Japanese high school race events began changing rules on use of international students after Kenyan runners began beating Japanese participants

Some Japanese people are upset that international students with more training, better vo2 max, better endurance, and their own race plan that differs from the Japanese way of running are winning races in dominant fashion. Some sports federation for the high school level are now saying that foreign athletes can still participate but only in the shortest section of the race.

Here’s the thing Suziki-san. Maybe look at what these foreign born and trained runners are actually doing. You know like getting sleep, good nutrition, varied training, and most importantly not going out at the personal redline and trying to hold that well beyond capacity and then blowing up. The Japanese way of running yourself into the ground is not always the answer. It might feel brave and they might be lauded when they collapse on the ground like a footballer hit by a fly, but modern running move past these methods decades ago.

Yes let’s pretend that biological differences have nothing to do with the performance disparity and domination. Only if Sanae trained smarter and harder, she could beat any Kenyan athlete who magically dominate marathon events throughout the world. …. Yeah.

How is that different than let say the European soccer leagues limiting the number of foreign players?