by Brett Larner
20-year-olds dominated the Japanese half-marathon news this weekend. 20-year-old Olympic 10000 m squad favorite Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) set a course record of 1:00:53 in his half-marathon at the National Corporate Half-Marathon Championships, outkicking Kenyan Jacob Wanjuki (Team Aichi Seiko) on the final lap of the track after dueling with the talented Masato Kihara (Team Kanebo) throughout the race. Miyawaki's time was the third-fastest ever by a Japanese man on an unaided course, with Kihara's 1:01:15 PB landing him at all-time #8. Tamagawa Univ. grad Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei) won the women's race in 1:09:47, the first sub-70 by a Japanese woman this year, while past 1500 m national champion Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) won the women's 10 km in 32:59 by a second over Kenyan Grace Kimanzi (Team Starts).
A few hours and half a world away 20-year-old Yuta Shitara (Toyo Univ.), runner up at last year's Ageo City Half-Marathon, ran a PB of 1:01:48 to take 14th at the New York City Half-Marathon, dropping 2009 World Half Marathon Championships bronze medalist Dathan Ritzenhein (U.S.A.) with 1 km to go. Shitara's mark was the fastest-ever by a Japanese man on U.S. soil. His teammate Kento Otsu (Toyo Univ.), also 20, was 25th in 1:03:15 in his international debut. Both Shitara and Otsu were invited to New York as part of a relationship set up by JRN between the NYC Half and Ageo to help give top Japanese collegiates international experience at their best distance early in their careers.
University women were also in the news as little-known Ayame Takaki (Meijo Univ.) ran a strong 1:11:10 to win the National University Women's Half-Marathon Championships in Matsue. Takaki won by more than a minute over a small chase pack. Maki Arai (Team Uniqlo) took the 10 km in 33:46.
2012 National Corporate Half-Marathon Championships
Yamaguchi, 3/18/12
click here for complete results
Men
1. Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) - 1:00:53 - CR, debut
2. Jacob Wanjuki (Kenya/Team Aichi Seiko) - 1:00:59
3. Masato Kihara (Team Kanebo) - 1:01:15 - PB
4. Yoshihiro Wakamatsu (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 1:02:17
5. Takehiro Arakawa (Team Asahi Kasei) - 1:02:18
6. Sota Hoshi (Team Fujitsu) - 1:02:20
7. Dishawn Karukuwa (Kenya/Team Aisan Kogyo) - 1:02:36
8. Ryo Matsumoto (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 1:02:36
9. Takahiro Aso (Team Aisan Kogyo) - 1:02:36
10. Yuki Takamiya (Team Yakult) - 1:02:37
Women
1. Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 1:09:47 - PB
2. Yuka Tokuda (Team Starts) - 1:10:40
3. Ai Igarashi (Team Sysmex) - 1:10:48
4. Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya) - 1:11:02
5. Shino Saito (Team Shimamura) - 1:11:10
6. Chihiro Takato (Team Wacoal) - 1:11:23
7. Asami Kato (Team Panasonic) - 1:11:32
8. Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 1:11:50
9. Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex) - 1:12:15
10. Rui Aoyama (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 1:12:16
Women's 10 km
1. Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) - 32:59
2. Grace Kimanzi (Kenya/Team Starts) - 33:00
3. Yurie Doi (Team Starts) - 33:11
4. Tomoka Inadomi (Team Wacoal) - 33:19
5. Kotomi Takayama (Team Sysmex) - 33:27
2012 New York City Half-Marathon
New York, 3/18/12
click here for complete results
Men
1. Peter Kirui (Kenya) - 59:39 - PB
2. Deriba Merga (Ethiopia) - 59:48
3. Feyisa Lilesa (Ethiopia) - 1:00:45
4. Wesley Korir (Kenya) - 1:01:19 - PB
5. Sam Chelanga (Kenya) - 1:01:19 - PB
-----
13. Meb Keflezighi (U.S.A.) - 1:01:41
14. Yuta Shitara (Japan) - 1:01:48 - PB
15. Dathan Ritzenhein (U.S.A.) - 1:01:52
25. Kento Otsu (Japan) - 1:03:15
Women
1. Dado Firehiwot (Ethiopia) - 1:08:35
2. Kim Smith (New Zealand) - 1:08:43
3. Kara Goucher (U.S.A.) - 1:09:12
4. Hilda Kibet (Netherlands) - 1:09:42
5. Janet Cherobon-Bawcom) - 1:09:55
2012 Matsue Ladies Half-Marathon
15th National University Women's Half-Marathon Championships
Matsue, 3/18/12
click here for complete results
Half-Marathon
1. Ayame Takaki (Meijo Univ.) - 1:11:10
2. Ayako Mitsui (RItsumeikan Univ.) - 1:12:22
3. Eriko Kushima (Kyoto Sangyo Univ.) - 1:12:28
4. Eriko Ogino (Team Daihatsu) - 1:12:45
5. Maria Yano (Matsuyama Univ.) - 1:13:06
10 km
1. Maki Arai (Team Uniqlo) - 33:46
2. Rio Kojima (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 33:56
3. Yukiko Nishizono (Team Uniqlo) - 34:20
4. Saki Ochiai (Hirata H.S.) - 35:52
5. Maiya Fukuda (Hirata H.S.) - 36:54
(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Toyo in New York - Kento Otsu, Yuta Shitara and Coach Sakai Talk Pre-NYC Half
http://ekiden-news.jp/?p=658
translated and edited by Brett Larner
As part of a new relationship set up by JRN between the New York City Half Marathon and the Ageo City Half Marathon, sophomores Yuta Shitara and Kento Otsu of Hakone Ekiden course record setters Toyo University were invited to run this year's NYC Half after finishing 2nd and 3rd at last year's Ageo. Just before their departure for New York from Narita Airport on March 14, the Ekiden News website talked with Shitara, Otsu and Toyo head coach Toshiyuki Sakai.
How did you feel when you first heard about your invitation to run the New York City Half Marathon?
Shitara: I was totally surprised.
Otsu: I’ve never been so happy. It’s my first overseas race and I’m really looking forward to it.
What has been your main focus from the end of the Hakone Ekiden up until today?
Shitara: I took some time off after Hakone, then ran the National Men’s Ekiden, then cross-country, each time focusing on the next race.
Otsu: Hakone marked the beginning of the new year, so instead of feeling like it was the end of the season I started setting my next goals and working towards them.
What are your goals and race plans for the NYC Half?
Shitara: My goal is to break my PB. I’m aiming to pick up the pace a lot in the last 5 km.
Otsu: I want to set a new PB too. Since this is my first time racing outside Japan I want to get as much out of the experience as I can to help me improve once we come back.
What do you want to bring back to the Toyo University team from this opportunity to run the NYC Half?
Shitara: I want to be able to show them that the door to racing overseas is open.
Otsu: What it’s like to run in an unpredictable race with shifting pace instead of the run-a-safe-pace-and-then-push-it type of race we usually have in Japan.
