14 January 2025
Great Result in the New Year Ekiden
On New Year’s Day, I was in Gunma Prefecture to see our company team’s 11th appearance in the annual New Year Ekiden (long-distance relay race). Every year we have set our sights to finish in 8th place or better, but for the past three years we had ranked in the 20s. So it was with renewed hope that this would be the year for us to accomplish our long-held goal. I was joined by roughly 130 fellow employees from around the country to cheer on our team from the sidelines.
The race started at a very fast pace. In the third leg, Kazuki Tamura overtook nine runners to record the fastest time in the leg. He pushed our team into fourth place going into the next leg, the international leg, where Takuma Sunaoka had the fastest time among all Japanese runners. The team as a whole showed the remarkable persistence they’ve developed through their daily training and, in the end, they finished the race in sixth place, which was the best result of any all-Japanese team. I’m very proud of our runners for having achieved this great result against such high-level teams. It was truly an encouraging start to the new year.
I’d like to congratulate Coach Watanabe and everyone involved in the Sumitomo Electric Track & Field Team, and I’d also like to thank everyone who cheered for us in person or in front of their TV.
Later this year, the World Athletics Championships will be held in Tokyo. Many of the athletes from our track & field team will compete to qualify for this tournament, and we hope for your continued support.
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