13 New Records and Other Highlights From the 2015 National High School Track and Field Championships

by Brett Larner
videos by naoki620

detailed day-by-day National High School Championships coverage:
Day One ・ Day Two ・ Day Three ・ Day Four ・ Day Five

Despite sometimes extreme conditions with temperatures in the mid-30s throughout the five days of the 2015 Japanese National High School Track and Field Championships at Wakayama's Kimiidera Field performances were at a high level in most events, with thirteen new records set including two junior national records and two high school national records.

By far the star of the show was Haruko Ishizuka (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.), who showed outstanding range in everything from 100 m to 800 m. Including heats and semifinals she ran a total of fourteen races in five different events in five days, sometimes with less than an hour between them, but still produced a 57.06 400 mH junior national record and high school national record, #4 among juniors in the world this year, a 53.30 National High School Championships record in the 400 m, a spectacular anchor leg to win the 4x400 m, and a 2:07.20 PB for 2nd in what may have been the best girls' race of the meet, an 800 m duel against 1500 m champion Chika Mukai (Shigakukan H.S.). It's no surprise that Keiai took the overall girls' champion title on the strength of Ishizuka's wins, or that she earned a place on the Japanese women's 4x400 m team for the Beijing World Championships later this month.

Haruko Ishizuka (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.)

Less noticeably, Shinichi Yukinaga (Seiko Gakuen H.S.) also turned in multiple records in the throws, opening with an 18.21 m boys' shot put junior national record and high school national record and following up with a 55.59 m National High School Championships meet record.

Shinichi Yukinaga (Seiko Gakuen H.S.)

Five other athletes set new National High School Championships records in just about everything except for sprints and long distance, indicating general improvement in many of Japan's traditionally weaker events.

13.85 +1.4 m/s - Nao Kanai (Kawasaki Tachibana H.S.) - Boys' 110 m Hurdles National High School Championships meet record

50.27 - Kazunari Takada (Hosei Prep Daini H.S.) - Boys' 400 m Hurdles National High School Championships meet record

15.80 m -0.2 m/s - Chihiro Nozaki (Rakunan H.S.) - Boys' Triple Jump National High School Championships meet record

49.15 - Nanaka Kori (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.) - Girls' Discus Throw National High School Championships meet record

6002 - Hayao Tagami (Rakunan H.S.) - Boys' Octathlon National High School Championships meet record

Of JRN's picks for the top five competitions of this year's Championships, three came in middle distances where despite no new records up there were great races and depth that again suggested that things are moving in the right direction among the people who may make up a good part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics team. Defending 100 m champion Kenta Oshima's win over World Youth Olympics double gold medalist Abdul Hakim Sani Brown was the boys' highlight of the meet.

Boys' 100 m Final: Kenta Oshima (Tokyo H.S.) 10.29 -0.8 m/s PB to win over Abdul Hakin Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.), 10.30

Girls' 800 m Final: Chika Mukai (Shigakukan H.S.) - 2:06.29 PB to win over Haruko Ishizuka (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.), 2:07.20 PB

Girls' 1500 m Final: Chika Mukai (Shigakukan H.S.) - 4:16.76 PB to win, leading 9 girls under 4:25

Boys' 1500 m Final: Kazuyoshi Tamogami (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) - 3:48.48 to win, leading 9 boys under 3:50

Boys' Javelin Throw Final: Gen Naganuma (Takada H.S.) - 66.75 m to win, top 3 all within 29 cm

(c) 2015 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

With three sub-2:09 Japanese men in the race and good weather conditions by Boston standards the chances were decent that somebody was going to follow 1981 winner Toshihiko Seko 's 2:09:26 and score a sub-2:10 at the Boston Marathon . But nobody thought it was going to be by a 2:14 amateur. Paris Olympic team member Suguru Osako had taken 3rd in Boston in 2:10:28 in his debut seven years ago, and both he and 2:08 runners Kento Otsu and Ryoma Takeuchi were aiming for spots in the top 10, Otsu after having run a 1:01:43 half marathon PB in February and Takeuchi of a 2:08:40 marathon PB at Hofu last December. A high-level amateur with a 2:14:15 PB who scored a trip to Boston after winning a local race in Japan, Yuma Morii told JRN minutes before the start of the race, "I'm not thinking about time at all. I'm going to make top 10, whatever time it takes." Running Boston for the first time Morii took off with a 4:32 on the downhill opening mile, but after that Sis

Saturday at Kanaguri and Nittai

Two big meets happened Saturday, one in Kumamoto and the other in Yokohama. At Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet , Benard Koech (Kyudenko) turned in the performance of the day with a 13:13.52 meet record to win the men's 5000 m A-heat by just 0.11 seconds over Emmanuel Kipchirchir (SGH). The top four were all under 13:20, with 10000 m national record holder Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) bouncing back from a DNF at last month's The TEN to take the top Japanese spot at 7th overall in 13:24.57. The B-heat was also decently quick, Shadrack Rono (Subaru) winning in 13:21.55 and Shoya Yonei (JR Higashi Nihon) running a 10-second PB to get under 13:30 for the first time in 13:29.29 for 6th. Paris Olympics marathoner Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) was 9th in 13:30.62. South Sudan's Abraham Guem (Ami AC) also set a meet record in the men's 1500 m A-heat in 3:38.94. 3000 mSC national record holder Ryuji Miura made his debut with the Subaru corporate team, running 3:39.78 for 2n

93-Year-Old Masters Track and Field WR Holder Hiroo Tanaka: "Everyone has Unexplored Intrinsic Abilities"

In the midst of a lot of talk about how to keep the aging population young, there are people with long lives who are showing extraordinary physical abilities. One of them is Hiroo Tanaka , 93, a multiple world champion in masters track and field. Tanaka began running when he was 60, before which he'd never competed in his adult life. "He's so fast he's world-class." "His running form is so beautiful. It's like he's flying." Tanaka trains at an indoor track in Aomori five days a week. Asked about him, that's the kind of thing the people there say. Tanaka holds multiple masters track and field world records, where age is divided into five-year groups. Last year at the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Poland he set a new world record of 38.79 for 200 m in the M90 class (men's 90-94 age group). People around the world were amazed at the time, which was almost unbelievable for a 92-year-old. After retiring from his job as an el

japan running news

Search This Blog