Emperor’s Cup The 28th National Inter-Prefectural Men’s Ekiden Race will be held on January 22nd in front of Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima Prefecture. We will introduce the TV broadcast and live distribution of the tournament, which will be held for the first time in three years, as well as the estimated time of passing the course and each point.
■ Schedule
January 22 (Sun) 12:30 start
■ Broadcast schedule
■ About courses and sections
Start in front of Peace Memorial Park (Hiroshima City) and turn around at the opposite bank of Miyajima (Hatsukaichi City). It is a 48km course that finishes in front of Peace Memorial Park. Seven people from the 1st to the 7th wards connect the tasuki. Each section is divided into junior high school students, high school students, working adults and university students. The distance and distribution of each section are as follows.
- District 1: 7km for college students
- Zone 2: 3km middle school students
- District 3: 8.5km Social people・University students
- Zone 4: 5km for college students
- District 5: 8.5km for college students
- District 6: 3km middle school students
- District 7: 13km Social people and college students
■ Highlights
In 1996, along with the developmental dissolution of the Chugoku Ekiden, the national inter-prefectural men’s Ekiden race was born. The 26th in 2021 and the 27th in 2022 have been canceled, so the 28th will be held for the first time in three years.
The feature is that players of different ages and categories, from junior high school students to adults, form teams and compete in each prefecture. There is also a “hometown system” that allows each team to participate in one section from the prefecture where the junior high school or high school is located.
And the biggest highlight is the final 7 wards where working adults and university students compete. Out of the past 10 tournaments, there have been 7 come-from-behind victories in the 7th district. Because it is the longest section and many talented players are appointed, the order changes are intense. Hyogo prefecture, Okayama prefecture, Osaka prefecture, Chiba prefecture, Miyagi prefecture, and Gunma prefecture are listed as winning candidates.
The other day, at the Empress’s Cup National Inter-Prefectural Women’s Ekiden Race, Drury Sueri, a third-year junior high school student in Okayama Prefecture, pulled out 17 burdocks. Just as she stole the spotlight with her new section record, I would like to expect new young breakthroughs. Yota Masuko (Fukushima Prefecture), who continues to break the junior high school record in the 3,000m, will be another hot talent.