World University Games Day 3 Japanese Results

With Japanese men oddly absent from the 10000 m, the only Japanese athletes in action in finals on the third day of the 2025 FISU World University Games were in the men's 400 m and 400 mH. The chances for a medal looked good in the 400 mH, but Ryosuke Takahashi (Hosei Univ.) came up 0.15 short of bronze with a 49.60 for 4th after coming into the home straight in the lead. Teammate Shota Fuchigami (Waseda Univ.) was 6th in 50.45, with Turkey's Berke Akcam winning gold in 49.29. Kira Hirakawa (Toyo Univ.) had a rough one in the 400 m, finishing last in 46.68 over a second out of the medals after fading in the home straight. South African Lythe Tyresse Pillay turned in a season best 44.84 for gold.

In qualifying rounds, Miku Takino (Ritsumeikan Univ.) missed a spot in the women's 400 mH final, running 57.58 for 5th in SF1. Tatsuki Abe (Juntendo Univ.) led the men's 110 mH with a 13.61 (+0.2) to win Heat 1. Hayato Higuchi (Hosei Univ.) made it through on time in 13.80 (+0.5) for 3rd in Heat 3. Genta Iki (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) qualified for the semifinals in the men's 200 m, running 21.61 (+0.7) for 3rd in Heat 7. No issues either for Koki Fujihara (Toyo Univ.) in the men's long jump qualifying round, jumping 7.76 (+0.9) to advance to the final.

The FISU World University Games continue through Sunday.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Rui Aoki and Shunsuke Kuwata Making U.S. Debut at United Airlines NYC Half

When the National University Half Marathon was canceled in 2011 after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan 2 days before the race, JRN talked to the New York Road Runners about bringing 2 collegiate runners to the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon the next weekend as a show of support. It wasn't possible to pull it together in the immediate aftermath of the disasters, but a year later we brought 2 young 2nd-years from Hakone Ekiden CR breaker Toyo University , Kento Otsu and Yuta Shitara , who had been the top 2 Japanese collegiate finishers at the Ageo City Half Marathon in November before Hakone. Shitara ran 1:01:48, at the time the fastest-ever by a Japanese man on U.S. soil, with Otsu running a solid 1:03:15. Thanks to that great start the Ageo-NYC partnership became a regular thing, and except for the pandemic it's continued every year since, expanding this year to June's New York Mini 10 km when 2 runners from Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden runne...

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...

How it Happened

Ancient History I went to Wesleyan University, where the legend of four-time Boston Marathon champ and Wes alum Bill Rodgers hung heavy over the cross-country team. Inspired by Koichi Morishita and Young-Cho Hwang’s duel at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics I ran my first marathon in 1993, qualifying for Boston ’94 where Bill was kind enough to sign a star-struck 20-year-old me’s bib number at the expo. Three years later I moved to Japan for grad school, and through a long string of coincidences I came across a teenaged kid named Yuki Kawauchi down at my neighborhood track. I never imagined he’d become what he is, but right from the start there was just something different about him. After his 2:08:37 breakthrough at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon he called me up and asked me to help him get into races abroad. He’d finished 3rd on the brutal downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, and given how he’d run the hills in the last 6 km at Tokyo ’11 I thought he’d do well at Boston or New York. “I...

japan running news

Search This Blog