japan running news

On July 21 the Uniqlo women's team announced that 2-time Olympic 10000 m runner Yuka Takashima had joined its lineup as of July 16. Born in Yamaguchi in 1998, Takashima anchored Okayama's Kojokan H.S. to its first-ever National High School Ekiden win in 2005. After graduating she joined the Denso corporate team, playing a key role in its 3-straight National Corporate Women's Ekiden titles. In 2015 she ran the 10000 m at the 2015 Beijing World Championships. In the spring of 2016 Takashima transferred to the Shiseido corporate team, where she made the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics team in the 10000 m. She played an important role for the team in its ekidens, and in 2022 anchored Shiseido to its first national title in 16 years. In 2023 she was 2nd in the 10000 m National Championships, securing her place on her 2nd Olympic team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Takashima's PBs are 15:26.33 for 5000 m, 30:57.26 for 10000 m, and 2:26:13 for the marathon. In March this year T...

With the National High School Ekiden Championships looking like a go for Dec. 20 at this point, the main action across Japan this weekend came in prefectural high school ekiden championships. In each of Japan's 47 prefectures boys typically raced 42.195 km in seven stages and girls 21.0975 km in five stages, with the top-placing boys' team and top girls' team in the prefectural race set to go on to represent their prefecture at Nationals. Not every prefecture held its qualifying race this weekend or just before, but among those that did here's a quick rundown on the winners. In Hiroshima , the video above, due to the coronavirus crisis the race was held on a 400 m track instead of its regular road course. The Sera H.S. boys and girls both won, the boys winning the prefectural title for the 17th year in a row and the girls for the 15th. Both teams last won the national title in 2015, when the boys set the still-standing Nationals course record of 2:01:18, but at last...

Rei Ohara age: 29 sponsor: Tenmaya graduated from: Kojokan H.S. best time inside MGC window: 2:25:46, 2nd, 2019 Osaka International Women’s Marathon PB: 2:23:20, 3rd, 2016 Nagoya Women’s Marathon other PBs: 5000 m: 15:39.47 (2016) 10000 m: 31:48.31 (2015) half marathon: 1:09:17 (2015) marathons inside MGC window (Aug. 1 2017 – April 30 2019) 2nd, 2019 Osaka International Women’s Marathon, 2:25:46 10th, 2018 Berlin Marathon, 2:27:29 8th, 2018 Nagoya Women’s Marathon, 2:27:44 other major results: 2nd, 2019 Sendai International Half Marathon, 1:10:25 4th, 2018 National Corporate Women’s Ekiden Sixth Stage (6.795 km), 21:54 3rd, 2018 Sanyo Ladies Half Marathon, 1:10:37 5th, 2017 Sanyo Ladies Half Marathon, 1:09:26 1st, 2017 Osaka Half Marathon, 1:10:02 1st, 2016 Sanyo Ladies Half Marathon, 1:10:04 3rd, 2016 Nagoya Women’s Marathon, 2:23:20 – PB 2nd, 2015 Sanyo Ladies Half Marathon, 1:09:17 – PB 22nd, 2015 Beijing World Championships 10000 m, 32:47.74 3rd, 201...

On June 3 it was revealed that 2013 Moscow World Championships women's 10000 m 5th-placer Hitomi Niiya , 30, will run the women's 3000 m at the June 9 Nittai University Time Trials as part of the Nike Tokyo Track Club. Her first race in over four years, the race represents her first step on the road to a comeback in time for the 2020 Tokyo Oympic Games. According to a club spokesperson, Niiya began running again last summer. Her goal at Nittai to clear the 9:50 qualifying time for July's Hokuren Distance Challenge series in Hokkaido, where she will run the 5000 m in order to secure the 15:40.00 standard for the 2019 National Championships. A native of Soja, Okayama, while at Kojokan H.S. Niiya won the 6.0 km First Stage at the National High School Ekiden three years in a row. Two of those runs broke the course record, with her time of 18:52 still standing as the course record. No other runner has ever broken 19 minutes. Together with her future London Olympics teamma...

The Tenmaya women's corporate team announced on Dec. 19 that two-time World Championships marathoner and 2012 London Olympian Risa Shigetomo , 30, will retire from competition at the end of the season in March next year. A press conference is scheduled for Dec. 21. As a third-year at Okayama's Kojokan H.S. in 2005 Shigetomo led the team to win its first-ever National High School Ekiden Championships title. She joined the Tenmaya team the following spring after her graduation. With a powerful stride driven by her tall 168 cm frame, Shigetomo won the 2012 Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2:23:23 to qualify for the London Olympic team. At the Olympics she finished only 70th in 2:40:06. This year Shigetomo won Osaka for the second time in 2:24:22, earning a return trip to London for this summer's World Championships where she finished 27th in 2:36:03. Translator's note: Shigetomo also ran in the 2015 Beijing World Championships, where she was 14th in 2:...

