Aoyama Gakuin University clinched victory in the 100th Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden road relay on Wednesday, setting a historic record with a cumulative time of 10 hours, 41 minutes, and 25 seconds, surpassed its own 2022 record by over 2 minutes, securing its seventh Hakone ekiden triumph within the past decade.

Despite being the pre-race favorite, Komazawa University settled for a distant second place with a finishing time of 10:48:00, falling short of its quest to achieve a historic sweep of collegiate ekiden's three major races in consecutive seasons.

In October, Komazawa secured victory in the Izumo Ekiden, followed by another triumph in the national championship in November.

Aoyama Gakuin kicked off the 109.6-kilometer journey back, spanning from the hilly hot spring retreat of Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture to Tokyo's Otemachi business district, holding a 2-minute, 38-second advantage.

Aoyama Gakuin's runners from the sixth to the tenth leg outpaced their Komazawa counterparts, collectively recording a time of 5 hours, 23 minutes, and 12 seconds.

"I'm happy to have run in this Hakone ekiden and won the title, which was my dream since I entered this school," Commenting on his debut in the longstanding annual race that originated in 1920, Kento Yamauchi, the seventh runner and senior from Aoyama Gakuin, shared his thoughts.

Josai University achieved its highest-ever finish, securing third place with a time of 10 hours, 52 minutes, and 26 seconds. The standings of the top three finishers remained consistent from the conclusion of Tuesday's initial leg.

Komazawa manager Atsushi Fujita said, "We wanted to finish first, so second place is a disappointment. I have a lot of regrets. We'll work hard and come back."

For the first time in four years, spectators were granted the opportunity to cheer on the runners, signaling a relaxation in pandemic restrictions. The 100th edition of the race saw the participation of 23 schools from the Kanto region, including Tokyo, which is three more than the usual number.

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