With the graduation of Toyo University’s captain Kashiwabara and the other seniors the team will take a different direction under its new captain Saito. Having won the Hakone Ekiden this year, what do you see for the team’s future? What message do you want to send to the incoming first-years?
Shitara: Toyo University became as strong as it has on the shoulders of this year’s graduating class. We owe it all to Kashiwabara and the other seniors. I want to show that kind of leadership to the younger members of the team through my own running. After the NYC Half I want to make the podium at the Kanto Regional University Track & Field Championships 10000 m.
Otsu: The seniors this year all had very strong character, and the seriousness with which they all approached their training and their lives, the way they each individually were always asking themselves, “What can I do to be better?” was a major influence on me. Up until Nationals [last November] I was never a starting member on the team, but they gave me the motivation to get serious [about making the Hakone Ekiden starting lineup] and to do what I had to do to get there. The same way that this year’s seniors taught me this, through their running instead of with words, I want to be able to show to the underclassmen. I want to make the top eight at the Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships half marathon after New York.
What do you make of an opportunity like this one to compete against some of the best in the world in a race other than the Olympics or the World Championships?
Sakai: These days people target the Hakone Ekiden, but originally it was meant as a stepping stone to international competition. In terms of focusing on the rest of the world, on wearing the national colors and going to the Olympics or World Championships, in terms of renewing the system so that the first time our athletes are standing on the starting line of a world-level race they are not just there for the experience, an opportunity such as this one to run the NYC Half as a university student is extremely important.
Do you plan to become more active in taking on these kinds of overseas opportunities after this as well?
Sakai: The domestic university championships and ekidens are our number one priority, but I’d like to start having more of our runners taking on the marathon. If you race overseas you have to deal with issues of differences in culture, food, weather, jet lag, travel problems, and the like which in many ways make it a different situation from racing domestically, but you have to learn to be able to run up to your potential even when faced with difficulties and in that respect when the opportunity to race overseas is there it’s important to take it.
At this year’s Hakone Ekiden the Toyo University team put a clear emphasis on speed over distances longer than 20 km, showing clearly how strong they are.
Sakai: I think there’s still a pretty big disparity in terms of what we can do on the track relative to world standards, but the goal here is to take what we’ve been able to accomplish at the 20+ km distance and see how far that can take us against some of the best in the world.
Are you thinking of this NYC Half more in terms of building experience or actually getting results?
Sakai: Well, in terms of results, if they try to race some of these 59 minute or 60 minute athletes they will be running faster than the Japanese national record pace, so that might be a little much. But I do want them to be an active part of the front end of the race, not just passively hanging on to the rear of the pack. On the track and in the marathon it’s become increasingly more difficult to be internationally competitive, so I feel strongly that we have to make changes to our way of doing things, and to look carefully at the corporate system.
On the domestic race circuit just about the only chance to race against corporate runners is at Marugame, so there are few opportunities for the best university runners to face top-quality competition over the half-marathon distance. Both Otsu and Shitara are second-years, so I want them to get a lot out of their NYC Half experience, to run the way they would be unafraid to go after the best corporate runners, and through that to take a more and more leading role in the Japanese athletics world.
Both runners said that they are already targeting podium finishes at the Kanto Championships now before NYC.
Sakai: I think they are looking at it in terms of this international experience giving them a big edge once they go back to the university championships. It’s not just a question of tactics but of learning to make the race yourself. I want them to become aggressive racers, not just competing against whoever happens to be right there.
What has their training been like since the Hakone Ekiden, and what is the race plan in the NYC Half?
Sakai: Both of them ran the National Men’s Ekiden and the Chiba and Fukuoka XC meets, so by using races as part of their preparations I think they are sharp and primed. In the NYC Half I don’t think the section through Central Park will be that fast, so I anticipate them running in the lead pack through the park and then picking it up once they get out onto the roads. I’m sure the leaders will be changing gears a lot and I hope that Otsu and Shitara will be able to stay with at least one of the big moves and to play a part in making the race themselves. They both have a lot of ability over longer distances, so I’d like to see them come out of this as top-ranked university athletes over the half.
Finally, can we look forward to seeing them run in the dark blue ekiden season Toyo University uniforms?
Sakai: Yes, they’ll be wearing the blue uniforms.
Otsu and Shitara are two athletes who had probably never even thought about the possibility of racing overseas, but as their coach tells them, “If you don’t try to change the world then there’s no future.” From Hakone to the world. This year’s New York City Half Marathon is another signal that Japan is on its way back to becoming strong again.
photo (c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
translated and edited by Brett Larner
How did you feel when you first heard about your invitation to run the New York City Half Marathon?
Shitara: I was totally surprised.
Otsu: I’ve never been so happy. It’s my first overseas race and I’m really looking forward to it.
What has been your main focus from the end of the Hakone Ekiden up until today?
Shitara: I took some time off after Hakone, then ran the National Men’s Ekiden, then cross-country, each time focusing on the next race.
Otsu: Hakone marked the beginning of the new year, so instead of feeling like it was the end of the season I started setting my next goals and working towards them.
What are your goals and race plans for the NYC Half?
Shitara: My goal is to break my PB. I’m aiming to pick up the pace a lot in the last 5 km.
Otsu: I want to set a new PB too. Since this is my first time racing outside Japan I want to get as much out of the experience as I can to help me improve once we come back.
What do you want to bring back to the Toyo University team from this opportunity to run the NYC Half?
Shitara: I want to be able to show them that the door to racing overseas is open.
Otsu: What it’s like to run in an unpredictable race with shifting pace instead of the run-a-safe-pace-and-then-push-it type of race we usually have in Japan.
With the graduation of Toyo University’s captain Kashiwabara and the other seniors the team will take a different direction under its new captain Saito. Having won the Hakone Ekiden this year, what do you see for the team’s future? What message do you want to send to the incoming first-years?
Shitara: Toyo University became as strong as it has on the shoulders of this year’s graduating class. We owe it all to Kashiwabara and the other seniors. I want to show that kind of leadership to the younger members of the team through my own running. After the NYC Half I want to make the podium at the Kanto Regional University Track & Field Championships 10000 m.
Otsu: The seniors this year all had very strong character, and the seriousness with which they all approached their training and their lives, the way they each individually were always asking themselves, “What can I do to be better?” was a major influence on me. Up until Nationals [last November] I was never a starting member on the team, but they gave me the motivation to get serious [about making the Hakone Ekiden starting lineup] and to do what I had to do to get there. The same way that this year’s seniors taught me this, through their running instead of with words, I want to be able to show to the underclassmen. I want to make the top eight at the Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships half marathon after New York.
What do you make of an opportunity like this one to compete against some of the best in the world in a race other than the Olympics or the World Championships?
