Aoyama Gakuin coach Susumu Hara described his squad as “the strongest in collegiate history” ahead of the Tokyo-Hakone Intercollegiate Ekiden, and his runners made a strong claim for that title.
Aoyama Gakuin grabbed its second straight Hakone win with a wire-to-wire victory Sunday, finishing the two-day, 217.1 kilometer-race in 10 hours 53 minutes 25 seconds.
As proof of its dominance, Aoyama Gakuin won six of the race’s 10 sections, building a lead of 7 minutes 11 seconds over runner-up Toyo University. It was the first time in 39 years that a team has won the Hakone ekiden without falling to second at any point in the two-day race.
Komazawa finished third at 11:04:00, followed by Waseda (11:07:54) and Tokai (11:09:44).
Despite their overwhelming performance, Hara said the victory was never easy, as he and the runners had to battle pressure after winning the university’s first title last year.
“During the first half of the season, we felt we’d easily be able to win [Hakone] again,” Hara said. “But in the second half, my runners and I were caught by pressure before we realized it.”
Hara said the loss to Toyo in November’s All-Japan collegiate ekiden was a turning point for the team. “Amid those circumstances, we lost at the All-Japan but we managed to make the loss an opportunity for development,” Hara said. “I’m 300 percent happy.”
Aoyama Gakuin built its lead from the first day with the steady performance of veteran runners such as seniors Kazuma Kubota and Daichi Kamino. However, it was a rookie who gave the team a boost on Sunday.
Freshman Yuji Onoda ran the opening sixth section — a difficult downhill leg that stretches 20.8 kilometers — with the second-fastest time Sunday for that section at 58:31, extending the team’s lead over Toyo from 3:04 to 4:14.
The gap kept widening as senior Yusuke Ogura won the seventh section, followed by sophomore Yuta Shimoda’s victory in the eighth.
Sophomore Yuki Nakamura was seventh in the ninth section, but that was the only one in which Aoyama Gakuin runners finished worse than third over the two-day race. Senior Toshinori Watanabe won the final 10th section to secure the team’s back-to-back Hakone titles.
“Last year, the fact that we’d won hit us after the race was over,” said captain Kamino, who overcame a series of injuries and helped the team with a stable performance in the uphill fifth leg. “But this year all of us aimed to win the title, and we did it. I feel greater happiness than last year.”
Meiji misses automatic spot
As always, joy and sorrow surrounded the top 10 finishers, who automatically secure a slot at next year’s Hakone Ekiden.
Meiji University finished fourth last year but was a disappointing 14th on Sunday, meaning the team will have to participate in the qualifying race for the 2017 ekiden.
In contrast, last year’s 12th-place finisher Juntendo beat the odds this time around. The team was ninth when Naoya Sakuda received the sash in the final 10th section, but the junior pushed the team up to sixth with the fastest time after Aoyama Gakuin’s Watanabe.
Nippon Sport Science, Yamanashi Gakuin, Chuo Gakuin and Teikyo also booked a spot in next year’s race.(
Aoyama Gakuin coach Susumu Hara described his squad as “the strongest in collegiate history” ahead of the Tokyo-Hakone Intercollegiate Ekiden, and his runners made a strong claim for that title.
Aoyama Gakuin grabbed its second straight Hakone win with a wire-to-wire victory Sunday, finishing the two-day, 217.1 kilometer-race in 10 hours 53 minutes 25 seconds.
As proof of its dominance, Aoyama Gakuin won six of the race’s 10 sections, building a lead of 7 minutes 11 seconds over runner-up Toyo University. It was the first time in 39 years that a team has won the Hakone ekiden without falling to second at any point in the two-day race.
Komazawa finished third at 11:04:00, followed by Waseda (11:07:54) and Tokai (11:09:44).
Despite their overwhelming performance, Hara said the victory was never easy, as he and the runners had to battle pressure after winning the university’s first title last year.
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The Yomiuri Shimbun
Aoyama Gakuin rookie Yuji Onoda runs the sixth section.
“During the first half of the season, we felt we’d easily be able to win [Hakone] again,” Hara said. “But in the second half, my runners and I were caught by pressure before we realized it.”
Hara said the loss to Toyo in November’s All-Japan collegiate ekiden was a turning point for the team. “Amid those circumstances, we lost at the All-Japan but we managed to make the loss an opportunity for development,” Hara said. “I’m 300 percent happy.”
Aoyama Gakuin built its lead from the first day with the steady performance of veteran runners such as seniors Kazuma Kubota and Daichi Kamino. However, it was a rookie who gave the team a boost on Sunday.
Freshman Yuji Onoda ran the opening sixth section — a difficult downhill leg that stretches 20.8 kilometers — with the second-fastest time Sunday for that section at 58:31, extending the team’s lead over Toyo from 3:04 to 4:14.
The gap kept widening as senior Yusuke Ogura won the seventh section, followed by sophomore Yuta Shimoda’s victory in the eighth.
Sophomore Yuki Nakamura was seventh in the ninth section, but that was the only one in which Aoyama Gakuin runners finished worse than third over the two-day race. Senior Toshinori Watanabe won the final 10th section to secure the team’s back-to-back Hakone titles.
“Last year, the fact that we’d won hit us after the race was over,” said captain Kamino, who overcame a series of injuries and helped the team with a stable performance in the uphill fifth leg. “But this year all of us aimed to win the title, and we did it. I feel greater happiness than last year.”
Meiji misses automatic spot
As always, joy and sorrow surrounded the top 10 finishers, who automatically secure a slot at next year’s Hakone Ekiden.
Meiji University finished fourth last year but was a disappointing 14th on Sunday, meaning the team will have to participate in the qualifying race for the 2017 ekiden.
In contrast, last year’s 12th-place finisher Juntendo beat the odds this time around. The team was ninth when Naoya Sakuda received the sash in the final 10th section, but the junior pushed the team up to sixth with the fastest time after Aoyama Gakuin’s Watanabe.
Nippon Sport Science, Yamanashi Gakuin, Chuo Gakuin and Teikyo also booked a spot in next year’s race.(The Japan News)
Link: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002659258
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