Aoyama Gakuin University long distance head coach Susumu Hara , 53, appeared on a sports news TV show last week alongside Kansai University American football head coach Hideaki Toriuchi , 61. Under Hara's leadership AGU won January's Hakone Ekiden for the fifth time, while Toriuhi led KU to its twelfth national collegiate title in late December. Representing the best of east and west Japan, the two coaches dissected the state of collegiate sports in the Reiwa era. Right after Hakone this year, men's marathon national record holder Suguru Osako , a Hakone star during his years at Waseda University, tweeted, "Even if we won Hakone, there was not a cent of return for the athletes." With viewership ratings of 27.5% for its first day on Jan. 2 and 28.6% for its second day on Jan. 3, as a broadcast product the Hakone Ekiden is a titan. With regard to the distribution of funds from broadcast rights coach Hara said, "Whether you win or come last, the amount doesn...
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