Sakai: These days people target the Hakone Ekiden, but originally it was meant as a stepping stone to international competition. In terms of focusing on the rest of the world, on wearing the national colors and going to the Olympics or World Championships, in terms of renewing the system so that the first time our athletes are standing on the starting line of a world-level race they are not just there for the experience, an opportunity such as this one to run the NYC Half as a university student is extremely important.
Do you plan to become more active in taking on these kinds of overseas opportunities after this as well?
Sakai: The domestic university championships and ekidens are our number one priority, but I’d like to start having more of our runners taking on the marathon. If you race overseas you have to deal with issues of differences in culture, food, weather, jet lag, travel problems, and the like which in many ways make it a different situation from racing domestically, but you have to learn to be able to run up to your potential even when faced with difficulties and in that respect when the opportunity to race overseas is there it’s important to take it.
At this year’s Hakone Ekiden the Toyo University team put a clear emphasis on speed over distances longer than 20 km, showing clearly how strong they are.
Sakai: I think there’s still a pretty big disparity in terms of what we can do on the track relative to world standards, but the goal here is to take what we’ve been able to accomplish at the 20+ km distance and see how far that can take us against some of the best in the world.
Are you thinking of this NYC Half more in terms of building experience or actually getting results?
Sakai: Well, in terms of results, if they try to race some of these 59 minute or 60 minute athletes they will be running faster than the Japanese national record pace, so that might be a little much. But I do want them to be an active part of the front end of the race, not just passively hanging on to the rear of the pack. On the track and in the marathon it’s become increasingly more difficult to be internationally competitive, so I feel strongly that we have to make changes to our way of doing things, and to look carefully at the corporate system.
On the domestic race circuit just about the only chance to race against corporate runners is at Marugame, so there are few opportunities for the best university runners to face top-quality competition over the half-marathon distance. Both Otsu and Shitara are second-years, so I want them to get a lot out of their NYC Half experience, to run the way they would be unafraid to go after the best corporate runners, and through that to take a more and more leading role in the Japanese athletics world.
Both runners said that they are already targeting podium finishes at the Kanto Championships now before NYC.
Sakai: I think they are looking at it in terms of this international experience giving them a big edge once they go back to the university championships. It’s not just a question of tactics but of learning to make the race yourself. I want them to become aggressive racers, not just competing against whoever happens to be right there.
What has their training been like since the Hakone Ekiden, and what is the race plan in the NYC Half?
Sakai: Both of them ran the National Men’s Ekiden and the Chiba and Fukuoka XC meets, so by using races as part of their preparations I think they are sharp and primed. In the NYC Half I don’t think the section through Central Park will be that fast, so I anticipate them running in the lead pack through the park and then picking it up once they get out onto the roads. I’m sure the leaders will be changing gears a lot and I hope that Otsu and Shitara will be able to stay with at least one of the big moves and to play a part in making the race themselves. They both have a lot of ability over longer distances, so I’d like to see them come out of this as top-ranked university athletes over the half.
Finally, can we look forward to seeing them run in the dark blue ekiden season Toyo University uniforms?
Sakai: Yes, they’ll be wearing the blue uniforms.
Otsu and Shitara are two athletes who had probably never even thought about the possibility of racing overseas, but as their coach tells them, “If you don’t try to change the world then there’s no future.” From Hakone to the world. This year’s New York City Half Marathon is another signal that Japan is on its way back to becoming strong again.
photo (c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Watch the National Corporate Half Marathon Championships Online
by Brett Larner
The 2012 National Jitsugyodan Half Marathon Championships take place this Sunday in Yamaguchi. Cancelled last year following the Tohoku disasters, this year's race is the first selection race for the Japanese team for this fall's World Half Marathon Championships and also features the addition of a women's road 10 km division. The elite fields are among the deepest of any Japanese road race, including sub-61 Kenyans Jacob Wanjuki (Team Aichi Seiko) and James Mwangi (Team NTN), five Japanese men with sub-62 PBs, the highly-anticipated debut of 20-year-old 27:41 man Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) and many more. Click here for complete entry lists.
Overseas viewers should be able to watch TBS' broadcast of the race online via Keyhole TV starting at 2:00 p.m. Japan time on Sunday, Mar. 18. Later in the day the National University Women's Half Marathon Championships will also be broadcast on Fuji TV starting at 2:15 a.m. on Mar. 19.
(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
The 2012 National Jitsugyodan Half Marathon Championships take place this Sunday in Yamaguchi. Cancelled last year following the Tohoku disasters, this year's race is the first selection race for the Japanese team for this fall's World Half Marathon Championships and also features the addition of a women's road 10 km division. The elite fields are among the deepest of any Japanese road race, including sub-61 Kenyans Jacob Wanjuki (Team Aichi Seiko) and James Mwangi (Team NTN), five Japanese men with sub-62 PBs, the highly-anticipated debut of 20-year-old 27:41 man Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) and many more. Click here for complete entry lists.
Overseas viewers should be able to watch TBS' broadcast of the race online via Keyhole TV starting at 2:00 p.m. Japan time on Sunday, Mar. 18. Later in the day the National University Women's Half Marathon Championships will also be broadcast on Fuji TV starting at 2:15 a.m. on Mar. 19.
(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Monday, March 12, 2012
Japan Names London Olympics Men's and Women's Marathon Teams
by Brett Larner
At a live televised press conference the afternoon of Mar. 12, the Japanese federation announced the lineups of the men's and women's marathon teams for this summer's London Olympics along with brief rationales for each athlete's selection. Daegu World Championships men's 7th-placer Hiroyuki Horibata (Team Asahi Kasei) and women's 5th-placer Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) were named alternates after running sub-par at their final selection races. In Horibata's case the federation officials specified that he had been picked for alternate over Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) because he had beaten Kawauchi by a wide margin in Daegu.
Below are profiles of the three members and alternate on each team. Click any photo for more detailed profile info. The men's team appears to be the stronger of the two, with one 2:07 runner and two 2:08 men, but the women's team is also solid, having two 2:23 runners, one a World Championships silver medalist, and a 2:26 winner. The federation took factors other than pure time into consideration, as Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) with a 2:08:38 in Tokyo was passed over in favor of the slightly slower Yamamoto and Nakamoto, and 2:24 women Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) and Azusa Nojiri (Team Daiichi Seimei) were bumped by 2:26 Yokohama winner Kizaki. Kawauchi and Akaba ran even faster than Maeda, Nakazato and Nojiri last year.
Congratulations to the 30% of poll respondents who correctly picked Nakamoto to join his former Takushoku University teammate Fujiwara and the man who passed him with 400 m to go at Lake Biwa, Yamamoto, on the London team.
Men
Arata Fujiwara (Tokyo T&F Assoc.)
