japan running news

Having officially taken over as head coach of the Waseda University track and ekiden program as of June 1, on June 2 Katsuhiko Hanada held a press conference at the school's campus in central Tokyo's Shinjuku ward. "I want to develop athletes who will represent Japan," he said. In his own days as an athlete at Waseda, Hanada played a role in the school's win at the 1993 Hakone Ekiden. After graduating he joined the SB Foods corporate team, going on to run for Japan at both the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics. His coaching experience includes leading Jobu University to its first Hakone in 2009, and helping to found the GMO corporate team. Central to Hanada's selection as new head coach was his former coach at both Waseda and SB, Toshihiko Seko , 65. After Hanada announced his resignation from GMO earlier this year, Seko called him about his alma mater, which had finished only 13th at this year's Hakone. Hanada went to observe the team...

Thank you for your support of the Yokohama DeNA Running Club . Founded in 2013, the DeNA corporate team will be disbanded at the end of 2020. Beginning in 2021, DeNA will take a new approach toward supporting the activities of individual athletes who aim to compete at the international level. Despite the impact of the coronavirus crisis upon all our sports business, with its new approach DeNA hopes to continue to support competitive running in the medium to long-term future. Right now we are in the midst of making new contract offers to our existing athletes under the new model. We will continue to keep you informed about each athlete's plans for the next fiscal year and in every case will respect the athlete's wishes, whatever they may be. Head coach Tomoaki Kunichika and other members of the current team's staff will be retiring. We thank them for their contributions to the team's development. We hope to have your continued support in the future. Translator...

A minivan carrying staff and athletes from the DeNA corporate men's team was involved in a traffic accident June 10 while en route from Kanagawa to a training camp in Sugadaira, Nagano. According to a team representative, the minivan collided with a cargo truck, but the accident did not result in any serious injuries. The team members will have their physical conditions monitored while remaining in Sugadaira. DeNA executive advisor Toshihiko Seko is currently focusing on his duties as JAAF marathon development project leader and was not in the van at the time of the accident. With track races set to make a return in July after months of cancelations due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, corporate teams have begun to congregate in Sugadaira again to make use of its moderately high altitudes to get in base mileage. The DeNA team was set to begin its training today at between 1300 and 1500 m elevation in Sugadaira. The accident came as a surprise setback on the very first day o...

Coached by JAAF Long Distance and Marathon Development Project team leader Toshihiko Seko , 62, the DeNA men's corporate team announced on Sept. 28 that it will no longer run ekidens. Last year it placed 3rd at the East Japan Corporate Ekiden, qualifying for the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden national championships where it placed a competitive 6th. However, this year it did not submit an entry for the Nov. 3 East Japan race, meaning it will not run the New Year Ekiden either. An official statement is expected to be released early next week. The DeNA team was founded in 2013. Including Seko, the majority of its staff and athletes came from the historic S&B corporate team following its dissolution. Prior to its termination S&B also stopped running ekidens. Led by 2012 London Olympics 10000 m 5th-placer Bedan Karoki of Kenya, the current team members will focus on their individual pursuits on the track and in the marathon in the coming seasons. The DeNA news followed shortly ...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/1766072.html http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170116-00000213-sph-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner The Sumitomo Denko corporate men's team announced on Jan. 16 that Kensuke Takezawa , 30, a 2008 Beijing Olympian in the 5000 m and 10000 m, has made the decision to retire from competition.  Via a statement from the company Takezawa said, "I will retire from active competition at the end of this season.  The last few years I haven't been able to produce good results, but the strong, heartfelt support and encouragement I've received from everyone has made it possible to keep going this long.  I sincerely thank you all.  Please continue to cheer on the Sumitomo Denko team." Takezawa graduated from Hyogo's Hotoku Gakuen H.S. before going to Waseda University , where he set the still-standing collegiate 5000 m record of 13:19.00 and as a fourth-year in 2009 broke the Hakone Ekiden Third Stage re...

http://www.jomo-news.co.jp/ns/2014532978453725/news.html http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160121-00000179-sph-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner After leading Jobu University to eight-straight Hakone Ekiden appearances, head coach Katsuhiko Hanada , 44, has announced that he will step down from his position and leave Jobu University at the end of March following the end of the academic year.  In an interview with the Jomo Newspaper coach Hanada said, "In the future I would like to continue to be involved with developing athletes," but he declined to discuss the reason for his resignation or his specific future plans. Jobu finished last at this year's Hakone Ekiden. During his time as an athlete at Waseda University Hanada set the stage record on the Hakone Ekiden's Fourth Stage, contributing to Waseda's overall win.  At the S&B corporate team he ran the 10000 m at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics.  After his retirement as ...

