Great conditions on the second day of Japan’s National Track and Field Championships, U20 National Championships and Paris Olympics trials helped athletes set new National Championship meet records in the women’s pole vault, men’s 400 mH, men’s and women’s 1500 m, and men’s 5000 m, with three of the five record setters and guaranteeing themselves places on the Paris Olympics team. Complete results here.
Women’s Pole Vault Final
National record holder Misaki Morota cleared her minimum goal, the win in 4.31 m to score enough points to move from 33rd to 32nd in the 32-deep Paris Olympic quota. Morota took two attempts to get over 4.30 m, but on her first try at a Japanese National Championships meet record 4.41 m she got it done. That gave her enough points to move to 30th, but it would take clearing 4.50, 2 cm higher than Morota’s NR, to move to 29th. That proved to be out of range, leaving Morota in good position but still waiting to see the outcome of other countries’ national championships this weekend.
1. Misaki Morota (Art Home) – 4.41 m – MR
2. Akari Osakaya (Sonoda Gakuen Joshi Univ.) – 4.10 m
3. Sora Murata (Tsukuba Univ.) – 4.10 m
4. Mitsuki Kobayashi (Nittai Univ.) – 4.00 m
4. Minori Shinozaki (Shigakkan Univ.) – 4.00 m – PB
4. Aya Morita (Moon) – 4.00 m
7. Hitose Wakabayashi (Fukuoka Univ.) – 4.00 m – PB
8. Rena Tanaka (Yoshida Sekiyu) – 4.00 m
9. Megumi Dainobu (Nittai SMG) – 3.90 m
9. Rio Sasaki (Nittai Univ.) – 3.90 m
9. Mayu Nasu (Kagotani) – 3.90 m
Men’s 1500 m Final
Kazuto Iizawa came back from a hard fall late in his heat yesterday to destroy the field over the last lap with a 3:37.08 meet record, carrying forward the momentum of his two near misses on the NR this season. Former NR holder Nanami Arai was 2nd in 3:38.88 and Ryuji Tatezawa 3rd in 3:38.94, making it a clean sweep of the podium by graduates of Tokai University. Under head coach Hayashi Morozumi Tokai was the first major Hakone Ekiden team that started putting a focus on the 1500 m, so whatever can be said about the value of 3:37~3:38 at the international level, this was a payoff for that focus, and progress. Iizawa plans to go for the 3:35.42 next month at the Hokuren Distance Challenge.
1. Kazuto Iizawa (Sumitomo Denko) – 3:37.08 – CR
2. Nanami Arai (Honda) – 3:38.88
3. Ryuji Tatezawa (DeNA) – 3:38.94
4. Keisuke Morita (Subaru) – 3:38.99
5. Rikuto Iijima (Ami AC) – 3:39.34
6. Nao Kurihara (Josai Univ.) – 3:39.96 – PB
7. Yudai Noguchi (Toenec) – 3:40.35
8. Masato Saiki (Fujisan no Meisui) – 3:40.80
9. Shoma Funatsu (Komori Corp.) – 3:41.86
10. Masaya Yanagimoto (Aisan Kogyo) – 3:42.06 – PB
Men’s 400 mH Final
Favorite Ken Toyoda came through with a big 47.99 meet record and PB, locking in his place on the Paris team. But the bigger story might have been defending champ Daiki Ogawa, who ran a PB of 48.70 for 2nd, hitting the Paris Olympics qualifying standard dead on and making Japan one of only three countries along with Jamaica and the U.S.A. to have four people with the men’s 400 mH Olympic standard. 3rd-placer Kaito Tsutsue only ran 49.08 but already has the standard, meaning Japan will be sending a full squad to Paris.
1. Ken Toyoda (Keio Univ.) – 47.99 – MR, PB
2. Daiki Ogawa (Toyo Univ.) – 48.70 – PB
3. Kaito Tsutsue (ST-Wako) – 49.08
4. Yusaku Kodama (Nojima T&F Club) – 49.28
5. Shunta Inoue (Hosei Univ.) – 49.30
6. Haruto Deguchi (Zenrin) – 49.40
7. Masaya Oda (Toyota Jidoshokki) – 49.44
8. Tatsuhiro Yamamoto (Seki AC) – 49.48
Women’s 1500 m Final
With pacing through 1200 m by Kenyan Hellen Ekarare, NR holder Nozomi Tanaka was pulled along to clear the Paris standard with a 4:01.44 meet record. Japan-based Mirriam Cherop was the only other athlete to go with them, fading after 800 m and exactly tying the 4:07.62 she ran on the same track last October to win the Yogibo Athletics Challenge meet 1500 m. With Cherop not counting in scoring, Ayano Ide and Saki Katagihara ran PBs of 4:11.03 and 4:11.62 for 2nd and 3rd. Distantly in range of making the Paris quota on rankings, Yume Goto ran only 4:12.85 for 5th and missed out.