Selection race performance:
2:07:48 - 2012 Tokyo Marathon, 2nd - PB
PB marks:
marathon: 2:07:48 - Tokyo, 2012
half-marathon: 1:01:34 - Marugame, 2012
10000 m: 28:41.05 - Fukagawa, 2009
5000 m: 13:41.35 - 2006
Marathon history:
2:07:48 - 2012 Tokyo Marathon, 2nd
2:29:21 - 2011 Tokyo Marathon, 57th
DNF - 2010 New York City Marathon
2:09:34 - 2010 Ottawa Marathon, 1st - CR
2:12:34 - 2010 Tokyo Marathon, 2nd
2:31:06 - 2009 Berlin World Championships, 61st
2:09:47 - 2008 Fukuoka International Marathon, 3rd
2:23:10 - 2008 Chicago Marathon, 16th
2:08:40 - 2008 Tokyo Marathon, 2nd
2:38:37 - 2007 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 85th
Ryo Yamamoto (Team Sagawa Express)
Selection race performance:
2:08:44 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 4th - PB
PB marks:
marathon: 2:08:44 - Lake Biwa, 2012
half-marathon: 1:01:54 - Marugame, 2012
10000 m: 28:22.84 - Nittai Univ., 2011
5000 m: 13:54.96
Marathon history:
2:08:44 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 4th
2:16:49 - 2011 Hokkaido Marathon, 5th
2:22:32 - 2010 Tokyo Marathon, 22nd
2:12:10 - 2009 Hokkaido Marathon, 2nd
Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki)
Selection race performances:
2:08:53 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 5th - PB
2:13:10 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 10th
PB marks:
marathon: 2:08:53 - Lake Biwa, 2012
half-marathon: 1:02:29 - Marugame, 2009
10000 m: 29:04.24 - Sayagatani, 2011
5000 m: 14:04.31 - Nobeoka, 2011
Marathon history:
2:08:53 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 5th
2:13:10 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 10th
2:09:31 - 2011 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 4th
2:11:42 - 2010 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, 8th
2:13:53 - 2009 Tokyo Marathon, 9th
2:15:21 - 2008 Hokkaido Marathon, 2nd
2:13:54 - 2008 Nobeoka Nishi Nihon Marathon, 3rd
Alt: Hiroyuki Horibata (Team Asahi Kasei)
Selection race performances:
2:10:05 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 11th
2:11:52 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 7th
PB marks:
marathon: 2:09:25 - Lake Biwa, 2011
half-marathon: 1:04:11
10000 m: 28:30.32 - Nobeoka, 2011
5000 m: 13:53.07 - Nobeoka, 2011
Marathon history:
2:10:05 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 11th
2:11:52 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 7th
2:09:25 - 2011 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 3rd
2:26:55 - 2010 Hokkaido Marathon, 20th
2:18:27 - 2009 Tokyo Marathon, 22nd
2:11:47 - 2008 Tokyo Marathon, 9th
Women
Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya)
Selection race performance:
2:23:23 - 2012 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 1st - PB
PB marks:
marathon: 2:23:23 - Osaka International, 2012
half-marathon: 1:10:58 - Osaka International, 2012
10 km: 32:38 - Okayama, 2010
5000 m: 15:32.41 - Himeji, 2006
Marathon history:
2:23:23 - 2012 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 1st
2:31:28 - 2011 London Marathon, 24th
Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei)
Selection race performances:
2:24:14 - 2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon, 2nd
2:26:49 - 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon (fall), 2nd
2:32:31 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 18th
PB marks:
marathon: 2:23:30 - Tokyo International, 2008
half-marathon: 1:09:26 - Udine, 2007
10000 m: 31:47.23 - Kobe, 2005
5000 m: 15:28.55 - Tottori, 2004
Marathon history:
2:24:14 - 2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon, 2nd
2:26:49 - 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon (fall), 2nd
2:32:31 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 18th
2:23:56 - 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon (spring), 1st - CR
2:32:26 - 2010 London Marathon, 10th
2:25:25 - 2009 Berlin World Championships, 2nd
2:23:30 - 2008 Tokyo International Women's Marathon, 1st
2:26:19 - 2008 Nagoya International Women's Marathon, 2nd
Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu)
Selection race performance:
2:26:32 - 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon (fall), 1st - PB
PB marks:
marathon: 2:26:32 - Yokohama, 2011
half-marathon: 1:10:16 - Yamaguchi, 2009
10000 m: 31:38.71 - Niigata, 2011
5000 m: 15:35.12 - Hiroshima, 2009
Marathon history:
2:26:32 - 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon (fall), 1st
2:29:35 - 2011 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 5th
2:27:34 - 2010 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 6th
Alt: Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren)
Selection race performanceｓ:
2:26:08 - 2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon, 8th
2:29:35 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 5th
PB marks:
marathon: 2:24:08 - London, 2011
half-marathon: 1:08:11 - Yamaguchi, 2008
10000 m: 31:15.34 - Kawasaki, 2008
5000 m: 15:06.07 - 2008
Marathon history:
2:26:08 - 2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon, 8th
2:29:35 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 5th
2:24:08 - 2011 London Marathon, 6th
2:26:29 - 2011 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 1st
2:24:55 - 2010 London Marathon, 6th
DNF - 2010 Osaka International Women's Marathon
2:37:43 - 2009 Berlin World Championships, 31st
2:25:40 - 2009 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 2nd
(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
At a live televised press conference the afternoon of Mar. 12, the Japanese federation announced the lineups of the men's and women's marathon teams for this summer's London Olympics along with brief rationales for each athlete's selection. Daegu World Championships men's 7th-placer Hiroyuki Horibata (Team Asahi Kasei) and women's 5th-placer Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) were named alternates after running sub-par at their final selection races. In Horibata's case the federation officials specified that he had been picked for alternate over Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) because he had beaten Kawauchi by a wide margin in Daegu.
Below are profiles of the three members and alternate on each team. Click any photo for more detailed profile info. The men's team appears to be the stronger of the two, with one 2:07 runner and two 2:08 men, but the women's team is also solid, having two 2:23 runners, one a World Championships silver medalist, and a 2:26 winner. The federation took factors other than pure time into consideration, as Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) with a 2:08:38 in Tokyo was passed over in favor of the slightly slower Yamamoto and Nakamoto, and 2:24 women Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) and Azusa Nojiri (Team Daiichi Seimei) were bumped by 2:26 Yokohama winner Kizaki. Kawauchi and Akaba ran even faster than Maeda, Nakazato and Nojiri last year.
Congratulations to the 30% of poll respondents who correctly picked Nakamoto to join his former Takushoku University teammate Fujiwara and the man who passed him with 400 m to go at Lake Biwa, Yamamoto, on the London team.
