japan running news

Japan got one step closer to its first sub-27 minute 10000 m Saturday at the Hachioji Long Distance meet. Conditions were as perfect as they could have been, and as the heats went by it was clear that something big was coming. The E and D-heats both had winning times under 28:10. In the C-heat Hiromichi Nonaka held off alum and former collegiate marathon record holder Kiyoto Hirabayashi to set a Koku Gakuin University school record 27:36.64, Hirabayashi right behind in a 27:37.13 PB and the top 7 all under 28. The B-heat went even faster, Yuto Imae kicking to win in 27:33.84, 4th-placer Kaisei Okada setting a Chuo University school record 27:37.06, and the top 17 all under 28 minutes. Close by another meet was happening at the same time, the MARCH Taikosen time trial meet made up of the Meiji University , Aoyama Gakuin University , Rikkyo University , Chuo, and Hosei University teams. The A-heat there was massive too, with collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda runnin...

It's hard to beat the numbers, and with a whole team of current students at 2024 National High School Ekiden winner Saku Chosei H.S. , Saku Chosei alumni, and junior high schoolers bound to go there, 3-time National Men's Ekiden defending champ Nagano had enough of them to score a record 4th-straight win Sunday in Hiroshima. Saku Chosei's Yamato Hamaguchi got it off with a 19:33 win on the 7.0 km opening leg just 2 seconds off the CR, and even though second and third runners Taisei Masuda and Hiroto Yoshioka underperformed enough for Nagano to fall to 7th, a new 23:32 CR by Saku Chosei's Tetsu Sasaki on the 8.5 km Fifth Stage put them back out in front and far enough away that nobody could catch them. Anchor Taishi Ito brought Nagano home for the win in 2:16:55, 5 seconds under the overall CR for the 48.0 km race that Nagano set last year. Chiba spent the first half of the race back in the middle of the field of 47 teams from each of Japan's prefectures, but...

Last year Nagano's Saku Chosei H.S. won the National High School Ekiden boys' race for the first time in 6 years, its third time winning the national title. Ahead of its attempt to take its first-ever repeat win at this year's race in Kyoto on Dec. 22, on the day the school held an open practice session for the media it was sunny but windy at times, an unusually warm 17˚. Last year Saku Chosei won in 2:01:00 for the 7-stage, 42.195 km course with a team that included 6 runners with 5000 m bests under 14 minutes, a top-class time for high school runners. All the team members demonstrated their strength, each helping the team achieve the win. Out of the 10 runners on Saku Chosei's entry roster at this year's Nationals 5 have 5000 m bests in the 13-minute range, but even though that is slightly less than last year there is no doubt about the team's talent level. Its goal is to be the strongest, not just the fastest. 3 members of last year's winning team are b...

2023 National High School Ekiden champion Saku Chosei H.S. was out in force Sunday in the 5000 m fast heats at the 317th Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama. 3rd-year Yamato Hamaguchi ran 13:31.62, the 4th-fastest time ever by a Japanese-born high schooler, and 3rd-year Tetsu Sasaki went under 14 minutes for the first time with an excellent 13:40.02. The race took place as light rain fell. Hamaguchi and Sasaki ran alongside African university and corporate league runners. From the start they were conservative, staying in the pack as the race went along. With splits of 2:42 and 1000 m and 8:11 at 3000 m the high school record of 13:22.99 set 2 years ago by Saku Chosei alum Hiroto Yoshioka was out of reach, but right til the last sprint Hamaguchi stayed in contact with the lead. Hamaguchi took almost 7 seconds off his 13:38.40 PB from last year, with Sasaki rewriting his 14:03.51 best by nearly 24 seconds. Both beat Yamanashi Gakuin H.S. 2nd-year Felix Muthiani , who ran ...

The National Sports Festival wrapped up Tuesday in Saga with one of the best races of the meet, the junior women's 3000 m. The top 5 all went under 9:00, with Daisy Jerop (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) dominating in 8:56.36. Sharon Mwanti (Yamanashi Gakuin H.S.) was 2nd in 9:01.65, with Mei Hokiyama (Yamada H.S.) close behind in 9:04.86 for 3rd, Rin Setoguchi (Kamikura Gakuen H.S.) 4th in 9:06.63 and Pauline Wanjuku (Teikyo Nagaoka H.S.) 5th in 9:09.36. All told the top 12 broke 9:30. The junior boys' 3000 m was almost as competitive. Sei Yoshida (Tokai Sapporo H.S.) and Kain Inagaki (KERT) raced right to the line, Yoshida getting the win in 8:07.12 but Inagaki scoring a junior high school record with an 8:07.29 for 2nd. 3rd and 4th-placers Yudai Fujii (Miyazaki Nichidai H.S.) and Taira Ichikawa (Sendai Ikuei) couldn't have been closer, Fujii taking 3rd in 8:17.06 and Ichikawa 4th in 8:17.07, with the rest of the top 10 all getting under 8:30. Monday's junior men's 50...

