Satoru Kasuya anchored Komazawa University to victory in the Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden road relay for the third straight year upon completion of the return legs of the 216.4-km race on Saturday.
Komazawa University student Satoru Kasuya reacts after crossing the finish line in first place in Tokyo on Saturday as Komazawa won the Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden road relay for the third straight year.
The 10 runners of Komazawa University, which claimed its fourth overall title, combined for a time of 11 hours, seven minutes, 51 seconds to make 38-time participant Komazawa the fifth school in history to win the annual two-day competition for three consecutive years.
Tokai University, winner of the national collegiate ekiden championships last November, finished runnerup in 11:13:48, and Asia University came third in 11:16:17.
On Saturday, Komazawa University runners maintained their overnight lead and led from start to finish in the sixth through 10th legs over the 109.2-km course from the hot-springs resort of Hakone to Tokyo's Otemachi business district.
"There's nothing comparable to breaking through the finish ribbon. I have two more years, so I'll keep going and aim for a five-peat," said Kasuya, a sophomore, who recorded the fastest time of 1:10.31 in his 23-km leg.
"A three-peat is unbelievable. Every runner did his part. We had a total of 14 runners, including four reserves. The reserves helped by creating a competitive atmosphere among the team and we won this all together," said Komazawa coach Tadashi Takaoka.
The 80th edition of the Tokyo-Hakone ekiden featured 20 teams. The other schools with consecutive championships are Chuo University (six), Nippon Sport Science University (five), Nihon University (four) and Juntendo University (four).