Men
Selection race performance:
2:07:48 - 2012 Tokyo Marathon, 2nd - PB
PB marks:
marathon: 2:07:48 - Tokyo, 2012
half-marathon: 1:01:34 - Marugame, 2012
10000 m: 28:41.05 - Fukagawa, 2009
5000 m: 13:41.35 - 2006
Marathon history:
2:07:48 - 2012 Tokyo Marathon, 2nd
2:29:21 - 2011 Tokyo Marathon, 57th
DNF - 2010 New York City Marathon
2:09:34 - 2010 Ottawa Marathon, 1st - CR
2:12:34 - 2010 Tokyo Marathon, 2nd
2:31:06 - 2009 Berlin World Championships, 61st
2:09:47 - 2008 Fukuoka International Marathon, 3rd
2:23:10 - 2008 Chicago Marathon, 16th
2:08:40 - 2008 Tokyo Marathon, 2nd
2:38:37 - 2007 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 85th
Selection race performance:
2:08:44 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 4th - PB
PB marks:
marathon: 2:08:44 - Lake Biwa, 2012
half-marathon: 1:01:54 - Marugame, 2012
10000 m: 28:22.84 - Nittai Univ., 2011
5000 m: 13:54.96
Marathon history:
2:08:44 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 4th
2:16:49 - 2011 Hokkaido Marathon, 5th
2:22:32 - 2010 Tokyo Marathon, 22nd
2:12:10 - 2009 Hokkaido Marathon, 2nd
Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki)Selection race performances:
2:08:53 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 5th - PB
2:13:10 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 10th
PB marks:
marathon: 2:08:53 - Lake Biwa, 2012
half-marathon: 1:02:29 - Marugame, 2009
10000 m: 29:04.24 - Sayagatani, 2011
5000 m: 14:04.31 - Nobeoka, 2011
Marathon history:
2:08:53 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 5th
2:13:10 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 10th
2:09:31 - 2011 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 4th
2:11:42 - 2010 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, 8th
2:13:53 - 2009 Tokyo Marathon, 9th
2:15:21 - 2008 Hokkaido Marathon, 2nd
2:13:54 - 2008 Nobeoka Nishi Nihon Marathon, 3rd
Alt: Hiroyuki Horibata (Team Asahi Kasei)Selection race performances:
2:10:05 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 11th
2:11:52 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 7th
PB marks:
marathon: 2:09:25 - Lake Biwa, 2011
half-marathon: 1:04:11
10000 m: 28:30.32 - Nobeoka, 2011
5000 m: 13:53.07 - Nobeoka, 2011
Marathon history:
2:10:05 - 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 11th
2:11:52 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 7th
2:09:25 - 2011 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 3rd
2:26:55 - 2010 Hokkaido Marathon, 20th
2:18:27 - 2009 Tokyo Marathon, 22nd
2:11:47 - 2008 Tokyo Marathon, 9th
Women
Selection race performance:
2:23:23 - 2012 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 1st - PB
PB marks:
marathon: 2:23:23 - Osaka International, 2012
half-marathon: 1:10:58 - Osaka International, 2012
10 km: 32:38 - Okayama, 2010
5000 m: 15:32.41 - Himeji, 2006
Marathon history:
2:23:23 - 2012 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 1st
2:31:28 - 2011 London Marathon, 24th
Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei)Selection race performances:
2:24:14 - 2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon, 2nd
2:26:49 - 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon (fall), 2nd
2:32:31 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 18th
PB marks:
marathon: 2:23:30 - Tokyo International, 2008
half-marathon: 1:09:26 - Udine, 2007
10000 m: 31:47.23 - Kobe, 2005
5000 m: 15:28.55 - Tottori, 2004
Marathon history:
2:24:14 - 2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon, 2nd
2:26:49 - 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon (fall), 2nd
2:32:31 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 18th
2:23:56 - 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon (spring), 1st - CR
2:32:26 - 2010 London Marathon, 10th
2:25:25 - 2009 Berlin World Championships, 2nd
2:23:30 - 2008 Tokyo International Women's Marathon, 1st
2:26:19 - 2008 Nagoya International Women's Marathon, 2nd
Selection race performance:
2:26:32 - 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon (fall), 1st - PB
PB marks:
marathon: 2:26:32 - Yokohama, 2011
half-marathon: 1:10:16 - Yamaguchi, 2009
10000 m: 31:38.71 - Niigata, 2011
5000 m: 15:35.12 - Hiroshima, 2009
Marathon history:
2:26:32 - 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon (fall), 1st
2:29:35 - 2011 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 5th
2:27:34 - 2010 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 6th
Alt: Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren)Selection race performanceｓ:
2:26:08 - 2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon, 8th
2:29:35 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 5th
PB marks:
marathon: 2:24:08 - London, 2011
half-marathon: 1:08:11 - Yamaguchi, 2008
10000 m: 31:15.34 - Kawasaki, 2008
5000 m: 15:06.07 - 2008
Marathon history:
2:26:08 - 2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon, 8th
2:29:35 - 2011 Daegu World Championships, 5th
2:24:08 - 2011 London Marathon, 6th
2:26:29 - 2011 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 1st
2:24:55 - 2010 London Marathon, 6th
DNF - 2010 Osaka International Women's Marathon
2:37:43 - 2009 Berlin World Championships, 31st
2:25:40 - 2009 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 2nd
(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Kawauchi Wins Saitama Half-Marathon
http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20120312/ath12031205070010-n1.html
translated and edited by Brett Larner
On the one-year anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, London Olympics marathon team candidate Yuki Kawauchi (25, Saitama Pref.) ran the Saitama Half-Marathon as a specially-invited guest, winning in 1:04:26. After finishing 14th at the Tokyo Marathon two weeks ago Kawauchi said, "It's impossible for me to make the Olympics," but having been the top Japanese finisher at December's Fukuoka International Marathon selection race in a good time some chance remains of him making the team. The Japanese federation will announce the men's and women's Olympic marathon team lineups at 3:30 p.m. on Mar. 12.
Kawauchi shaved his head in shame after running 2:12:51 for 4th in Tokyo. He took three days off following the race and has only jogged since then. He had also planned to just jog the Saitama Half, but once he was in the heat of the race his full strength came out. "It's a tough, undulating course, so I think a 64 is pretty good here," he said after the race. "People were cheering and it got me going. When they're calling out, 'Do your best!' that's all you can do. In the sense of helping me focus toward doing my best in achieving my next goal it was a good race. At Tokyo next year I want to make up for what happened this year."
Having set his sights on making the national team for the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Kawauchi's spirits and motivation have returned. Before then, he may well make the London team. With Nagoya Women's Marathon 2nd-placer Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) considered a strong choice for the London team after having run poorly at the Daegu World Championships followed by two selection race runs, Kawauchi must be viewed as in almost the same position, finishing 3rd on the Japanese team in Daegu and 3rd overall in Fukuoka prior to running Tokyo. It's possible he may join Arata Fujiwara (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) and Ryo Yamamoto (Team Sagawa Express) as the third man on the Olympic team. Fans all across the country are watching to see if the dream success story of a self-training amateur making the Olympics comes true in the end.
translated and edited by Brett Larner
On the one-year anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, London Olympics marathon team candidate Yuki Kawauchi (25, Saitama Pref.) ran the Saitama Half-Marathon as a specially-invited guest, winning in 1:04:26. After finishing 14th at the Tokyo Marathon two weeks ago Kawauchi said, "It's impossible for me to make the Olympics," but having been the top Japanese finisher at December's Fukuoka International Marathon selection race in a good time some chance remains of him making the team. The Japanese federation will announce the men's and women's Olympic marathon team lineups at 3:30 p.m. on Mar. 12.
