Skip to main content

Mori Leads 3 Under Osako's 3000 m NR - Weekend Track Roundup


It was a pale shadow of the results at the Keqiao Diamond League meet a day earlier, where Rachid Muratake was the only Japanese athlete in action at 3rd in 13.18 (+0.1) in the men's 110 mH, but the men's 3000 m at Sunday's Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo turned out to be the race of the meet. Collegiate 5000 m, 10000 m and half marathon record holder Richard Etir (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) did pacing duty through 2000 m in 2:33 and 5:07, almost dead-even with Suguru Osako's 2014-era NR of 7:40.09. When Etir stepped off Yu Shibata (Josai Univ.) stepped up as the surprise leader, pushing hard to keep the NR in range and dropping everyone except corporate leaguers Ryuto Igawa (Asahi Kasei) and Nagiya Mori (Honda).

Both had the wheels to run Shibata down over the last 200 m, and Mori had the honor of becoming the first Japanese man under 7:40, winning in a new NR of 7:38.98. Igawa and Shibata both got there too, Igawa 2nd in 7:39.36 and Shibata 3rd in 7:39.51, the fastest-ever by a Japanese-born collegiate runner.

That was the only Japanese national record in Tokyo, but there were 2 other meet records:
  • Yemi Mary John (Great Britain) turned in a meet record in the women's 400 m with a 49.85 for the win, the 5th-fastest time in the world so far this year.
  • Janet Jepkoech (Kenya) led things off with a 2:55 first 1000 m in the women's 3000 m, then came back with a brilliant last 400 m to win by over 8 seconds in a 8:39.24 MR.
Other noteworthy performances:
  • Off a slow start, Noah Lyles (U.S.A.) came back to win the men's 100 m final in a 9.95 (+0.6) SB.
  • Rai Benjamin (U.S.A.) ran a 44.69 SB to win the men's 400 m.
  • Despite NR-level pacing from Atsuki Urushibara (Toenec), nobody in the men's 1500 m went with him. Kazuto Iizawa (Sumitomo Denko) won what ended up being a dense last lap for 1st in 3:37.69, with the top 4 all under 3:39 and the top 10 clearing 3:40. With nobody having come close to the JAAF's standards for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games team this pretty much sets up next month's National Championships to have to be fast.
  • Rhema Otabor (Bahamas) won the women's javelin throw in 61.57 m, but the main story there was the return of NR holder Haruka Kitaguchi (JAL), 5th in 60.36 m in her first competition since last year's Tokyo World Championships and first after a coaching change. Momone Ueda (Zenrin) and Marina Saito (Suzuki) both better Kitaguchi, Ueda 2nd overall at 61.40 m and Saito 4th at 60.45 m. Only 2 athletes will be named to the Asian Games team.
  • Jakub Vadlejch (Czech Republic) threw a big 85.24 m on his 2nd attempt in the men's javelin, enough for the win and 4th-best in the world this year.
  • Yuki Hashioka (Fujitsu) turned in the 7th-best jump of his career and best since 2024 to win the men's long jump in 8.22 m (+1.9).
  • The men's high jump was a bit of a weird one, with Sanghyeok Woo (South Korea9, Yuan Reath (Australia) and Tokyo World Championships team member Yuto Seko (Yamada Holdings) all failing to clear the opening height of 2.15 m and both So Shibuya (Team Saru Tamashi) and Hirokazu Sakai (Senko) out jumping higher-ranked domestic competition Tomohiro Shinno (Kraftia) and Naoto Hasegawa (Niigata Albirex) to go 1st and 3rd at only 2.24 m.
Alongside the GGP meet, corporate league regional championship meets were happening in 3 regions. At the East Japan Region Corporate Championships in Yamagata:
  • Tomoya Karasawa (HNMJ) set a 5.66 m MR and PB to win the men's pole vault, putting him at all-time Japanese #8.
  • The top 3 in the women's 100 m final, Masumi Aoki (77 Ginko), Yuna Miura (Cerespo) and Amika Miyazaki (GK Line) broke the MR, Aoki getting the win in 11.42 (+1.5), Miura next in 11.47 and Miyazaki 3rd in 11.53.
  • Janet Nyiva (Panasonic) set a 31:04.03 MR in the women's 10000 m, with 2nd-placer Dolphine Omare (Uniqlo) also under the old record in 31:05.52. Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) took the 5000 m in 15:29.28.
  • Shu Muraoka (NSD) set a 12.94 (+1.9) MR in the women's 100 mH, Rei Honda (MSK) under the old record too in 13.04 for 2nd.
  • Nagisa Takahashi (Senko) and Yuzuki Ishioka (Nihon Joshi Taiiku Univ. Staff) likewise both broke the women's high jump MR dating back to 1997, Takahashi winning at 1.85 m and Ishioka 2nd at 1.85 m but taking one more attempt to clear it.
  • Maki Saito (Taihei Dengyo) broke the even older women's discus throw MR from 1994, throwing 55.52 m on her 5th attempt.
  • The women's javelin throw MR fell too, with Aoi Murakami (For-A) turning in a 55.87 m opening throw that ended up being enough for the win.
  • Nao Kurihara (M&ABP) had a good one in the men's 1500 m, winning in 3:40.88 just 0.01 off the MR.
  • Richard Chepsergon (Sunbelx) won the men's 5000 m by 15 seconds in 13:24.53, with Richard Kimunyan (Logisteed) holding off Boniface Mulwa (ND Software) by 0.40 to win the 10000 m in 28:12.16.
  • NR holder Naoto Tobe (JAL) won the men's high jump with a 2.16 m SB.
  • Teresiah Muthoni (Daiso) took almost 4 seconds off the women's 1500 m MR with a win by nearly 30 seconds in 4:07.23. Muthoni also won the 3000 m by 35 seconds, well off the MR but getting the win in 8:59.34.
  • Chika Hirata (USK) tied the women's pole vault MR at 3.80 m.
  • The MJM men set a 4x100 m MR of 41.01.
  • Victor Kipkirui (Chudenko) won the men's 5000 m in 13:43.22.
  • Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) won the women's 10000 m in 32:46.69.
  • Hyoga Watanabe (Niigata Fukushi Iryo Univ.) broke the men's shot put MR at 17.92 m.
  • ALSOK Niigata set a men's 4x100 m MR of 41.18.
  • 2:08:28 marathoner Daisuke Hosomori (YKK) won the men's 10000 m in 29:26.49.
© 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
I have said it before: I have no idea if it's just his form but it's unbelievable how long Mori can keep going when it seems he is about to implode. Lots of heart in that guy. That said, I am surprised to see Osako's record finally being beaten by him and not by a Miura (still baffling how a 8.03 guy on the SC isn't the NR holder) a Keita Sato or one of those guys. Credit where is due, Mori is having consistent results over the past year and a half, shows improvement (despite some limitations in my opinion and I'm not saying it in a negative way) and it's defintely fun to watch. Other very good results overall, Igawa and company. Well done. Now the 13 minutes in the 5k has to go.
May 20, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Brett Larner said…
Shibata was the big revelation in this one for me. Hope to see more from him over the next few years. I have the feeling Mori's record won't last long, whoever breaks it next, including him.
May 22, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Japan's Team Performance at World U20 Championships

