Wanjiru Silver, Yanagita Bronze - World University Games Day 1-2 Japanese Results

The 2025 FISU World University Games started Monday in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany. In the Games' first final, the women's 10000 m, Daito Bunka University's Sarah Wanjiru of Kenya shaved just over 6 seconds off her PB with a 31:41.80, but it wasn't enough for gold as Slovenian 5000 m and road 5 km and 10 km NR holder Klara Lukan dropped a 31:25.84 Games record and PB for the win. In the race for bronze Spain's Alicia Berzosa Martin outran Meijo University 1st-year Mei Hosomi by a second, 32:00.72 to 32:01.91. Ayaka Maeda (Kansai Univ.) and Wakana Hashimoto (Meijo Univ.) were far back in the field, Maeda running 33:13.83 for 15th and Hashimoto 33:49.84 for 19th. The 18-year-old Hosomi's time was good enough to crack the all-time Japanese U20 top 10 and put her 2nd in the world this year on the U20 lists.

In qualifying rounds on the opening day, Shota Fuchigami (Waseda Univ.) and Ryosuke Takahashi (Hosei Univ.) took the top 2 spots in the men's 400 mH heats, Fuchigami running 50.16 and Takahashi 50.20. Toyo University teammates Hiroki Yanagita and Riku Oishi both won their men's 100 m heats, Yanagita in 10.39 (-0.8) and Oishi in 10.40 (-1.3). The lone Japanese man in the 400 m, Toyo's Kira Hirakawa also made it through with a 46.55 for the top spot in Heat 1.

The only Japanese woman in the 100 m, Yume Okuno (Konan Univ.) took 2nd in Heat 2 in 11.82 (+0.1) to move on to the semifinals. Neither Japanese woman in the long jump made it through the qualifying round, Miu Kimura (Shikoku Univ.) 9 cm out of the top 12 at 6.03 m (-0.9) and Mizuki Otsu (Nippon Joshi Taiiku Univ.) jumping only 5.87 m (-0.8).

In the men's 100 m semifinals on Tuesday, Yanagita won SF1 in 10.25 (-0.7), with Oishi 2nd in Heat 2 in 10.39 (-0.2) behind Thailand's Puripol Boonson, fastest in the semis in 10.24 (-0.2). In the final the fast-starting Yanagita was run down by South African Bayanda Joy Walaza, gold medalist in 10.16 (09.7). Boonson came from behind to just edge Yanagita for silver, 10.22 to 10.23, with Oishi unable to build momentum from the first 2 rounds at 10.44 for 6th. Okuno didn't advance through the women's 100 m semifinals, 6th in SF2 in 11.99 (-0.8). Fuchigami and Takahashi had better luck in the men7s 400 mH semis, both clocking 49.95 to move on to the final, and likewise for Hirakawa in the men's 400 m semis with a 46.18 to make the final.

In Day 2 qualifying action, Miku Takino (Ritsumeikan Univ.) made the women's 400 mH hurdles semifinals, running 57.21 for 4th in Heat 3. Sota Haraguchi (Juntendo Univ.) and Shun Yamanaka (Kyoto Univ.) both cleared 2.13 m to make the men's high jump final. No luck for Japanese middle distance, though. In the men's 1500 m heats Hinata Maeda (Kantaiheiyo Univ.) ran 3:47.19 for 6th in Heat 2 and Kiyoto Ono (Juntendo Univ.) 3:47.27 for 6th in Heat 1, neither making the final cut of 12. Yuri Nishida (Ritsumeikan Univ.) didn't make it through the first round of the women's 800 m either, taking 6th in Heat 4 in 2:07.02.

The FISU World University Games continue through Sunday.

'Kobe 2024: Aitchison, Athmani Lead Record-Breaking Thursday'

https://www.paralympic.org/news/kobe-2024-para-athletics-world-championships-aitchison-athmani-lead-record-breaking-thursday Complete results and daily schedule from the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships are here .

Chesang Wins Osaka Women's Marathon in 2:19:31, Yada Drops 2:19:57 Debut NR

This year's Osaka International Women's Marathon was a race run with a high level of methodicalness, starting slower than the planned 3:19/km but ramping up until the lead pack was skimming around the 2:20:15-30 projected finish level. After hitting halfway in 1:10:13 with a group of 6, by 25 km only 4 were left up front, sub-2:19 runners Workenesh Edesa , Stella Chesang and Bedatu Hirpa , and the debuting Mikuni Yada , and when the last 2 pacers stepped off at 30 km it was Yada who went to the front. Despite never have raced longer than the 10.6 km Third Stage at November's Queens Ekiden where she had helped the Edion team score its first-ever national title, Yada was very, very impressive, fearlessly surging from 12 km and never letting up, even laughing and smiling to fans along the course. When she started sustaining a pace around 3:15/km the projected finish dropped under 2:20 and all the way down to 2:19:28 by 35 km, and even when all 3 of the more experienced ru...

Hirayama Breaks Osaka Half CR, Martinez Set Puerto Rican NR

The Osaka Half Marathon took another big step up the domestic half marathon rankings from a mass-participation race run alongside the Osaka International Women's Marathon to one of the country's top-tier races. In the women's race, the debuting Jecinta Nyokabi (Denso) went out fast, only to be run down by veteran Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon AC) by 10 km. Nyokabi faded to 6th in 1:10:41, but Yoshikawa pushed on to a PB 1:09:14 for the win. Rina Shimizu (Noritz), Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) and Makoto Tsuchiya (Ritsumeikan Univ.) all broke 70 minutes, Tsuchiya taking the Kansai Region collegiate title in 1:09:32 for 4th overall. Everyone in the top 10 who wasn't debuting ran a PB, a mark of how fast the day was even with cold and windy conditions. The men's race went out on sub-61 pace courtesy of Yudai Shimazu (GMO), then got a big injection of speed when Kyuma Yokota (Toyota Kyushu) took off close to 60-flat pace. Yokota opened a 10-second lead by 15 km, but over ...

japan running news

Search This Blog