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20130718-1159625.html translated by Brett Larner Late last week in Tokyo the DeNA Running Club held its first public coaching session since the team was founded in April.  DeNA head coach Toshihiko Seko  (57) greeted fifteen amateur runners who responded to ads for the session, joking, "Let's have a good time running today.  This is a class, but the training session will be pretty leisurely.  School will really be in session when we go drinking afterwards." The session started at 7:00 p.m. in the busy Udagawacho shopping district of Shibuya, heading up Spain Hill to Yoyogi Park.  Meeting up with other runners already waiting in the park, the group ran together in Yoyogi Park before returning to the Tip.X Tokyo training gym in Udagawacho.  Altogether the session took around 1 1/2 hours. The DeNA Running Club formed to absorb the remnants of the S&B Foods team.  "DeNA was kind en...

http://www.sei.co.jp/news/press/13/prs079_s.html translated and edited by Brett Larner The Sumitomo Denko corporation is proud to announce today that Beijing Olympics 5000 m and 10000 m Olympian Kensuke Takezawa , with bests of 13:19.00 and 27:45.59, has joined the company as a member of its men's long-distance running team.  "I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to make a new start now at Sumitomo Denko," Takezawa said.  "A lot of people have supported and encouraged me through some difficult times, and from the heart I offer my sincerest gratitude for being able to stand here today for this announcement.  Since the Olympics I haven't been able to become the kind of internationally-competitive athlete I hoped to become, but in this new environment I will dedicate myself to becoming the best I can be, not just as an athlete but as a human being. I ask for your continued support and encouragement." Sumitomo Denko head coach Toshihiro Matsumoto  c...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20130404/ath13040405010000-n1.html http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/sports/other/headlines/article/20130403-00000012-spnavi http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/p-sp-tp0-20130404-1107367.html translated and edited by Brett Larner click here  and here for photos of the flamboyant DeNA uniform Inheriting the remnants of the historic S&B corporate team following its disbanding at the end of March, the new DeNA Running Club  introduced its uniform at a Tokyo-area press conference on April 3. With regard to the uniform's colorful design, supervising head coach Toshihiko Seko said, "They're going to have to be just as flashy in their running to pull off a uniform like this." This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late  Kiyoshi Nakamura , the mentor who led Seko to marathon greatness.  DeNA ace Yuichiro Ueno  plans to run his marathon debut this year.  "We're combining the old and the ...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2013/02/24/kiji/K20130224005268200.html http://dena.jp/press/2013/02/post-125.php translated and edited by Brett Larner With Team S&B 's longstanding sponsorship set to be eliminated at the end of next month due to a streamlining of operations,  Kensuke Takezawa , 26, announced that he will not join the rest of the team in moving to new sponsor DeNA .  His plans remain undecided. A 2008 Beijing Olympics track team member, Takezawa commented, "My path forward is something that I ultimately want to find by myself, under my own strength, and for this reason I've decided not to move with the team.  I need to re-examine myself and carefully consider the best course of action." The new DeNA team will become an official entity on April 1.  Previous announcements had said that all athletes and staff from the S&B team would transfer together. Kensuke Takezawa : Born Oct. 11, 1986 in Hyogo. 3000 m: 7:49.26    ...

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2013/01/11/kiji/K20130111004955310.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Their ultimate goal is the stuff of dreams: a medal.  With their current sponsorship set to expire at the end of March, all twelve athletes and staff members on the S&B Foods team appeared at a Tokyo-area press conference on Jan. 10 to formally announce their new contract with cell phone video game maker DeNA.  Team DeNA supervising head coach Toshihiko Seko , who made the Japanese men's Olympic marathon team for Moscow in 1980, Los Angeles in 1984 and Seoul in 1988, was clear about his grand ambitions for the new project: "We are going to produce athletes who can win a medal in the marathon at the Olympics.  With the Olympics coming to Tokyo in 2020 we're not interested in anything else.  I hope others will share in this dream." As a starting point, the team's first goal is to win the New Year Ekiden national championships within three yea...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/news/20130107-OYT1T00153.htm http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNZO50328070X00C13A1UU8000/ translated and edited by Brett Larner On Dec. 6 the management of the S&B Foods men's athletics team, scheduled to lose its decades-long sponsorship at the end of March, announced that the team has signed a new deal with Tokyo-based mobile phone video game maker DeNA , owner of the Yokohama Baystars pro baseball team.  The new DeNA team, led by current S&B sports promotions director and former marathon great  Toshihiko Seko , 56, will be made up of twelve members including six athletes and six support staff. Seko will serve as the supervisory head coach, with current S&B coach Hiroshi Tako handling regular coaching duties. The S&B team includes the likes of 5000 m and 10000 m Beijing Olympian Kensuke Takezawa , but in August last year came the sudden announcement of S&B's termination of its sponsorship.  Seko's primary goal...

                                   Seko with the announcement. Click photo to enlarge. http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2012/09/01/kiji/K20120901004017610.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009359.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009418.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009427.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009421.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009429.html http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20120831-1009436.html translated and edited by Brett Larner S&B greats group photo (c) 2012 Tim Chamberlain, all rights reserved S&B Foods announced Aug. 31 that its men's running team, long the home of Japan's best distance runners, will be disbanded...

