japan running news

Four big meets with distance action happened across Japan over the 2nd half of April. Highlights from each of them: Hyogo Relay Carnival - Kobe, 18-19 April Hirokazu Sakai (Senko) set a 2.25 m MR in the men's high jump. Sae Takemoto (Orico) threw 59.68 m to set a new MR in the women's javelin throw. Distance events were pretty low-key, with Ryota Natori (Konica Minolta) winning the men's 10000 m in 28:49.74 and Yuzu Nishide (Daihatsu) the women's 5000 m in 15:44.03. National University Individual Championships - Hiratsuka, 24-26 April Miori Kida  (1st yr., Juntendo Univ.) debuted with 4:19.14 MR in the women's 1500 m, going 0.12 under the previous record set last year. Sarah Wanjiru (4th yr., Daito Bunka Univ.) kicked off her senior year by chopping 25 seconds off her own 10000 m MR to by over a minute in 31:23.69. Mao Kimura (1st yr., Meijo Univ.) had a great debut in 32:31.56 for 2nd, more than 70 sec up on 3rd place. Shunpei Yamaguchi (3rd yr., Waseda ...

The National University Individual Track and Field Championships has always been the lesser cousin to September's National University Track and Field Championships, but in recent years it has started to see quality performances of its own, and with the reshuffling of the calendar this year to account for the Tokyo World Championships enough top-level collegiate talent came to Hiratsuka, Kanagawa to set 9 new meet records. A breakdown of top performances: Hiroki Yanagita (Toyo Univ.) kicked off his senior year with a solid 10.09 (+1.8) to lead the men's 100 m semifinals, but then sat out the final where his 3rd-year teammate Riku Oishi won in 10.19 (+0.8). Genta Iki (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) had a near-miss on the men's 200 m MR, winning easily in 20.65 (+1.2). The top 3 in the men's 800 m all broke the meet record set last year, with NR holder Ko Ochiai (Komazawa Univ.) winning in 1:45.88, just 0.13 shy of the collegiate record at the very start of his collegiate career...

At the high school, university and corporate league levels, national championships on the track are at an odd time in the Japanese calendar. After regional championships in May, college students and corporate leaguers don't have their national championship meets until September right after summer mileage base building for ekiden season. High schoolers have their regional meets in June, then their Nationals in August. The National University Track and Field Individual Championships , aka the All Japan University Track & Field Challenge Meeting, happens more when you'd expect, ever mid-June in Kanagawa, but without a team component, no relays, no team scoring, and missing a few events, it's not a major event and doesn't usually bring in much of the main collegiate talent. Two weeks out from the outright National Championships, this year was an exception at the Individual Championships with seven new meet records. The biggest out of them was in Saturday's women...

The National University Individual Track and Field Championships wrapped its third day with three new meet records. First up, Atsushi Shobu (Waseda Univ.) led the top 5 under the old record in the men's 3000 m steeplechase , winning in 8:40.57. The next 4, Soma Hattori (Juntendo Univ.), Shohei Yamaguchi (Teikyo Univ.), Ryotaro Onuma (Josai Univ.) and Kento Uchida (Rikkyo Univ.) were all under 8:50, and with all 5 coming from different universities it showed the impact Olympian collegian Ryuji Miura of Juntendo University is having on making the steeple a focus event in Japan. Women's steeple collegiate record holder Reimi Yoshimura (Daito Bunka University), now a 4th-year, also broke the meet record, taking over 4 seconds off 2016 Olympian Anju Takamizawa 's old record to win in 9:53.64. Manami Nishiyama was next across the line in 10:01.67 but didn't count in standings due to being a corporate leaguer, leaving official 2nd-placer Nanase Tanimoto (Meijo Univ...

Following a record-breaking Day 1 , the National University Individual Track and Field Championships continued Saturday at Kanagawa's Lemon Gas Stadium. 2nd-year Jason Atuobeng (Fukuoka Univ.) turned in the performance of the day, throwing a 20 cm PB on his final attempt to break the men's shot put meet record with a winning throw of 18.42 m. The 20-year-old Atuobeng, who broke 18 m for the first time last month, came in at all-time Japanese #7, and with just 24 cm to go to the collegiate record and 41 cm to the national record he's due to be one of the highest-potential Japanese men on the field over the next few years. 2nd-year Hanae Aoyama (Konan Univ.), 19, had the women's performance of the day, missing the women's 100 m meet record by just 0.02 as she won the final in a PB 11.50 (+1.0). That was enough to move her up to #6 on the Japanese all-time collegiate list. Nagisa Takahashi , one of the just-graduated athletes still allowed to compete in the meet, ...

