So Shimada and Nagisa Nomura Win at the 5th Hiroshima Tournament!

The 2026 JBMXF Daito Kentaro Series 5th Hiroshima Tournament, hosted by the Japan BMX Federation, took place at the Haji Dam BMX Track in Akitakata, Hiroshima. So Shimada won the Men's Championship, and Nagisa Nomura won the Women's Championship.

Men's Championship So Shimada (S-PRO BMX CLUB), who calls the Haji Dam BMX Track his home course, conquered the difficult rain-soaked race that started in the morning. Having also won the NAGASAKO OPEN the previous day, Shimada passed the qualifiers with a steady performance. In the final, he took the lead on the first straight from an inside start and maintained his lead to the finish line to win the title. Ema Tsuda (Deux Roues Elite Team) took 2nd place, and Taiga Yokochi (iRC TIRE/REDLINE Bicycles Japan) took 3rd place. Comment from So Shimada: "Despite the poor rain conditions, I focused on performing to the best of my ability. I believed the results would follow. I want to do my best to win the next race as well."

Women's Championship The Women's Championship was contested in a format totaling three races with four athletes. While Sui Yabuta (iRC TIRE / Motocross International) finished first in the first race, a start error and a fall in the second race resulted in a 4th place finish. Nagisa Nomura (Ace Race Australia Factory Team), who finished 2nd in the first race, won the second race. Nomura entered the final race with an overwhelming advantage and finished 1st with a steady run, securing her first victory of the season. Mai Nakamura (SUPERCROSS BMX JAPAN) came in 2nd, and Yuka Nishimura (Deux Roues Elite Team) came in 3rd. Comment from Nagisa Nomura: "It was raining quite hard and the starting gate was slippery, which was a point of concern, so I focused on careful riding. I had similar gate times to the sunny NAGASAKO OPEN the day before, so I think I was in good form. I want to prepare well to achieve good results in the upcoming World Championships and the latter half of the World Cup."

Challenge Categories A great attraction of BMX racing is that participants can start competing from the age of 5. Intense competitions were held in each category, including youth athletes aiming to become top athletes in the future. Winners of each category: - Girls 15 & Over: Ako Shimizu (Kanagawa BMX Association) - Boys 5-6: Rao Tsujimoto (Kansai BMX Federation) - Girls 13-14: Yuri Nakamura (Hiroshima BMX Association) - Boys 7-8: Ryosuke Arakawa (Tokyo BMX Association) - Girls 11-12: Momoka Kuroda (Okayama BMX Association) - Boys 11-12: Eito Hieda (Kansai BMX Federation)

The Hiroshima BMX Association, which hosted the tournament, set up a Holeshot Award for each category and awarded commemorative shields to the winning athletes.