This year's Hokuren Distance Challenge series wrapped up Saturday in Shibetsu with a pair of new national records from international competitors. South Korea's Na Yeon Park took the win in the women's 1500 m with a new NR of 4:13.87, only a 0.38 PB but enough to get her under the old record she'd previously just missed. In the men's 5000 m A-heat, Chuo University 1st-year Chien Tzu Chieh went under 13:40 for the first time, running a new Taiwanese NR of 13:39.61 for 8th in a race won by Reitaku University's Brian Kiputwu in 13:28.09.
Other good performances in Shibetsu included a 2:01.80 win by Ayano Shiomi in the women's 800 m, the 3rd-best time of her career, 3 more men joining the sub-3:40 club in the 1500 m led by Juntendo University's Shuntaro Kawaguchi in 3:38.46, and Dolphine Omare and Lucy Nduta going sub-15 in the women's 5000 m A-heat in 14:56.70 and 14:57.25.
Overseas Japanese results from the weekend:
- At the London Diamond League meet, 3000 m NR holder Nozomi Tanaka shaved a second off her record of 8:33.52 from last year's Millrose Games, running a new mark of 8:32.29. But at 8 seconds off Australian winner Jessica Hull that was only good enough for 13th. A Japanese men's 4x100 m team made up of veterans Shuhei Tada, Yoshihide Kiryu and Yuki Koike with Chuo University's Fukuto Komuro adding some fresh blood took 3rd in 38.66 with GBR getting the win in 37.95 and Australia 2nd in 38.00.
- A lot of Japanese athletes were in action at the Night of Athletics meet in Belgium. Traveling from Canada, Allon Clay kept his streak of good races rolling with a 2nd-place finish in the men's 800 m in 1:45.11. Hiroya Kiyokawa turned in another 2nd-place finish in the men's javelin throw at 74.46 m. Ippei Takeda was 4th in the men's 100 m B-final in 10.62 (-2.3), and Takuho Yoshizu 5th in the men's 400 m B-final in 47.28. Women's 3000 mSC NR holder Miu Saito was 8th in 9:34.21, 10 seconds off her record. 10000 m NR holder Mebuki Suzuki, Yamato Yoshii and Ryuto Igawa were 14th, 15th and 19th of 19 finishers in the men's 5000 m A-heat, Suzuki fastest in 13:34.68 over half a lap behind winner Jose Carlos Pinto's Portuguese NR of 12:59.75. Naoki Ota did better in the B-heat with a 13:28.75 for 4th, road 10 km NR holder Tomoya Ogikubo finishing 12th in 13:38.98.
- Continuing his solo European tour, Koki Fujihara was 2nd in the men's long jump at the Lappeenranta Games in Finland with a wind-aided 7.91 m (+4.1) behind winner Kasperi Vehmaa who jumped 8.03 m (+1.9). Fujihara's best legal jump was 7.79 m.
© 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
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