Usually a 2nd-tier meet held in June every year in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, this year the National University Individual Track and Field Championships have been moved up to this weekend with a full schedule of events and top-level collegiate talent. Friday's opening day kicked off with a meet record in the men's 1500 m from Kazuto Iizawa (Tokai Univ.). Iizawa took almost 2 seconds off the old record to win in 3:44.54, with teammate Jin Mizoguchi also under the old record in 3:46.49 for 2nd. The top 9 in the final were all under 3:50, pretty good for a Japanese collegiate meet. Sheila Cherotich (Meiji Kokusai Iryo Univ.) was a second off the women's 1500 m meet record, winning in 4:21.75 over Saki Katagihara (Tsukuba Univ.). The meet record also went in the men's hammer throw , with winner Tatsuto Nakagawa (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) throwing 70.85 m and 2nd-place Shota Fujita (Nihon Univ.) also over the old record at 70.56 m. Remi Katsuya took the women's hammer ...

Unusually cool weather throughout the weekend worked to the advantage of the athletes in distance events at Kanagawa's National University Individual Track and Field Championships , where the meet records fell in both the men's and women's 5000 m. The poorer cousin of September's National University Track and Field Championships, the individual meet features a reduced program, no team scoring, and some competition from Taiwan. Coming just a week before the National Track and Field Championships many of Japan's best collegians tend to give it a miss, but the level of competition is often high all the same. In the women's race first-year Yuka Suzuki (Daito Bunka Univ.) surprised the field, breaking the meet record set six years ago by current top-level pro  Rina Nabeshima  by 6 seconds to win the B-heat in 15:46.84. Fourth-year Honoka Tanaike (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) and Rino Goshima (Chuo Univ.) were both under Nabeshima's record in the A-heat in 15:49.37 ...

The National University Individual Track and Field Championships are a poorer cousin to September's National University Track and Field Championships, no team scoring, no combined events, no 10000 m, held every year in Shonan BMW Stadium Hiratsuka just south of Yokohama. It's rarely mattered much to the bigger names, but it's just as rarely been as good as this year's edition. 準決勝では追参ですが、国内初の9秒台。 自分でもびっくりしました😳 本当に嬉しかったのが、決勝10秒08で世界選手権標準記録突破✨ 本当に応援ありがとうございました。 浮かれず、日本選手権に向けて追い込んでいきます！！ またご声援のほどよろしくお願いします😌 pic.twitter.com/J60282fmTO — 多田 修平 (@shu_hei_0624) June 10, 2017 Meet records fell in fourteen events across sprints, middle distance, jumps and throws, with up to five athletes breaking the old record in some of them. In the 800 m, shot put and discus throw, both the men's and women's winners set new records. The 100 m, the highlight of the weekend, almost saw the same. After several women skimmed the 11.62 meet record in the women's 100 m, stro...

by Brett Larner video by  ekiden news This weekend's National University Individual Championships , held annually at Shonan BMW Stadium in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa south of Tokyo are an anomaly on the Japanese collegiate calendar, no relays or team competition, just individual competition from universities across the country, occupying the place where you would expect the equivalent of NCAAs but relatively minor compared to both May's Kanto Regionals and Kansai Regionals meets and September's National University Championships.  Especially in the distance events, top talent rarely competes there.  Not so this year. Men's 100 m junior national record holder Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) whipped up a storm of excitement when he tied his legal best in the semi-final, running a collegiate national record 10.01 with a +1.8 m/s tailwind.  Kiryu's time broke the existing meet record by 0.18 seconds and met the JAAF's selection standard for the Rio Olympics, giving him...

