06 March 2025
Intercollegiate Mixed Ekiden Championship 2025
On February 16, I went to see the 5th Intercollegiate Mixed Ekiden Championship at a special course that was set up for this race in Nagai Park, Osaka. Sumitomo Electric was the main sponsor of the event.
This is the only ekiden (long-distance relay) race in the world contested by university teams composed of men and women. It is a fast and exciting race because the six sections are quite short, ranging from 2 km to 5 km. The weather was very nice again this year, and so we had high hopes for good results as the race began.
One of the teams participating for the first time, Asia University, started strong and took the lead in the first leg. But they were quickly overtaken in the second leg by last year’s champion, Juntendo University. And then in the third leg, Nippon Sport Science University went ahead and took a 30-second lead over the pack. It was a dizzying first half with the rankings changing repeatedly.
In the second half of the race, Daito Bunka University made a great effort to close the gap, but Nippon Sport Science University did a solid job passing the sash from one runner to the next and ultimately took home the win in record time. It was their second victory in three years. Daito Bunka University distinguished themselves in their first appearance in this race by coming in second place. Overall, I felt that the level of competition got even higher this year.
I would like to thank the various teams that came from all over Japan to participate in the race, the many people who came to cheer on the runners, and the staff who organized this tournament. Everyone contributed to making it a wonderful event.
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