Like at the Paris Olympics, there's no shortage of top 8 placings by Japanese athletes so far at the Lima World U20 Championships , but no medals yet. One of 4 Japanese athletes in action in finals on the third day of the championships, Koki Kanai was 70 cm out of the medals in the men's triple jump, going 15.60 m (+1.8) for 7th in the final. Gold medalist Ethan Olivier of New Zealand set a new Oceania U20 record of 17.01 m (+1.4) for the win. Kentaro Shirahata better Kanai's placing in the men's 400 m final, running 46.83 for 5th after having run PBs in both the heats and semifinals. Gold medalist Udeme Okon was the only athlete to break 46 seconds, running 45.69. Despite high expectations, Yamato Hamaguchi couldn't quite crack top 8 in the men's 3000 m final, running 8:24.60 for 9th. Teammate Tetsu Sasaki was a DNS. Gold medalist Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen of Norway and silver medalist Denis Kipkoech of Kenya raced each other to sub-8:21 times, Halvorsen ...

  The 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships kicked off Aug. 27 in Lima, Peru. Top-ranked Japanese woman Kana Mizumoto  was a DNS in the Championships' first final, the women's 5000 m, but teammate Yumi Yamamoto  was the top non-African finisher at 6th, running 16:01.54. But with gold medalist Medina Eisa  of Ethiopia running a 14:39.71 championships record Yamamoto was over 36 seconds outside the medals. All three men's 5000 m medalists ran 13:41 with Kenyan Andrew Kiptoo Alamisi  taking gold in 13:41.14. That was slightly faster than the PBs of Yamato Hamaguchi  and Kaito Matsui , but both were far below potential with Hamaguchi 13th in 14:16.29 and Matsui last in 15:31.85. In qualifying rounds, both 800 m national record holders Rin Kubo  and Ko Ochiai  easily made the semifinals, Kubo the fastest overall in the women's heats with a 2:04.53 and Ochiai 2nd in his heat in 1:50.67. Togo Yoshizawa  also advanced, 3rd in Heat 3 in 1:51.49 behi...

The  Lima World U20 Championships  start tomorrow. Despite having its best-ever overall medal haul across all sports the Paris Olympics were almost a complete bust for Japan in athletics, with Haruka Kitaguchi 's gold in the women's javelin throw its only gold medal. But there are a lot of medal prospects in Lima, and overall it's probably the best team Japan has ever sent to the U20 World Championships. World Athletics U20 Championships Japanese Team Lima, Peru, 27-31 Aug. 2024 complete team listing Women  (14) 800 m Rin Kubo (Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S.) - 1:59.93 1500 m Sherry Drury (Tsuyama H.S.) - 4:15.50 3000 m Miyu Yamada (Meijo Univ.) - 9:14.09 Miu Suzuki (Tsukuba Univ.) - 9:18.64 5000 m Kana Mizumoto (Edion) - 15:31.51 Yumi Yamamoto (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 15:37.38 100 m Hurdles Ami Takahashi (Tsukuba Univ.) - 13.28 Miki Hayashi (Waseda Univ.) - 13.40 400 m Hurdles Haru Hiraki (Osaka Seikei Univ.) - 58.02 Aki Yajima (Tokorozawa Nishi H.S.) - 58.58 10000 m Race Walk S...

