Sasaki Breaks 49-Yr-Old Steeple MR, Wanjiru Undefeated Over 5000 m - Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships Highlights

Japan's best university track meet happened the last 4 days in Tochigi at the 105th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships. The race of the meet was without a doubt the D1 men's 3000 mSC, where Japanese U20 all-time #2 Tetsu Sasaki (Waseda University) and Sanetada Ono (Tokai Univ.) pushed each other to both break one of the oldest records in Japanese athletics, 10-mile NR holder Masanari Shintaku's 8:35.2 Kanto Regionals meet record from 1977. Just starting his 2nd year at Waseda, Sasaki got the win and record in 8:24.96, landing just outside the all-time Japanese top 10. Ono took just over a second off his PB to go under Shintaku's old record too in 8:31.41 for 2nd.

On the women's side the race of the meet was the D1 women's 5000 m. Undefeated in the 5000 m and 10000 m at Kanto Regionals her first 3 years, Daito Bunka University 4th-year Sarah Wanjiru lost her shot at a perfect scorecard when she got taken down over the last lap in Thursday's 10000 m by Daisy Jerop (Josai Kokusai Univ.), finishing 2nd in 32:15.41 to Jerop's winning 32:08.75. Back for a rematch in Sunday's 5000 m, Wanjiru and Jerop hammered each other all the way to the line. Both broke the meet record, but Wanjiru got payback by the tiniest of margins, beating Jerop 15:17.01 to 15:17.02. You can't always get everything you want, but at the very least Wanjiru now walks away with 4-straight 5000 m titles.

Other highlights:

Collegiate 5000 m and 10000 m record holder Richard Etir (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) rounded out his 4th year at Kanto Regionals with a double win. First he won a competitive D2 10000 m on Thursday, running 27:43.53 in a race where the top 7, including Japanese athletes Riki Koike (Soka Univ.) and Yoshihiro Kusuoka (Teikyo Univ.) broke 28 minutes. Sunday he set a D2 MR of 13:24.76 to win the 5000 m over teammate Amos Bett, 2nd in 13:28.33, and Stephen Muthini (Soka Univ.), 3rd in 13:28.45.
Sora Murata (Tsukuba Univ.) and Mitsuki Kobayashi (Nittai Univ.) both broke Kobayashi's MR in the D1 women's pole vault, Murata clearing 4.17 m on her 1st attempt but Kobayashi only getting as high as 4.12 m.
The D1 men's 5000 m was good too, with Kaisei Okada (Chuo Univ.) continuing to deliver great run after great run with a 13:31.43 to win over Rui Suzuki (Waseda Univ.), 2nd in 13:33.73.
Chuo University also beat Waseda to win the D1 men's 4x100 m in 39.10. After fast heats where Chuo led the way in 39.05, all 7 teams that finished the final broke 39.7. The winner in Heat 2 in 39.29, Toyo University was DQd in the final but was sure to have gone under 39.7 too, very solid results overall for a regional meet. By comparison, not a single team in the D2 final got under 40.

In overall scoring, Juntendo University took the D1 men's team title with 135 points, Tokai University distantly 2nd with 91 points. Tsukuba University narrowly won the D1 women's title over Nittai University, Tsukuba scoring 139.5 and Nittai 130. Kokusai Budo University was the D2 men's team champ with 95 points. In the graduate school division, Tsukuba won the men's title with 26 points and the women's title with 11 points. Complete individual results across all divisions here.

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Entry Roster Sizes Increased from 14 to 16

Hakone Ekiden organizers KGRR have announced details for the qualifying half marathon for next year's 103rd Hakone Ekiden. The Yosenkai qualifying race will be held Oct. 17 in Tachikawa, Tokyo. The combined times of the 10 fastest finishers from each participating team will be used for team scoring, with the 10 fastest teams going on the the main event next January and top-placing individuals from teams that do not qualify being names to the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team. One change from previous years is that the number of runners each school can enter has been increased from 14 to 16. Teams will still only be allowed to have from 10 to 12 athletes on the starting line, but the move gives coaches greater flexibility in making the final decision on their starting rosters. No changes have been made to the qualifying times of 34:00 for 10000 m or 1:13:00 for the half marathon, and the new earlier starting time of 8:30 a.m. introduced last year in an effort to mitigate ...

Nomura and Odagiri Go 3-4 at Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km

2010 Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km Nijmegen, Netherlands, 11/21/10 Women click here for complete women's results 1. Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia) - 47:53 2. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 48:07 3. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.) - 49:43 4. Aki Odagiri (Meijo Univ.) - 51:37 5. Benita Willis (Australia) - 51:51 Men click here for complete men's results 1. Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) - 41:13 - WR 2. Abera Kuma (Ethiopia) - 42:01 3. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopia) - 42:01 4. Abraham Kiplimo (Uganda) - 43:03 5. Berhanu Delale (Ethiopia) - 43:08 ----- 14. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 45:31

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