On Sunday, November 19, the Women's World University Cross Country Championships 10,000m Qualifier was held at the National Stadium in Tokyo, and Tomo Muramatsu (3rd year, College of Economics) of the Women's Track and Field Team placed 3rd, earning a spot on the Japanese national team.

The qualifier was held jointly with the 10,000m Record Attempt Competition sponsored by the Kanto Student Athletics Federation, with the top three finishers earning the right to compete in the world championships.

Muramatsu took the lead early on and ran aggressively, crossing the finish line in 32:33:24. Although she missed the top spot by the narrowest of margins, she was able to secure a place on the national team.

Muramatsu represented Japan in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the FISU World University Games in China this past August, and she also won a single-stage prize at the 41st All-Japan Collegiate Women's Ekiden Championship (Morinomiyako Ekiden). Despite only being a third-year student, she leads the Women's Track and Field Team as the captain. The World University Cross Country Championships will be held in February 2024 in Muscat, Oman.

We kindly ask everyone will continue to cheer her on.

I have been selected to represent Japan at the World University Cross Country Championships. I am disappointed that I was not able to achieve the result I wanted at the World University Games last summer. This will be my second time representing Japan, and I will do my best to make up for that disappointing finish by running as well as I can to win a medal. Through my running, I also want to express my gratitude to everyone who supports and roots for me.
I hope you will all cheer me on!