Skip to main content

Fujioka Girls Score First Victory at National Junior High School Ekiden

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/shizuoka/news/20071215-OYT8T00825.htm

translated by Brett Larner

At the 15th All-Japan Junior High School Ekiden in Yamaguchi`s Seminar Park, Fujioka Junior High School (Gotemba City, Shizuoka Prefecture) ran 40:40 in the girls` race to earn its 1st win in this ekiden. Fujioka`s boys` team finished 9th.

The event hosted both 47 boys` and girls` teams with 1 host prefectural all-star team in each gender division making for a total 96 entries. The boys` course covered 18 km in 6 stages while the girls` course was made up of 5 stages totalling 12 km.

The Fujioka girls` 1st stage runner, Saeko Yuda (3rd year), handed off to Marina Oishi (3rd year) in 2nd place just 2 seconds down from the top spot. Oishi took the lead and Fujioka maintained the top position all the way until anchor Kaede Yamazaki (3rd year) crossed the finish line.

Running with the memory of last year`s race in which they finished 2nd by just 4 seconds, Fujioka defeated its demons. 3rd stage runner Kana Furuya (1st year) enthusiastically smiled, "This was the best! I love being on this team." 4th stage runner Mei Niimura (2nd year) earned fastest stage time honors by widening the lead over 2nd place to 25 seconds. Niimura told reporters, "I ran with the plan to sprint the last 500 m. I`m so happy that it worked."

Girls
1st stage (3 km): Saeko Yuda: 9:58
2nd stage (2 km): Marina Oishi: 6:51
3rd stage (2 km): Kana Furuya: 6:45
4th stage (2 km): Mei Niimura: 6:49 (stage best time)
5th stage (3 km): Kaede Yamazaki: 10:17

Boys
1st stage (3 km): Shoya Okuno: 9:46
2nd stage (3 km): Yuta Katsumata: 9:12 (stage best time)
3rd stage (3 km): Ryuta Furuya: 9:53
4th stage (3 km): Yu Araki: 9:30
5th stage (3 km): Tatsuya Ito: 10:12
6th stage (3 km): Tsubasa Tobita 9:46

Comments

Most-Read This Week

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

Fujitsu and Toyoda Issue Statement on Circumstances of His Two-Year Suspension for Trenbolone

  Following 400 m hurdler Masaki Toyoda 's suspension for a violation of anti-doping regulations , the Fujitsu corporate team published a statement on its website, including comments from Toyoda's legal team , explaining the ruling and the circumstances surrounding the case. Toyoda was a member of the 2019 Doha World Championships team and holds a best of 48.87. Early in the morning of May 19, 2022, the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA) conducted a doping test of Toyoda. The prohibited substance trenbolone was detected in urine taken during the test, resulting in a two-year suspension that began May 21, 2022. He did not compete at the National Track and Field Championships the next month. The amount of trenbolone detected in Toyoda's urine sample was 1.4 ng/ml, well below the minimum analytical precision of 2.5 ng/ml required by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for analytical equipment. As a general rule, if a non-specified prohibited substance such as trenbolone is dete

“The Miracle in Fukuoka” - Real Talk From Yuki Kawauchi on “Taking on the World” (part 1)

http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/column/detail/201701120002-spnavi translated by Brett Larner Ahead of his nomination to the London World Championships Marathon team, Sportsnavi published a three-part series of writings by Yuki Kawauchi on what it took for him to make the team, his hopes for London, and his views on the future of Japanese marathoning.  With his place on the London team announced on Mar. 17 , JRN will publish an English translation of the complete series over the next three days. See Sportsnavi's original version linked above for more photos. Click here for part two, " Bringing All My Experience Into Play in London ," or here for part three, " The Lessons of the Past Are Not 'Outdated.' " The Fukuoka International Marathon was held on Dec. 4 last year. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov’t) took part despite nursing injuries he had sustained in training. Falling rain contributed to less than ideal conditions during the race, but from th