japan running news

by Brett Larner videos by naoki620 and aoshin0507 #1-ranked Haruko Ishizuka (Keiai Higashi Osaka Prep H.S.) turned in the performance of the day on the opening day of the National High School Track and Field Championships, setting a meet record 53.30 to win the girls' 400 m.  After dominating the semifinals in 53.92, the only girl in the field to break 54, Ishizuka had no trouble at all running away from closest competitor Yuna Iwata (Niijima Gakuen H.S.) in the final, winning by more than a second over Iwata's 54.37 PB.  2015 World Youth Championships team member Rin Aoki (Soyo H.S.) also ran a PB of 54.74 for 3rd.  The boys' 400 m final saw Daisuke Funato (Higashi Fukuoka H.S.) unexpectedly win with a 47.06 PB, taking down favorites Manato Sasaki (Morioka Minami H.S.) and Sho Someya (Seibudai Chiba H.S.) who took only 4th and 5th. Another highlight came in the first heat of the boys' 1500 m, where a strong surge from Kakeru Nakamura (Saigyo H.S.) at ...

http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/sports/article/20121216000045 translated by Brett Larner The 20th National Junior High School Ekiden Championships took place Dec. 16 on the Yamaguchi Prefectural Seminar Cross-Country Course in Yamaguchi. Hyogo's Kakogawa Yamate J.H.S. won the six-stage, 18.0 km boys' division in 56:51, while Fujimi J.H.S. of Gunma took the five-stage, 12.0 km girls' race in 40:20. In its sixth appearance at Nationals Kakogawa Yamate's victory was decided in an exciting photo finish with rival Eishin J.H.S.  of Saitama, both schools being given the same time after Eishin anchor Daiki Ito  ran down a 41-second margin to Kakogawa Yamate's Yuki Sakamoto . Tochigi's Shioya J.H.S. took 3rd, while last year's champion Kushigata J.H.S. of Yamanashi could do no better than 18th. In its second time running Nationals Fujimi broke the existing course record. Okubo J.H.S. of Hyogo was 25 seconds back in 2nd, while defending champion Niihama Hi...