1. Nozomi Tanaka (New Balance) – 4:01.44 – MR
OC – Mirriam Cherop (Shin Nihon Jusetsu) – 4:07.62
2. Ayano Ide (Shiseido) – 4:11.03 – PB
3. Saki Katagihara (Edion) – 4:11.62 – PB
4. Ran Urabe (Sekisui Kagaku) – 4:12.39
5. Yume Goto (Uniqlo) – 4:12.85
6. Haruko Hosaka (Panasonic) – 4:15.09
7. Sherry Drury (Tsuyama H.S.) – 4:18.16
8. Tomoka Kimura (Sekisui Kagaku) – 4:19.77
9. Ai Fujita (Toyota Jidoshokki) – 4:20.38
10. Maki Izumida (Daiichi Seimei) – 4:23.93
Men’s 5000 m Final
The race of the weekend so far. Japan-based Amos Kurgat took it out hard with a 2:35 first 1000 m that the entire field except Tokyo Olympian Hiroki Matsueda went with. The next three km each got progressively slower, 10000 m NR holder Kazuya Shiojiri leading the pack behind Kurgat with Hyuga Endo close behind, on track through 3000 m for the 13:18.27 Endo needed to break into the Paris quota. But it wasn’t Endo’s day, and as others including Mebuki Suzuki and Takuma Sunaoka challenged Shiojiri for the top spot Endo dropped away to ultimately finish 24th.
Coming into the back straight at 4300 m Shiojiri seemed to get spiked by someone else in the pack, stepped on the rail, then veered straight right toward the outside of the track and almost stopped. That was it for his race as he struggled in to take 18th, but with him out of the picture it was a wild battle for the national title. At the bell it was down to Tatsuhiko Ito, his Honda teammate Nagiya Mori, Suzuki, and Masaya Tsurukawa of 2024 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University with Kurgat just ahead. Ito was incredible, opening 3 seconds on the rest of them to win in a meet record 13:13.56 that moved him up to all-time Japanese #7.
Kurgat was next across the line with a 13:16.52 PB, Mori taking the official 2nd place with a 13:16.76 PB that put him at all-time #10, Suzuki 3rd in a PB 13:17.75 and Tsurukawa 4th in 13:18.51, the 2nd-fastest time ever by a Japanese-born collegiate runner. Including Kurgat, 9 of the top 10 ran PBs, another signal that you have to look at where things are going, not where they are. Post-race Ito said that his next target is the 1:00:00 NR for the half marathon.
1. Tatsuhiko Ito (Honda) – 13:13.56 – MR, PB
OC – Amos Kurgat (Chudenko) – 13:16.52 – PB
2. Nagiya Mori (Honda) – 13:16.76 – PB
3. Mebuki Suzuki (Toyota) – 13:17.75 – PB
4. Masaya Tsurukawa (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) – 13:18.51 – PB
5. Takuma Sunaoka (Sumitomo Denko) – 13:20.42
6. Kazuki Tamura (Sumitomo Denko) – 13:21.56 – PB
7. Hideto Kosode (Honda) – 13:22.01 – PB
8. Ayumu Kobayashi (NTT Nishi Nihon) – 13:22.17 – PB
9. Yusuke Tamura (Kurosaki Harima) – 13:23.74 – PB
10. Kiseki Shiozawa (Fujitsu) – 13:29.90
—–
18. Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) – 13:38.32
24. Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko) – 13:52.78
—–
DNF – Hiroki Matsueda (Fujitsu)
Women’s 400 m Final
No real surprises here, as the two fastest qualifiers Nanako Matsumoto and Yuna Iwata went 1-2 in 53.46 and 53.64. As expected, 3rd came down to Abigail Fuka Ido and Shizuho Moriyama, with Ido running a PB 53.70 to take the last spot on the podium.
1. Nanako Matsumoto (Toho Ginko) – 53.46
2. Yuna Iwata (Suzuki) – 53.64
3. Abigail Fuka Ido (Toho Ginko) – 53.70 – PB
4. Shizuho Moriyama (Ichigo) – 54.42
5. Yuzuki Nakao (Sonoda Gakuen Joshi Univ.) – 54.47
6. Mayu Inaoka (Kagotani) – 54.48
7. Yuika Mori (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) – 54.67
8. Keiko Iida (Chuo Univ.) – 54.92
Men’s 200 m Final +0.2 m/s
Japan’s two highest-ranked men in the Paris quota went 1-2, Towa Uzawa taking the national title in 20.43 (+0.2) and Koki Ueyama next in 20.57. They’re almost certain to be named to the Olympic team. The other man in the quota, 2010 world U20 gold medalist and 3-time Olympian Shota Iizuka, got off to a slow start and spent the 2nd half of the race trying to get up to top 3. The unranked Soshi Mizukubo beat him there in 20.61, Iizuka landing 4th in 20.69. Iizuka is still at 41st of 48 in the Paris quota and will probably be named to the team along with Uzawa and Ueyama, but the final word on whether he has made a fourth Olympics won’t come until after the final world rankings update next week.
