Men's 800 m national record holder Ko Ochiai, 18, a 3rd-year at Shiga Gakuen H.S., will go to ekiden powerhouse Komazawa University after his graduation in March. Ochiai won this year's National Championships 800 m in June, and at July's National High School Championships he ran a 1:44.80 NR to win for the second year in a row. His time there was almost 1 second under the old record of 1:45.75 set by Sho Kawamoto in 2014 and equalled by Hiroki Minamoto in 2021. In August he became the first Japanese athlete to make a World U20 Championships 800 m final, winning bronze. Hope are high that he will continue to lead Japanese middle distance into new territory.
Ochiai's immediate goal is to make the Tokyo World Championships next year. After coming back from the World U20 Championships he told reporters, "I want to become someone who can make the final and go for a medal, not someone who is just targeting making the team." Regarding the 1:44.50 qualifying standard he confidently said, "The time has gotten faster, but I'm still targeting it. I'll break it and be on the starting line at Worlds."
Last year Komazawa University won the Hakone Ekiden to complete a sweep of all three 2022-2023 major university ekidens. With 29 wins across all three races it is the winningest school in history. "Right now I want to focus on the 800 m and 1500 m," Ochiai said. "But I've watched the Hakone Ekiden on TV since I was little and even though it's longer distance I really respect and admire it."
Ochiai's greatest strength is his desire to improve. At Nationals in June he beat previous NR holder Kawamoto by over a second to win, but having missed the Paris Olympics qualifying standard of 1:44.70 he hit the track with his hand in frustration right after finishing. After scoring bronze at U20 Worlds he said, "My goal was to win, so only getting bronze is a bit disappointing. I'm happy to have gotten a medal, but I've still got a long way to go before I'm really internationally competitive." Always looking forward, Ochiai's surprising choice to go to a long distance specialty program will have a lot of people tracking his progress.
Ko Ochiai - Born 17 Aug. 2006 in Takashima, Shiga. 18 years old, 165 cm. Started running track at Imazu J.H.S. Entered Shiga Gakuen H.S. in 2022. As a 1st-year he ran the 3.0 km Second Stage at the National High School Ekiden. Won the National High School Championships 800 m as a 2nd-year. Won the April, 2024 U20 Asian Championships his first month as a 3rd-year. In June he won the National Championships. In July he won the National High School Championships for the second year in a row with a 1:44.80 NR. In August he won bronze at the World U20 Championships. His 1500 m PB is 3:47.56.
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translated by Brett Larner
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