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National High School Championships Day 2 Highlights

Day 2 of the 2026 National High School Championships saw dominant wins in both the girls' and boys' 400 m finals, with heavy favorite Haru Balogun (Ichikawa H.S.) winning the girls' race by over a second in 53.74 and Kodai Okumura (Saikyo H.S.) taking the boys' race by almost as much in 46.82.

4th-fastest in the qualifying rounds, Aika Murai (Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) outran Rikka Kuroda (Sendai Ikuei H.S.), the younger sister of collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda for the win 4:23.62 to 4:24.10, Haru Azuma (Suma Gakuen H.S.) holding off Moe Imon (St. Catalina Gakuen H.S.) for 3rd in 4:24.21. Also 4th-fastest in qualifying, Sei Yoshida (Tokaidai Sapporo H.S.) took the boys' title in 3:44.31 over top-ranked Sota Iihoshi (Chiben College H.S.) and Kain Inagaki (Rakunan H.S.).

Mio Toshida (Kasukabe Joshi H.S.) held off Hikari Osaka (Shiritsu Nishinomiya H.S.) by 2 seconds to win a close girls' 5000 m race walk in 22:33.27. Reon Kitamura (Rakunan H.S.) kept the lead he had built on day 1 of the boys' octathlon to win overall with 5932 points, Yuto Mukohara (Shigakkan H.S.) overtaking Joji Kudo (Tokaidai Gyosei H.S.) for 2nd in 5896 and Yuki Nakamura (Isahaya H.S.) coming on strong for 3rd in 5887.

In the day's two field event finals, Rio Ogawa (Inou H.S.) won the girls' shot put title at 13.99 m, Rikuto Fukuda (Kanuma Higashi H.S.) taking the boys' long jump win by 3 cm in 7.55 m (+1.0).

National High School Championships

Day 2 Highlights
Otsu, Shiga, 31 July 2026

1. Haru Balogun (Ichikawa H.S.) - 53.74
2. Kokoro Yoneyama (Niigata Teikun H.S.) - 54.78
3. Karen Amano (Shizuoka Shiritsu H.S.) - 54.96
4. Rio Kaneko (Yachiyo H.S.) - 55.27
4. Yicen Chen (Chukyodai Chukyo H.S.) - 55.27
6. Ririka Kamakura (Saku Chosei H.S.) - 55.41
7. Natsuki Kawamura (Hiroshima Minami H.S.) - 55.51
8. Sara Ouchi (Aizu Gakuho H.S.) - 55.76

1. Kodai Okumura (Saikyo H.S.) - 46.82
2. Ren Takado (Meiokan H.S.) - 47.58
3. Takeru Mizuno (Tokaidai Shoyo H.S.) - 47.81
4. Ryoga Nakamura (Shiritsu Funabashi H.S.) - 47.98
5. Yujin Sato (Kumamoto Chuo H.S.) - 48.05
6. Ichita Maeyama (Niigata Daiichi H.S.) - 48.09
7. Reia Ando (Yamagata Gakuin H.S.) - 48.28
8. Takumi Kasai (Ritsumeikan Keisho H.S.) - 48.35

1. Aika Murai (Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 4:23.62
2. Rikka Kuroda (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 4:24.10
3. Haru Azuma (Suma Gakuen H.S.) - 4:24.21
4. Moe Imon (St. Catalina Gakuen H.S.) - 4:24.33
5. Rion Tateishi (Joto H.S.) - 4:25.67
6. Minami Sugano (Chikushi Joshi Gakuen H.S.) - 4:25.96
7. Aika Koreeda (Meijodai H.S.) - 4:26.22
8. Kazuha Sugiyasu (Luther Gakuin H.S.) - 4:26.25
9. Kana Inoue (Yamagata Johoku H.S.) - 4:26.40
10. Kanna Fujii (Saijo Nogyo H.S.) - 4:26.43

1. Sei Yoshida (Tokaidai Sapporo H.S.) - 3:44.31
2. Sota Iihoshi (Chiben College H.S.) - 3:45.01
3. Kain Inagaki (Rakunan H.S.) - 3:45.03
4. Yuma Tanaka (Rakunan H.S.) - 3:45.39
5. Riku Umeda (Suma Gakuen H.S.) - 3:45.69
6. Haruto Morita (Toyokawa H.S.) - 3:46.80
7. Koki Ishihara (Rakunan H.S.) - 3:47.06
8. Kosuke Yano (Kobayashi H.S.) - 3:47.52
9. Shoki Tawara (Nagasaki Nichidai H.S.) - 3:48.25
10. Sota Furuya (Shiritsu Funabashi H.S.) - 3:49.83

1. Mio Toshida (Kasukabe Joshi H.S.) - 22:33.27
2. Hikari Osaka (Shiritsu Nishinomiya H.S.) - 22:35.53
3. Marin Nishimura (Jiyugaoka H.S.) - 22:56.23
4. Rimi Kawakami (Kasukabe Joshi H.S.) - 23:02.09
5. Natsu Owada (Aki H.S.) - 23:03.28

1. Rikuto Fukuda (Kanuma Higashi H.S.) - 7.55 m (+1.0)
2. Osuke Kawa (Naruo H.S.) - 7.52 m (+0.2)
3. Gaku Sekiguchi (Jutoku H.S.) - 7.40 m (-0.1)

1. Rio Ogawa (Inou H.S.) - 13.99 m
2. Narumi Matome (Fujimura Joshi H.S.) - 13.61 m
3. Hana Sakaguchi (Kagoshima Minami H.S.) - 13.17 m

1. Reon Kitamura (Rakunan H.S.) - 5932
2. Yuto Mukohara (Shigakkan H.S.) - 5896
3. Yuki Nakamura (Isahaya H.S.) - 5887

© 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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