800 m national champions Rin Kubo and Ko Ochiai lead Japan's team for next month's Lima World U20 Championships , Kubo having just broken the NR with a 1:59.93 and Ochiai just off the NR at Nationals last month with a 1:45.82 in the heats. Sherry Drury is another one of Japan's big U20 hopes and will run the 1500 m, and 2023 National High School Ekiden champion Saku Chosei H.S. dominates the men's long distance squad with 3rd-years Yamato Hamaguchi in the 3000 m and 5000 m, Tetsu Sasaki in the 3000 m and 3000 mSC, and 2024 graduate Soma Nagahara in the 3000 m SC. World Athletics U20 Championships Japanese Team Lima, Peru, 27-31 Aug. 2024 complete team listing Women  (14) 800 m Rin Kubo (Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S.) - 1:59.93 1500 m Sherry Drury (Tsuyama H.S.) - 4:16.69 3000 m Miyu Yamada (Meijo Univ.) - 9:16.12 Miu Suzuki (Tsukuba Univ.) - 9:19.53 5000 m Kana Mizumoto (Edion) - 15:31.51 Yumi Yamamoto (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 15:47.74 100 m Hurdles Ami Takahashi (Tsuku...

The Japanese U20 men had a near-miss on team bronze at the Belgrade World Cross Country Championships Saturday, taking 4th behind Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. Tomoya Inoue had the best individual performance of the day by a Japanese runner at 16th, with other scoring members Kaito Matsui , Sota Orita and Yamato Hamaguchi all placing in the top 22. Both the U20 and senior women's teams took 6th, Miyu Murakami leading the junior women at 19th and Miku Sakai the senior women at 22nd. The mixed relay team also make single digits, placing 7th, but the senior men were a disappointing 12th. 2:08:20 marathoner Hiroto Fujimagari led the senior men at 48th overall. More video highlights on the World Athletics Youtube channel. Detailed stories and complete results: U20 Women : Alemayo Dominates to Lead Ethiopia to Team U20 Gold in Belgrade Results : individual ・ team U20 Men : Kibathi Outsprints Sime to Secure U20 Title in Belgrade Results :  individual ・ team Mixed Relay : Kenya Runs ...

Japan's National Cross Country Championships happened Sunday on their usual course in Fukuoka, the main event the JAAF uses to choose its teams for next month's Belgrade World Cross Country Championships. Performances at last summer's Budapest World Championships come into consideration, but most of the Belgrade team will be chose from top 8 finishers in the senior races in Fukuoka and top 6 in the U20 races. In the U20 women's 6 km, last year's National High School Ekiden First Stage winner and heavy favorite Narumi Okumoto (Oita Tomei H.S.) led the entire way and ended up with the biggest margin of victory in the four races, winning by 6 seconds over Misaki Shitamori (Kitakyushu Shiritsu H.S.) in 20:16. National High School Ekiden champ Kamimura Gakuen H.S. gave the meet a miss, but boys' champ Saku Chosei H.S. came in strong in the U20 men's 8 km, with Fourth Stage runner-up Yamato Hamaguchi getting the win in 23:35 and Fifth Stage CR breaker Tetsu...

Running with three returning members of last year's course record-breaking team, Nagano pulled off another CR to win its 3rd-straight National Men's Ekiden title Sunday in Hiroshima thanks in large part to a stellar run from anchor Mebuki Suzuki from Komazawa University . Last year's opening leg 3rd-placer Ryuto Kawahara of Nagasaki got things started with a 2:44 opening km on the 7.0 km First Stage, then let 2023 National High School Ekiden First Stage winner Sota Orita of Hyogo take over. Orita did most of the work through the middle part of the stage, then with 1.5 km to go Kawahara attacked and pulled away to break the 19:39 CR set by Sonata Nagashima last year by 8 seconds. It was one of those runs that makes the National Men's Ekiden great, with someone from a high school that isn't good enough to make Nationals taking down one of the big stars whose team did. In a four-way sprint for 2nd Nagano's Yamato Hamaguchi was 4th and Orita 5th, both one s...

  The National Corporate Track and Field Championships in Gifu were the main track action this weekend, but there were also two big time trial meets in the greater Tokyo area. At the Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama Saturday, Charles Kamau Wanjiku (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) was right up there with the best in the corporate leagues, soloing a 27:29.56 to win the B-heat by over 40 seconds. Antipas Kibet (Komori Corp.) won what was technically the A-heat in 27:57.48, with the next three runners including Taisei Nakamura (Yakult) squeezing under 28 minutes, in Nakamura's case in 27:59.96. Erika Tanoura (Sekisui Kagaku) won the women's 5000 m A-heat in 15:47.07, but there wasn't much difference from the B-heat where Momoa Yamada (Tamagawa Univ.) won in 15:50.92. The women's 3000 m was low-key, with Harumi Okamoto (Yamada Holdings) taking the A-heat in 9:10.92 and the next four runners all getting under 9:12. The men's 1500 m saw one noteworthy perform...