h ttp://www.sanyo.oni.co.jp/feature/sports/other/2014/02/05/20140205113852.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Having developed  Kojokan H.S.  of Ihara, Okayama into an ekiden powerhouse with two National High School Girls Ekiden Championships titles under his leadership with an all-star cast of alumni including London Olympians Hitomi Niiya  (Team Univ. Ent.) and Risa Shigetomo  (Team Tenmaya), head coach Yoshitoshi Morimasa  has announced that he will leave the team to take over as head coach at the Toto women's corporate team in Kita-Kyushu beginning in April.  On Feb. 4 members of the Okayama athletics community and local residents in Ihara held an event to honor Morimasa for his many years of accomplishment.  With his successor still in training, Morimasa will remain associated with the team in an advisory capacity. Okayama Track and Field Association director Yasuhisa Kandatsu  hailed Morimasa, calling him, "The single biggest c...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2014/01/25/kiji/K20140125007456230.html translated and edited by Brett Larner photo by Mika Tokairin On Jan. 25 a representative of Moscow World Championships women's 10000 m 5th-placer Hitomi Niiya  (25, Team Universal Entertainment) announced Niiya's retirement.  A press conference to explain the decision is scheduled for Jan. 31. Born in Okayama, as a student at Kojokan H.S. she won her stage at the National High School Ekiden Championships three years in a row.  In 2006 she joined the Toyota Jidoshoki corporate team, and the following year at age 18 won the first Tokyo Marathon.  In 2011 she  left Toyota Jidoshokki to remain with coach Yoshio Koide  when the team moved from Chiba to Aichi, qualifying as an independent for the Daegu World Championships where she made the final in the 5000 m .  After joining the Universal Entertainment team she won the 2012 National Championships 5000 m , and at th...

by Brett Larner Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. outruns defending champ Toyokawa H.S. for the 2012 National High School Girls Ekiden title. Click for video highlights courtesy of broadcaster NHK. As expected , the 2012 National High School Girls Ekiden Championships came down to a showdown between #1-seeded defending champion Toyokawa H.S.  and #2-ranked Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. Toyokawa, with a lineup bolstered by transfers from the great Sendai Ikuei H.S. , started the race in 5th, losing out in a brilliant late-stage surge by Saki Yoshimizu  (Chikushi Joshi H.S.) on the first leg.  Toyokawa did not advance to the lead until the 3.0 km Third Stage, where its Azusa Sumi  ran a course-record 9:21 to put the team into first three seconds ahead of Ritsumeikan Uji and #5-ranked Osaka Kunei H.S.  with 2010 national champion Kojokan H.S. , and 7th-9th ranked teams  Kamimura Gakuen H.S. , Chikushi Joshi Gakuen H.S.  and Suma Gakuen H.S.  close behind.  F...

http://www.toyota-shokki.co.jp/news/2011/110323athletics/ translated by Brett Larner The Toyota Jidoshokki Women's Track and Field Team hereby announces that effective April 1, 2011, it will relocate its training base to Kariya, Aichi. On March 23 the team registered its membership with the central Japan Chubu Corporate Track and Field Association. As a company-sponsored team, the Toyota Jidoshokki team management wished to be closer to the parent company's headquarters and through sports to help make a positive contribution to the company's workers. The women's track and field team has been based in Sakura, Chiba since 2001, but by relocating to the company's headquarters in Kariya, Aichi they hope to help foster a stronger community feeling among the general workforce. In addition, Shigeo Hasegawa , head coach of 2010 National High School Ekiden champions Kojokan H.S., will take over as Toyota Jidoshokki head coach. The team's athletes have left the Sakura ...

by Brett Larner Click photo for video highlights. Thanks in part to outstanding performances from the identical twin Akamatsu sisters on the final two stages, Kojokan H.S. took its second-ever national title at the 2010 National High School Girls Ekiden , holding off two-time defending champion Toyokawa H.S. by 16 seconds after battling the strong Suma Gakuen H.S . throughout the ekiden. Kojokan's Katsuki Suga got the team off to a good start, winning the 6 km First Stage by a margin of 6 seconds. Suma Gakuen's Risa Yokoe caught up on the Second Stage, running a stage best to finish the leg dead even with Kojokan's Miyuki Oka . Suma Gakuen's Third Stage runner Mika Kobayashi likewise turned in a stage best, giving the school an 8 second lead after Kojokan's Manami Takehisa finished only 9th on the stage. Everything turned around on the 3.0 km Fourth Stage. Kojokan's Hiroka Akamatsu , the lesser-known of its star Akamatsu twins, seized back the lead, taking...

by Brett Larner The 2009 National High School Ekiden Championships take place this Sunday, Dec. 20. The day begins with the girls' race, five stages totalling 21.0975 km, and continues with the seven-stage, 42.195 km boys' race. On the girls' side, last year's winner Toyokawa H.S. returns with an almost identical squad now a year stronger, the main exception being the replacement of anchor Kenyan Wysela Wylim , who disappeared from the school under unknown circumstances earlier this year, with another strong Kenyan, Wainaina Murgi . In taking its first-ever national title last year Toyokawa won by four seconds over Kojokan H.S. , with Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. also within just twelve seconds. Both schools return strong this year, but perhaps the biggest threat is last year's 4th-placer Suma Gakuen H.S. which comes to the race this year ranked #1 on average 3000 m time. In the boys' race it is a time of change. Defending champion Saku Chosei H.S. returns only ...

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/News/Tn200902250050.html translated by Brett Larner Kojokan High School is sending three athletes to compete at the Asian Cross Country Championships in Bahrain on Mar. 1. Seniors Rei Obara (18) and Ai Kuboki (18) will join alumna Risa Shigetomo (21, Team Tenmaya) on the Japanese national team in Bahrain. For Kuboki it will be her first overseas race. "I want to soak up the atmosphere and the chance to race against foreign athletes and hope that it helps me to take my running to the next level," she told reporters. Obara will be running in the junior women's 6 km race. Obara comes to the championships after having won both the 5000 m at October's nationals and the 1st stage of December's National High School Ekiden. Kuboki will be in the same race, having finished 3rd nationally in the 3000 m and helping her team finish as runner-up in the National High School Ekiden with a 4th place run on the 5th stage. Shigetomi will run in the senio...