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/event/sports/news/20101213-OHT1T00247.htm translated by Brett Larner On Dec. 13 Jobu University's ekiden team held a workout session at the school's track in Isesaki, Gunma prefecture as it prepares for the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden. Speaking to the media at the workout, the team's captain and senior ace Yusuke Hasegawa , holder of the fastest 10000 m time of the year by a Japanese university student, revealed that he has signed to join the elite Team S&B following his graduation in March. Hasegawa, the national university 1500 m champion as a sophomore, is a top-class speed runner among university athletes. At November's Nittai University Time Trials meet he ran a 10000 m PB of 28:07.47, the best of the year by a Japanese student and all-time #8 on the collegiate 10000 m rankings. Having led Jobu from scratch to Hakone in a remarkably short time, head coach Katsuhiko Hanada , a former S&B star himself, will continue to serve as Hasegawa...

2010 EA Classic Atleticky Most, Slovakia - Top Results click event header for complete results Men's 5000 m 1. Micah Kogo (Kenya) - 13:26.03 2. Paul Lonyangat (Kenya) - 13:30.58 3. Bitan Karoki (Kenya/Team S&B) - 13:32.56 ----- 7. Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) - 14:07.00 8. Yo Yazawa (Waseda Univ.) - 14:14.32 9. Yuta Takahashi (Team S&B) - 14:19.04 (c) 2010 Brett Larner all rights reserved

by Brett Larner Nov. 21 was a busy morning at Oda Field, central Tokyo's main public track. Alongside the high school and amateur clubs which had gathered for morning practice, 2009 double 1500 m and 5000 m Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) ran a solo workout of 400 m repeats to tune up for Monday's International Chiba Ekiden with one of his coaches in attendance. As he ran, members of Team Nissin Shokuhin began to assemble for a group workout. Nissin won the East Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships earlier this month. With a young roster including Gideon Ngatuny, Yuki Sato, Satoru Kitamura and Bene Zama they are the heavy favorites to win the 2010 New Year Ekiden national championships. Their full team including coaches was present at Oda Field, but several members were apparently injured. Ngatuny, originally slated for the International Chiba Ekiden but then left off the entry list, spent the entire workout sitting on the retaining wall and pouring drinks for the other team memb...

interview by Tuomas Zacheus interpreting, supplemental questions and editing by Brett Larner and Mika Tokairin Tall men Tuomas Zacheus and Takayuki Nishida in Tokyo. Finnish writer Tuomas Zacheus, author of the book Nousevan Auringon Maratoonarit [ Marathoners of the Rising Sun ] , visited Tokyo with his wife Marit the weekend of July 18-19. JRN organized and facilitated an interview for Zacheus with the recently retired Takayuki Nishida, a former Team S&B and Team JAL Ground Service runner coached by the legendary Toshihiko Seko. Nishida holds a PB of 2:08:45, the fastest time ever by a Japanese runner on the elite Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon course. On the strength of his Beppu-Oita performance Nishida ran the marathon in the 2001 Edmonton World Championships, finishing 9th overall, beating then-national record holder Atsushi Fujita, and, as the Japanese team's third runner, helping to win the team silver medal. In university Nishida was already a star, narrowly losing out ...

http://www.asahi.com/sports/column/TKY200907250112.html translated by Brett Larner In the National Track and Field Championships 5000 m last month, Yuichiro 'Big Mouth' Ueno's usual stupidity was nowhere to be seen.* Hanging back at the rear of the lead pack, Ueno bided his time before attacking to take his first national title. Watching the race, Hiroshi Tako, Ueno's coach since his early days at Chuo University, commented, "Hmmn, this isn't like him at all." That's how much Ueno wanted to make his first World Championships team. Three days later came the 1500 m. Right from the first lap Ueno took off at a dash. All the real middle distance runners in the race waited as they followed their carefully-built race plans. On the last lap the leaders tried to run Ueno down, but it was too late. "Man, it's pretty weak that nobody even tried to race me," he said in his post-race interview. Ueno became the first person in 24 years to win the 1500...

by Brett Larner Beijing Olympian Kensuke Takezawa (Team S&B), in Europe to chase after the World Championships A-standard in the 5000 m, tuned up at the Gobierno de Aragon Meet in Saragossa, Spain on July 18. Still on the recovery from a plague of injuries over the last two years, Takezawa scored the first significant result of his three and a half month old pro career with a PB of over 5 seconds in the 3000 m. Takezawa clocked a time of 7:49.26, good enough only for 7th but a mark which puts him in good position to achieve his target of setting a World Championships A-standard time before the Aug. 3 deadline. Takezawa, who has a 5000 m PB of 13:19.00, needs the A-standard to join the Berlin team alongside his teammate Yuichiro Ueno, who has already been guaranteed a spot after both setting a B-standard time and winning this year's National Championships 5000 m. Also in the hunt for an A-standard in Europe is Takezawa's great university rival Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhi...

http://www.japantoday.com/category/sports/view/olympic-marathon-runner-nagata-dies-at-53 As Nanae Sasaki, Nagata was Japan's first great world-class marathoner woman. A little more bio info can be found here .