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AGU's Hara Named Special Advisor to Uniqlo Women's Team

On May 13 the Uniqlo women's corporate team announced that it had appointed Aoyama Gakuin University head coach Susumu Hara as special advisor. Hara became head coach at AGU in 2004, turning from a team that had been absent from the Hakone Ekiden for decades into a winning program by 2015. In the 11 editions since its first win in 2015, AGU has won Hakone 8 times under Hara's leadership. In 2019 he became a professor in AGU's Department of Global Studies, and in 2024 he was named chair of the KGRR collegiate federation's ekiden committee.

Along with Hara, Uniqlo announced that Ann Quinn, known for her success with wheelchair tennis star and People's Honor Award recipient Shingo Kunieda, has been hired as mental coach for the women's team.

The Uniqlo women's team was founded in 1997. It won last October's Princess Ekiden, going on to finish 9th at the Queens Ekiden national championships in November. Shigeo Hasegawa became head coach in April this year, with AGU alumnus Yuta Kanbayashi taking on the role of team director.

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