Kawauchi shaved his head in shame after running 2:12:51 for 4th in Tokyo. He took three days off following the race and has only jogged since then. He had also planned to just jog the Saitama Half, but once he was in the heat of the race his full strength came out. "It's a tough, undulating course, so I think a 64 is pretty good here," he said after the race. "People were cheering and it got me going. When they're calling out, 'Do your best!' that's all you can do. In the sense of helping me focus toward doing my best in achieving my next goal it was a good race. At Tokyo next year I want to make up for what happened this year."
Having set his sights on making the national team for the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Kawauchi's spirits and motivation have returned. Before then, he may well make the London team. With Nagoya Women's Marathon 2nd-placer Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) considered a strong choice for the London team after having run poorly at the Daegu World Championships followed by two selection race runs, Kawauchi must be viewed as in almost the same position, finishing 3rd on the Japanese team in Daegu and 3rd overall in Fukuoka prior to running Tokyo. It's possible he may join Arata Fujiwara (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) and Ryo Yamamoto (Team Sagawa Express) as the third man on the Olympic team. Fans all across the country are watching to see if the dream success story of a self-training amateur making the Olympics comes true in the end.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Russian Mayorova Wins Largest-Ever Women-Only Marathon, Ozaki Takes Top Japanese Spot in Nagoya
by Brett Larner
Transformed on the one-year anniversary of the Tohoku disasters from the small, elite-online format to the world's largest women-only marathon with 15,000 runners running a new course with an indoor finish unique in Japan, the Nagoya Women's Marathon marked the end of the Japanese Olympic team selection cycle. Russian veteran Albina Mayorova ran a massive negative split of over two minutes to effortlessly blow by Japan's best in the final part of the race and take the win in 2:23:52, nearly two minutes better than her 8 1/2 year-old PB. Tumbling in the turbulence behind her, 2009 World Championships silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) outkicked her 2011 World Championships teammate Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) to take the top Japanese spot, 2nd overall in 2:24:14, and put herself into the circle of contenders for the London team. Nakazato was 3rd in 2:24:28, a PB by one second and good enough to give her a chance of joining Ozaki in London. Past national record holder Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was a surprise and elated 4th in 2:25:02, her best performance in over three years and one which makes her the first Japanese woman to break 2:27 eight times, while current national record holder and Athens Olympics gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) was an emotional 6th in 2:25:33, her first marathon in over four years and the fifth-best time of her career.
While the lead pack of Japanese Olympic hopefuls set off at 2:23-flat pace, splitting exactly 1:11:30 at halfway, Mayorova and Ukrainian Olena Shurkhno ran a more conservative 1:13:00 first half. Both Mayorova and Shurkhno then turned it on, picking up the pace and catching stragglers from the lead pack one by one. The 34-year-old Mayorova, consistently at the 2:28-2:31 level since 2005 with a 2:25:35 best from the 2003 Chicago Marathon, split a stunning 1:10:52 for the second half, while Shurkhno managed a more modest 1:12:49 second half to take nearly three minutes off her best from last year's downhill Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon. Both clocked 7:20 for the final 2.195 km, the fastest in the field, to join other Eastern European women from the same athlete management firm, including the runner-up at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon Tetiana Gamera-Shmyrko (Ukraine), 2011 Chicago Marathon winner Liliya Shobukhova (Russia) and 2011 Tokyo Marathon first and third placers Tatiana Aryasova (Russia) and Tatiana Petrova (Russia), in a remarkably consistent pattern of success over the last year: a negative split with the fastest last 2.195 km in the race, the kind of closing splits more commonly run by men. Combined with this race strategy, this group's seemingly innovative training methods make for a nearly unbeatable combination. Amazing.
In the race for the Japanese Olympic team, early casualties of the 2:23-flat pace included defending Nagoya champion Yuri Kano (Team Shiseido) and Akane Wakita (Team Toyota Jidoshokki), both out of the lead pack after only 5 km. Kano's teammate Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) was next, then Mari Tanigawa Half-Marathon winner Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC). At 17 km Noguchi, looking heavy and jerky in her return to the distance, was also off the pack. Just past 20 km, favorite Kaoru Nagao (Team Univ. Ent.), the top Japanese woman at February's Marugame International Half Marathon, had a very hard fall at a water station. Unable to get back up for a long time, she finally pushed herself back to her feet and started to run again, staggering and crying and eventually finishing 30th in 2:38:02. The lead pack of seven, Nakazato, Ozaki, Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei), Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren), Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku), Shibui and Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) along with pacer Rene Kalmer (South Africa) went through halfway in 1:11:30.
With Kalmer's departure at 23 km the pace immediately slowed, 3:21 for her final km followed by a 3:26 and a 3:30. At 25 km Noguchi was over 20 seconds back, but as the pack ahead of her turned tactical she began to accelerate, regaining contact at 29 km and taking the lead at 30 km, with a 1:42:31 split as the nation caught its breath. Miyauchi was the first victim of Noguchi's push to get the race back on track. Sensing danger, Ozaki responded just past 32 km with a long, hard surge to drop Akaba, then Shibui, then her teammate Katsumata, and finally Noguchi. Only Nakazato and Ito were left, but by 34 km Akaba had returned to the lead pack, which was now made up of four of the five members of Japan's Daegu World Championships marathon team.
Just past 35 km, looking fresh and strong Mayorova blew by the lead quartet of Japanese women, all but one of whom held faster PBs than her 2003 best. Akaba, who suffered a knee injury in February training, fell away as the other three Japanese women picked it up to tail the Russian. At 36 km Ozaki made a move to retake the lead, while Ito lost contact. At km 37 km Mayorova threw down the hammer again to sail off to the win in Nagoya Dome. Ozaki and Nakazato repeatedly traded the front position as they battled over the final 5 km, and not until the last 600 m did Ozaki make the move to put Nakazato away. Shibui overtook Ito for 4th, looking overjoyed as she crossed the line, while a tearful Noguchi came through seven seconds back in 2:25:33, two seconds better than her debut marathon time. Although Noguchi failed in her bid to return to the Olympics, she can take pride in having never given up on her dream over the years and in finally seeing it through even when she knew she was at less than 100%. Prior to today only one woman, Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) had ever beaten Noguchi in a marathon, and Noguchi can take additional pride in the fact that she was almost ten minutes faster than Ndereba in Nagoya after long years out of the game.