There wasn't much surprise in the events where Japan did well at the Oregon World U20 Championships , with medals in the men's 110 mH, 400 mH and 3000 m, and top 5 finishes in the women's and men's 5000 m race walks, men's 4x100 m relay, men's pole vault and long jump, men's 200 m, women's 800 m and 3000 m, and women's javelin throw. Jeremy Koga ran a 12.95 (+0.3) Asian U20 AR in the men's 110 mH semifinals, then came back in the final with a 12.97 (+0.7) in the final to take silver behind a brilliant 12.72 U20 WR by American Le'Ezra Brown . Taiju Goto was expected to medal in the men's 400 mH, but after leading the semifinals the best he could do was silver in 49.23, gold going to the Czech Republic's Michal Rada with a 48.59 European U20 AR. Expected to do better in the 1500 m, Ojiro Honda ran a 7:48.49 U20 NR in the men's 3000 m final to score bronze, only to come in near the back of the field in the 1500 m final at 14th in...
2 comments
Read more

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

Some Mid-Season Women's Corporate Team Roster Changes

The Daiichi Life women's corporate team announced last week on its official site that Paris Olympics 10000 m runner Haruka Kokai and teammate Yuka Masubuchi left the organization as of July 31. Kokai was born in 2003. Kokai rose to the national level while at Sendai Ikuei H.S. , winning the first leg at the National High School Ekiden her 2nd year to lead them to the overall national title. After graduating she joined Daiichi Life, then called Daiichi Seimei, in 2021. In March, 2023 she was the gold medalist in the women's 10000 m at the Asian Championships, and in December the same year she took 3rd in the National Championships 10000 m in an all-time Japanese #7 30:57.67 to score a place on the Paris Olympics team. In Paris she placed 19th. In a statement released by Daiichi Life Kokai said, "I want to thank the team, who always put the athletes first as they shared this journey, and all my teammates for so many good times together. There were times I got really disco...
1 comment
Read more