2022.12.30
Road to Hakone Ekiden 2023
Text by Masato Sakai
January 2, 2022, 98th Hakone Ekiden, Director Hiroaki Oyagi of Komazawa University Photo: Matsuo/Afro Sports/Japan Sports Press Association
Who are the first two uniforms?
Many people look forward to watching Hakone Ekiden on TV. Therefore, in order to enjoy the tournament more deeply, I would like to introduce some curiosities that you should know.
This time the focus is on the battle between Seigaku University, aiming for consecutive victories, and Koma University, aiming for the Ekiden triple crown. The two schools are “rivals” even if seen from a different angle. This is because Seigaku University gets uniforms from Adidas and Koma University gets uniforms from Nike.
Since 2018, the Hakone Ekiden wins alternately between Adidas (Seigaku University), Nike (Tokai University), Adidas (Seigaku University), Nike (Komadai) and Adidas (Seigaku University). Will it be Nike’s turn this time?
Komadai ace Ren Tazawa (4th year) has not lost to Japanese students in all events including track and ekiden since Hakone Ekiden (7th place in Section 2) in his sophomore year. The person who pushed Tazawa the most was Kotaro Kondo (Seigaku University 4), who was almost 1 second behind in the 3rd district of Izumo this year, when Tazawa was in bad physical condition. The two compete four times in a row in the Student Ekiden. This time the fight in the second flower lane is intense, and will Tazawa be able to win and escape?
Pay attention to the “call” of the director
Hiroaki Oyagi of Koma University and Susumu Hara of Seigaku University, the commanders of the rival schools competing for the championship, have quite different characters. During the race, the voices from the operation management machine to the athletes are also different. The manager Oyagi said: “he IS a man!” Hara’s style is to lift the athletes’ spirits by yelling “Good!” when the athletes respond to the cheers along the way.
There is also a secret in the middle of management that commanders board during the ride. You may have an image that you are speaking freely, but you decide to be “1 minute” at the time of 1, 3, 5, 10, 15km, remaining 3km, remaining 1km. The position of the 21 teams will change according to their ranking. The vehicle is supplied by Toyota Motor Corporation, which sponsors the Hakone Ekiden. The instructors of the driving school with which the company is affiliated act as drivers, so no matter how hot the commanders are, of course, drive safely.
