Teams competing in the New Year Ekiden are restricted to fielding one non-Japanese athlete, and since 2009 foreign athletes have been restricted to running the event's shortest stage, the so-called "International Stage." Until 2023 that was the race's 2nd leg, but since 2024 it has been on its 7.6 km 4th stage.
The federation had already announced the introduction of a seeded bracket like other major ekidens to improve the competition by creating deeper racing for place, not just for the lead, over the 2nd half of the race. Teams will now be able to choose whether to position their non-Japanese athletes on the 4th or 6th legs, increasing the opportunities for Japanese athletes to actually compete against top-tier international talent and improve their skills.
Taking into account the new choice of legs for international athletes, the 6th stage will be shortened 2 km to 9.4 km, with the anchor stage lengthened 2 km to 17.6 km. Conventional wisdom says that in ekiden racing it is an advantageous to stay near the front of the pack. More attention will now be focused on each team's strategy, with the decision of placing their foreign athlete on the 4th or 6th leg becoming a crucial element of the plan.
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translated by Brett Larner
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