Nagano Higashi Girls Lead Start to Finish to Win National High School Ekiden

2022 National High School Ekiden girls' champion Nagano Higashi H.S. was back in force after a 5th-place finish last year, leading start to finish to win this year's national title Sunday in Kyoto. Lead runner Airi Mashiba kicked it off with a 19:30 stage win on the 6.0 km opening leg, something that head coach Fumio Yokouchi said later that he hadn't been expecting. That ended up being Nagano Higashi's only individual stage win in the 5-leg, 21.0975 km race, but the rest of its team ran well enough to hold a lead that was never less than 11 seconds but never more than 21.

Last year's 4th-placer Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. spent most of the race in 2nd, but over the second half of the race Sendai Ikuei H.S., 2nd last year by just 1 second, came from further back to run Kunei down on the anchor stage thanks in big part to a critical stage win on the 4th leg by Tsubomi Tezuka that put anchor Aoi Hosokawa in position to catch Kunei's Mizuki Oda. Nagano Higashi won in 1:07:27, 1 second faster than Kamimura Gakuen H.S. did in winning the 2023 title, with Sendai Ikuei 2nd in 1:07:45 and Kunei Joshi Gakuin 3rd in 1:08:05.

A major rule change this year barred non-Japanese athletes from running anything except one of the two 3.0 km legs, which meant the CR on the longer stages were all out of reach. The Third Stage saw a new CR of 9:14 by Lucy Nduta of 9th-place Aomori Yamada H.S. as a result, with 2nd and 3rd placers Rose Wangui (Sera H.S.) and Margaret Muthoni (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) also under the old CR of 9:21. Despite Muthoni's efforts, last year's national champ Kamimura Gakuen was only 5th in 1:08:41. 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo (Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S.) came up short of the fastest time ever by a Japanese-born runner on the 4.0975 km Second Stage but still managing to take the stage win in 12:47. Higashi Osaka Keiai was 6th in 1:08:42.

36th National High School Girls Ekiden

Kyoto, 22 Dec. 2024

58 teams, 5 legs, 21.0975 km

complete results

Top Individual Stage Results

First Stage (6.0 km) - Airi Mashiba (Nagano Higashi H.S.) - 19:30

Second Stage (4.0975 km) - Rin Kubo (Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S.) - 12:47

Third Stage (3.0 km) - Lucy Nduta (Aoyama Yamada H.S.) - 9:14 - CR

Fourth Stage (3.0 km) - Tsubomi Tezuka (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 9:10

Fifth Stage (5.0 km) - Momoka Onishi (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 15:46

Top Team Results

1. Nagano Higashi H.S. - 1:07:27

2. Sendai Ikuei H.S. - 1:07:45

3. Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. - 1:08:05

4. Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. - 1:08:32

5. Kamimura Gakuen H.S. - 1:08:41

6. Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. - 1:08:42

7. Chikushi Joshi Gakuen H.S. - 1:08:45

8. Gingawa Gakuin H.S. - 1:09:19

9. Aoyama Yamada H.S. - 1:09:36

10. Saitama Sakae H.S. - 1:10:03

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

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 ...

Nomura and Odagiri Go 3-4 at Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km

2010 Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km Nijmegen, Netherlands, 11/21/10 Women click here for complete women's results 1. Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia) - 47:53 2. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 48:07 3. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.) - 49:43 4. Aki Odagiri (Meijo Univ.) - 51:37 5. Benita Willis (Australia) - 51:51 Men click here for complete men's results 1. Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) - 41:13 - WR 2. Abera Kuma (Ethiopia) - 42:01 3. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopia) - 42:01 4. Abraham Kiplimo (Uganda) - 43:03 5. Berhanu Delale (Ethiopia) - 43:08 ----- 14. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 45:31

japan running news

Search This Blog