by Brett Larner videos by Ekiden News The weekend's main domestic action came at the National University Individual Track and Field Championships , a smaller counterpart to September's National University Track and Field Championships held each year at Kanagawa's Shonan BMW Stadium.  In distance highlights, 2015 Kanto Regionals women's 10000 m runner-up Fuyuka Kimura (Daito Bunka Univ.) narrowly outkicked local rival Kotoe Chaya (Nittai Univ.) for the win in 15:56.89, Chaya just back in 15:57.01 for 2nd.  Wakana Itsuki (Fukuoka Univ.) made it a truly national race with a 15:58.30 for 3rd.  Hikaru Nakamura (Kyoto Koka Joshi Univ.) led a central/western Japan sweep of the women's 1500 m, winning in 4:26.32.  Anju Takamizawa (Matsuyama Univ.) scored a meet record 10:08.40 to win the women's 3000 mSC by a wide margin. The men's 5000 m was almost a time trial for 2015 Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University , AGU runners taking 7 of the top ...

by Brett Larner Kenyan newcomer Lazarus Motanya (Obirin Univ.), winner of the D2 1500 m title at last month's Kanto Regional Track and Field Championships , returned this weekend for his first national title, winning the 1500 m at the National University Individual Track and Field Championships in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa on Friday.  Despite having only the 7th-fastest PB in the final, Motanya had no trouble frontrunning his way to the win against the overly cautious Japanese competition in 3:51.72.  Runner-up Tatsuya Shimizu (Toyo Univ.) was almost three seconds back in 3:54.28 with Chiu-Chin Tseng (Taiwan/National Sports University), one of a number of Taiwanese collegiates joining this year's meet, rounding out the podium in 3:54.39. Motanya was back again on Saturday for the 5000 m but could not match a field that included many of 2012 Izumo Ekiden winner Aoyama Gakuin University 's A-squad.  AGU's Tadashi Isshiki , the course record-setter at February's Kana...

http://www.iuau.jp/ev2011/11univer/26univ110322.pdf translated by Brett Larner Due to the major earthquake disaster to strike northeastern Japan this year, the selection races for the 2011 World University Games men's and women's half marathon national teams were cancelled*. The following is an amendment to the information for selection published on the Inter-University Athletic Union of Japan website on Jan. 21, 2011 specifying the new selection criteria. The IUAU will consider the following in selection the World University Games team: 1. Those who have already broken the time standards established by the IUAU. 2. Apart from the men's and women's 5000 m and 10000 m, there are no specific selection races. Athletes' performances will be evaluated based on their times and marks. Athletes in the 5000 m and 10000 m must run in the meets specified below. 3. For the half marathon, the top two men and women in the 10000 m at the selection meet specified below will be ...

by Brett Larner The 2009 National University Individual Track and Field Championships took place June 12-14 in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture just south of Tokyo. An elective meet in which student athletes can choose to compete as opposed to September's team-oriented National University Track and Field Championships, the National Individual Championships offer a rare chance to see athletes from other parts of the country take on those from the powerful, Tokyo-centric Kanto Region. Coached by Keiichi Murai , the husband of two-time World Championships marathon medalist Reiko Tosa , Matsuyama University's Mami Sogabe and Toshika Tamura both broke the year-old women's 1500 m meet record. Sogabe clocked 4:29.03 and Tamura 4:29.10, with Ritsumeikan University's Hanae Tanaka getting under the old record as well in 4:29.12. New meet records also came on the track in the men's 3000 mSC, with Masamori Kabuki of Tohoku Fukushi University running 8:58.79 to mark the meet...

by Brett Larner Samuel Ganga of Hiroshima Univ. of Economics on the way to setting a meet record 14:10.02 in the men`s 5000 m. The 2008 National University Track and Field Individual Championships took place June 6th through 8th at Hiratsuka Sogo Park Stadium just south of Tokyo. The meet takes place just after the Kanto University Track and Field Championships and shortly before both the All-Japan University Ekiden qualifying meet and the National Track and Field Championships and thus fails to draw much of the top university talent, but it neverthless offers a rare opporunity to see runners from universities in other parts of Japan take on their rivals from the extremely strong Kanto region along with top university runners from other Asian nations. This year`s championships saw a wave of new meet records. In the men`s competition, Yohei Miyazawa (Hosei Univ.) ran 46.92 in the 400 m final to break the meet record by 0.05 seconds. Five runners in the 1500 m final broke the old meet re...