The Japanese Olympic marathon team lineup will be announced at a press conference at 3:30 p.m. on Mar. 12. With her Nagoya performance Ozaki joins Osaka winner Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) as probable placeholders on the team. In post-race interviews Ozaki said that while she had run slower than planned, she was happy to have been the top Japanese woman and get into Olympic contention. The third Olympian will come from among Akaba, Yokohama International Women's Marathon winner Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu), Osaka 3rd-placer Azusa Nojiri (Team Daihatsu) and Nakazato. Kizaki's win over Ozaki in Yokohama gives her an edge despite her relatively slow winning time. For her part, Noguchi said that although she missed her goal of making London she was very happy with how she had run considering the condition she was in, and she looks forward to building toward her next goal, a clear statement that this was not the end of her road.
2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon Top Results
1. Albina Mayorova (Russia) - 2:23:52 - PB
2. Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:24:14
3. Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) - 2:24:28 - PB
4. Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 2:25:02
5. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:25:26 - PB
6. Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) - 2:25:33
7. Olena Shurkhno (Ukraine) - 2:25:49 - PB
8. Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) - 2:26:08
9. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 2:26:23 - PB
10. Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:28:01 - PB
11. Eri Hayakawa (Amino Vital AC) - 2:28:19
12. Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Univ. Ent.) - 2:28:44
13. Yuko Watanabe (Team Edion) - 2:29:20 - PB
14. Jessica Tengrove (Australia) - 2:31:02 - debut
15. Korei Omata (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 2:31:13 - debut
-----
19. Lidia Simon (Romania) - 2:33:41
22. Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) - 2:35:08
Transformed on the one-year anniversary of the Tohoku disasters from the small, elite-online format to the world's largest women-only marathon with 15,000 runners running a new course with an indoor finish unique in Japan, the Nagoya Women's Marathon marked the end of the Japanese Olympic team selection cycle. Russian veteran Albina Mayorova ran a massive negative split of over two minutes to effortlessly blow by Japan's best in the final part of the race and take the win in 2:23:52, nearly two minutes better than her 8 1/2 year-old PB. Tumbling in the turbulence behind her, 2009 World Championships silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) outkicked her 2011 World Championships teammate Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) to take the top Japanese spot, 2nd overall in 2:24:14, and put herself into the circle of contenders for the London team. Nakazato was 3rd in 2:24:28, a PB by one second and good enough to give her a chance of joining Ozaki in London. Past national record holder Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was a surprise and elated 4th in 2:25:02, her best performance in over three years and one which makes her the first Japanese woman to break 2:27 eight times, while current national record holder and Athens Olympics gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) was an emotional 6th in 2:25:33, her first marathon in over four years and the fifth-best time of her career.
While the lead pack of Japanese Olympic hopefuls set off at 2:23-flat pace, splitting exactly 1:11:30 at halfway, Mayorova and Ukrainian Olena Shurkhno ran a more conservative 1:13:00 first half. Both Mayorova and Shurkhno then turned it on, picking up the pace and catching stragglers from the lead pack one by one. The 34-year-old Mayorova, consistently at the 2:28-2:31 level since 2005 with a 2:25:35 best from the 2003 Chicago Marathon, split a stunning 1:10:52 for the second half, while Shurkhno managed a more modest 1:12:49 second half to take nearly three minutes off her best from last year's downhill Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon. Both clocked 7:20 for the final 2.195 km, the fastest in the field, to join other Eastern European women from the same athlete management firm, including the runner-up at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon Tetiana Gamera-Shmyrko (Ukraine), 2011 Chicago Marathon winner Liliya Shobukhova (Russia) and 2011 Tokyo Marathon first and third placers Tatiana Aryasova (Russia) and Tatiana Petrova (Russia), in a remarkably consistent pattern of success over the last year: a negative split with the fastest last 2.195 km in the race, the kind of closing splits more commonly run by men. Combined with this race strategy, this group's seemingly innovative training methods make for a nearly unbeatable combination. Amazing.
In the race for the Japanese Olympic team, early casualties of the 2:23-flat pace included defending Nagoya champion Yuri Kano (Team Shiseido) and Akane Wakita (Team Toyota Jidoshokki), both out of the lead pack after only 5 km. Kano's teammate Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) was next, then Mari Tanigawa Half-Marathon winner Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC). At 17 km Noguchi, looking heavy and jerky in her return to the distance, was also off the pack. Just past 20 km, favorite Kaoru Nagao (Team Univ. Ent.), the top Japanese woman at February's Marugame International Half Marathon, had a very hard fall at a water station. Unable to get back up for a long time, she finally pushed herself back to her feet and started to run again, staggering and crying and eventually finishing 30th in 2:38:02. The lead pack of seven, Nakazato, Ozaki, Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei), Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren), Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku), Shibui and Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) along with pacer Rene Kalmer (South Africa) went through halfway in 1:11:30.
With Kalmer's departure at 23 km the pace immediately slowed, 3:21 for her final km followed by a 3:26 and a 3:30. At 25 km Noguchi was over 20 seconds back, but as the pack ahead of her turned tactical she began to accelerate, regaining contact at 29 km and taking the lead at 30 km, with a 1:42:31 split as the nation caught its breath. Miyauchi was the first victim of Noguchi's push to get the race back on track. Sensing danger, Ozaki responded just past 32 km with a long, hard surge to drop Akaba, then Shibui, then her teammate Katsumata, and finally Noguchi. Only Nakazato and Ito were left, but by 34 km Akaba had returned to the lead pack, which was now made up of four of the five members of Japan's Daegu World Championships marathon team.
Just past 35 km, looking fresh and strong Mayorova blew by the lead quartet of Japanese women, all but one of whom held faster PBs than her 2003 best. Akaba, who suffered a knee injury in February training, fell away as the other three Japanese women picked it up to tail the Russian. At 36 km Ozaki made a move to retake the lead, while Ito lost contact. At km 37 km Mayorova threw down the hammer again to sail off to the win in Nagoya Dome. Ozaki and Nakazato repeatedly traded the front position as they battled over the final 5 km, and not until the last 600 m did Ozaki make the move to put Nakazato away. Shibui overtook Ito for 4th, looking overjoyed as she crossed the line, while a tearful Noguchi came through seven seconds back in 2:25:33, two seconds better than her debut marathon time. Although Noguchi failed in her bid to return to the Olympics, she can take pride in having never given up on her dream over the years and in finally seeing it through even when she knew she was at less than 100%. Prior to today only one woman, Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) had ever beaten Noguchi in a marathon, and Noguchi can take additional pride in the fact that she was almost ten minutes faster than Ndereba in Nagoya after long years out of the game.
The Japanese Olympic marathon team lineup will be announced at a press conference at 3:30 p.m. on Mar. 12. With her Nagoya performance Ozaki joins Osaka winner Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) as probable placeholders on the team. In post-race interviews Ozaki said that while she had run slower than planned, she was happy to have been the top Japanese woman and get into Olympic contention. The third Olympian will come from among Akaba, Yokohama International Women's Marathon winner Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu), Osaka 3rd-placer Azusa Nojiri (Team Daihatsu) and Nakazato. Kizaki's win over Ozaki in Yokohama gives her an edge despite her relatively slow winning time. For her part, Noguchi said that although she missed her goal of making London she was very happy with how she had run considering the condition she was in, and she looks forward to building toward her next goal, a clear statement that this was not the end of her road.
