TACHIKAWA, Tokyo -- Ten universities, as well as 10 previously seeded teams, earned spots to compete in January's Tokyo-Hakone Intercollegiate Ekiden at a qualifier in Tachikawa, Tokyo, on Saturday.
As part of novel coronavirus infection prevention measures, this year's qualifier was held on the premises of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Camp Tachikawa and was not open to the public. Athletes ran eight laps around a 2.6-kilometer course, instead of the route around the city.
Senshu University secured a spot for the first time in seven years, while Yamanashi Gakuin University, which broke its 33-year qualifying streak last year, took seventh place.
The University of Tsukuba, which qualified for Hakone for the first time in 26 years last year, finished 11th and failed to earn a spot by a mere 18 seconds. Chuo Gakuin University finished 12th, breaking its 18-year streak of qualifying.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
