Skip to main content

Nittai University Loses Ban Appeal in Marijuana Scandal

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20090422-00000059-jij-spo
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2009/04/23/01.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

On Apr. 22 the Kanto Regional University Track and Field Association rejected an appeal by Nihon Taiku [Nittai] University to overturn punitive measures the Association had levied against Nittai in response to marijuana use by a member of the university's track and field team.* Nittai had sought to reverse the ruling in an effort to expedite the rebuilding of its track and field team, but the Association chose to leave its original decision in place unaltered.

Despite Nittai having already suspended its entire track and field team for one month, the Kanto Association imposed the draconian measures of stripping the school's long distance running team of its prestigious seeded position in next year's Hakone Ekiden and banning the entire track and field team from competing in Association-sponsored competitions until June 30. Nittai protested that it is unreasonable to so severely punish squads to which the offending student did not belong, but Association head Yoshiyuki Aoba responded, "There has been a great deal of discussion of where the responsibility for this scandal lies, and we do not believe Nittai has adequately handled the situation. This issue is not about one athlete or one division. It is indicative of a problem with the entire team. [Nittai University`s] response to this scandal was mistaken and insufficient, and we have absolutely no intention of changing our ruling."

Nittai University is expected to send its reply to the Kanto Association on Apr. 23.

*Translator's note: The team member alleged to be involved was a pole vaulter. He was never arrested or charged with marijuana use by police after a search of his residence failed to produce evidence. Click here for further background on this story.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Japan's Olympic Marathon Team Meets the Press

With renewed confidence, Japan's Olympic marathon team will face the total 438 m elevation difference hills of Paris this summer. The members of the women's and men's marathon teams for August's Paris Olympics appeared at a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 25 in conjunction with the Japan Marathon Championship Series III (JMC) awards gala. Women's Olympic trials winner Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) said she was riding a wave of motivation in the wake of the new women's national record. When she watched Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) set the record at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon on TV, Suzuki said she was, "absolutely stunned." Her coach Sachiko Yamashita told her afterward, "When someone breaks the NR, things change," and Suzuki found herself saying, "I want to take my shot." After training for a great run in Paris, she said, "I definitely want to break the NR in one of my marathons after that." Mao

Weekend Racing Roundup

  China saw a new men's national record of 2:06:57 from  Jie He  at the Wuxi Marathon Sunday, but in Japan it was a relatively quiet weekend with mostly cold and rainy amateur-level marathons across the country. At the Tokushima Marathon , club runner Yuhi Yamashita  won the men's race by almost 4 1/2 minutes in 2:17:02, the fastest Japanese men's time of the weekend, but oddly took 22 seconds to get across the starting line. The women's race saw a close finish between the top two, with Shiho Iwane  winning in 2:49:33 over Ayaka Furukawa , 2nd in 2:49:46.  At the 41st edition of the Sakura Marathon in Chiba, Yukie Matsumura  (Comodi Iida) ran the fastest Japanese women's time of the weekend, 2:42:45, to take the win. Club runner Yuki Kuroda  won the men's race in 2:20:08.  Chika Yokota  won the Saga Sakura Marathon women's race in 2:49:33.  Yuki Yamada  won the men's race in 2:21:47 after taking the lead in the final 2 km.  Naoki Inoue  won the 16th r

Sprinter Shoji Tomihisa Retires From Athletics at 105

A retirement ceremony for local masters track and field legend Shoji Tomihisa , 105, was held May 13 at his usual training ground at Miyoshi Sports Park Field in Miyoshi, Hiroshima. Tomihisa began competing in athletics at age 97, setting a Japanese national record 16.98 for 60 m in the men's 100~104 age group at the 2017 Chugoku Masters Track and Field meet. Last year Tomihisa was the oldest person in Hiroshima selected to run as a torchbearer in the Tokyo Olympics torch relay. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the relay on public roads was canceled, and while he did take part in related ceremonies his run was ultimately canceled. Tomihisa recently took up the shot put, but in light of his fading physical strength he made the decision to retire from competition. Around 30 members of the Shoji Tomihisa Booster Club attended the retirement ceremony. After receiving a bouquet of flowers from them Tomihisa in turn gave them a colored paper placard on which he had written the characters