1. Towa Uzawa (Tsukuba Univ.) – 20.43
2. Koki Ueyama (Sumitomo Denko) – 20.57
3. Soshi Mizukubo (Miyazaki Sports Assoc.) – 20.61
4. Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) – 20.69
5. Shoto Uno (Orico) – 20.76
6. Yudai Nishi (Mint Tokyo) – 20.77
7. Kento Matsui (Kansai Univ.) – 20.88
8. Futo Takasu (Waseda Univ.) – 20.95
Women’s 100 m Final -0.5 m/s
No surprises here either, as Arisa Kimishima easily repeated her 2023 win in 11.46 (-0.5). 2nd-fastest in the semifinals, Midori Mikase outran 3rd-fastest Manaka Miura for 2nd, 11.64 to 11.68.
1. Arisa Kimishima (DKS) – 11.46
2. Midori Mikase (Sumitomo Denko) – 11.64
3. Manaka Miura (Ehime T&F Assoc.) – 11.68
4. Hinami Yamanaka (Shiga T&F Assoc.) – 11.72
5. Kohana Addia Ross (Josai H.S.) – 11.74
6. Yume Okuno (Konan Univ.) – 11.83
7. Aiko Iki (Osaka Gas) – 11.86
8. Ruho Sato (Hosei Univ.) – 11.96
Women’s Javelin Throw Final
World champion Haruka Kitaguchi took the win here but didn’t seem to be in peak form, 62.87 m on her 2nd attempt, fouling her next three, then closing with 59.87 m. 2nd and 3rd-placers Sae Takemoto and Momone Ueda were both over 60 m, Takemoto’s final attempt of 61.41 m giving Kitaguchi a margin of victory of only 1.46 m. Takemoto’s performance was enough to move her up to 32nd in the Paris quota, and if she survives the final rankings update she’ll join Kitaguchi and Ueda on the Olympic team. If not, 5th-placer Marina Saito is the #2-ranked Japanese woman and like Iizuka in the men’s 200 m will probably be on the team even without a top 3 placing at the trials.
1. Haruka Kitaguchi (JAL) – 62.87 m
2. Sae Takemoto (Team SSP) – 61.41 m
3. Momone Ueda (Zenrin) – 60.72 m
4. Yuki Yamamoto (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) – 59.57 m – PB
5. Marina Saito (Suzuki) – 56.60 m
6. Aoi Murakami (Nittai Univ.) – 56.27 m
7. Mahiro Osa (Kokushikan Club) – 55.25 m
8. Kiho Kuze (Kondotech) – 55.19 m
9. Kana Shinoda (Kyoto Univ.) – 54.88 m
10. Sayuka Kurata (Keio Univ.) – 53.83 m
Women’s Triple Jump Final
NR holder Mariko Morimoto got the job done, turning in a season best 13.64 m (+0.2) jump on her 5th attempt that went way past the 13.37 m win she needed to improve her Paris quota position. 13.64 m brought her score up to 1203, enough to move up two places to 21st of 32. #3-ranked Japanese woman Akari Funada came through with a 13.42 m (+0.4) jump for 2nd on her 5th attempt.
1. Mariko Morimoto (Orico) – 13.64 m (+0.2)
2. Akari Funada (Mukogawa Joshi Univ.) – 13.42 m (+0.4)
3. Moeno Saito (Sunrise) – 12.72 m (+0.2)
4. Misato Osaki (Seven) – 12.69 m (+0.2)
5. Haruka Saito (Raffine) – 12.69 m (+0.2)
6. Hazuki Otsuka (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) – 12.64 m (-0.2)
7. Sakura Miyahata (Seven) – 12.64 m (-0.9)
8. Hanon Kodera (Daitex) – 12.63 m (0.0)
9. Wakana Kamoshita (Mainswork) – 12.52 m (+0.1)
10. Momona Hirose (Sonoda Gakuen Joshi Univ.) – 12.50 m (-0.4)
Women’s Discus Throw Final
NR holder Nanaka Kori pulled out a 58.20 m throw on her 3rd attempt, her best since 2022, to down last year’s national champ Maki Saito for the win. Saito closed with a 56.77 m throw for 2nd, with Akane Kawaguchi taking 3rd at 52.68 m.
1. Nanaka Kori (Niigata Albirex RC) – 58.20 m
2. Maki Saito (Tokai Univ.) – 56.77 m
3. Akane Kawaguchi (Wigas) – 52.68 m
4. Minori Tsujikawa (Uchida Toko AC) – 51.98 m
5. Mika Yamamoto (Kondotech) – 48.77 m
6. Ranna Nishiyama (Tsukuba Univ.) – 47.07 m
7. Natsumi Fujimori (STAC) – 46.59 m
8. Ayane Nakase (Kyokuto Yugyo) – 46.26 m
9. Hazuki Fujita (Tokushima Univ.) – 43.80 m
10. Mai Shimizu (Shiga T&F Assoc.) – 43.80 m