2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon Top Results
Nagoya, 3/11/2012
1. Albina Mayorova (Russia) - 2:23:52 - PB
2. Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:24:14
3. Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) - 2:24:28 - PB
4. Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 2:25:02
5. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:25:26 - PB
6. Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) - 2:25:33
7. Olena Shurkhno (Ukraine) - 2:25:49 - PB
8. Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) - 2:26:08
9. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 2:26:23 - PB
10. Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:28:01 - PB
11. Eri Hayakawa (Amino Vital AC) - 2:28:19
12. Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Univ. Ent.) - 2:28:44
13. Yuko Watanabe (Team Edion) - 2:29:20 - PB
14. Jessica Tengrove (Australia) - 2:31:02 - debut
15. Korei Omata (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 2:31:13 - debut
-----
19. Lidia Simon (Romania) - 2:33:41
22. Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) - 2:35:08
Friday, March 9, 2012
Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview - Watch Online
by Brett Larner
The Japanese selection races for the country's marathon teams for the London Olympics wrap up this Sunday with the new-and-improved Nagoya Women's Marathon. Modernizing from a small, elite-only race to the world's largest women-only mass participation field of 15000 and an accompanying co-ed half-marathon, Nagoya retains its elite history with what may be the closest thing the country has seen to a straight-up single-race Olympic trial. Fifteen elite Japanese women will be going for what are generally believed to be the two remaining Olympic team places, at least eight of them with a realistic chance of making the team. Fuji TV will be broadcasting the race live nationwide starting at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, Mar. 11, and overseas viewers should be able to watch online for free via the lo-res splendor of Keyhole TV. Twitter coverage via @JRNLive will unfortunately not be available for this race.
Races need an international field of at least five different nationalities to maintain IAAF label status, and Nagoya's organizers have duly complied with an overseas field of five, one athlete each from Kenya, Romania, Russia, the Ukraine and Lithuania. Veteran medalists Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) and Lidia Simon (Romania) return for their perpetual Japanese invites along with Eastern Europeans Albina Mayorova (Russia), Olena Shurkhno (Ukraine) and Rasa Drazdauskaite (Lithuania), but barring a dramatic improvement and remarkable closing ability like Ukrainian Tetiana Gamera-Shmyrko at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon, it doesn't seem likely that any of the foreign competition will factor into what is generally expected to be a fast race.
Fifteen Japanese women are on the invited list to contend for the Olympic team. General opinion has two places available, with Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) a lock after her 2:23:23 victory but Yokohama International Women's Marathon winner Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) given little chance of making the Olympic team with only a 2:26:32.
The favorites look to be Daegu World Championships 5th-placer Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) and Berlin World Championships silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei). Akaba already had a solid chance for the London team on the strength of her Daegu performance but passed up a planned shot at a fast time at last month's Tokyo Marathon in order to try to improve her standings in the selection rankings in Nagoya. To do that she will have to run fast and win. Ozaki faltered in Daegu and lost out to Kizaki in the last stretch of Yokohama in November, so likewise she will need to be fast and in first to earn her spot on the team.
Athens Olympics gold medalist and national record holder Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) and her NR predecessor Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) are scheduled to start, and given their sub-2:20 credentials they cannot be discounted. Noguchi has not raced a marathon since 2007 due to a never-ending series of injuries and pushed her public goodwill to the limit over the winter with a series of highly-publicized domestic comeback runs only to withdraw at the last minute virtually every time, most recently at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon. Nagoya is her absolute last chance to qualify for London. Is she really ready? Has the all the comeback talk just been a marketing ploy? If she is even close to fit she is a leading contender. Shibui has not raced well since winning the 2009 Osaka International Women's Marathon, her recent marathon best a 2:29:03 at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon nearly ten minutes off her former NR. But like Noguchi if she is even close to her old self she is the match of any of the other Japanese women. It may be a bigger stretch, but she is Yoko Shibui.
At the next level are a handful of younger runners with the potential for a step up to the next level. Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) was impressive in her 2:24:29 runner-up performance at last spring's edition of Yokohama to make the Daegu World Championships. Kaoru Nagao (Team Univ. Ent.) was only 4th in both runnings of Yokohama last year but switched to Nagoya from Tokyo after a 1:10:32 PB to finish as the top Japanese woman at last month's Marugame Half-Marathon. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) was 2nd at Osaka 2011 to make the Daegu World Championships, beating veteran Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) in the selection process despite a faster PB performance by Fujinaga under difficult circumstances in London last year. Both are possibilities in Nagoya, with Ito having soundly beaten Fujinaga in Marugame.
More distant possibilities are 2010 Nagoya winner Yuri Kano (Team Shiseido), 2009 Tokyo Marathon winner Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Univ. Ent.) and, elevated to winner of the 2011 Tokyo Marathon following the doping disqualification of Russian Tatyana Aryasova, Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal). Although neither Kano nor Nasukawa have shown recent fitness, Higuchi ran well in Marugame, suggesting she may be the best bet of the three.
Rounding out the invited field are Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC), Akane Wakita (Team Toyota Jidoshokki), Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) and Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera). Yoshida won January's Mari Tanigawa Half-Marathon in a solid 1:11:16 but ran poorly last month at the Ome 30 km. A teammate of Ozaki's, Katsumata's debut was only a 2:31:10 but she showed potential for better and could be a darkhorse. Miyauchi is the most talented of this group but has not yet been able to execute a strong marathon.
With the drama in the men's Olympic selection races coming with the team announcement on Mar. 12, Nagoya should be a dynamic cap to the winter Japanese marathon season and Olympic-qualifying series as the women's team lineup is likely to be clear once the second Japanese woman is across the finish line.
2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field
Nagoya, Mar. 11, 2012
click here for complete elite field listing
1. Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) - 2:18:47 (Chicago 2001)
2. Lidia Simon (Romania) - 2:22:54 (Osaka Int'l 2000)
3. Albina Mayorova (Russia) - 2:25:35 (Chicago 2003)
4. Olena Shurkhno (Ukraine) - 2:28:34a (San Diego 2011)
5. Rasa Drazdauskaite (Lithuania) - 2:29:47 (Turin 2011)
11. Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) - 2:19:12 (Berlin 2005)
12. Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 2:19:41 (Berlin 2004)
13. Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:23:30 (Tokyo Int'l 2008)
14. Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) - 2:24:09 (London 2011)
15. Yuri Kano (Team Shiseido) - 2:24:27 (Tokyo Int'l 2008)
16. Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) - 2:24:29 (Yokohama Int'l 2011)
17. Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Univ. Ent.) - 2:25:38 (Tokyo 2009)
18. Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) - 2:25:40 (London 2011)
19. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:26:55 (Osaka Int'l 2011)
20. Kaoru Nagao (Team Univ. Ent.) - 2:26:58 (Yokohama Int'l 2011)
21. Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal) - 2:28:49 (Tokyo 2011)
22. Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) - 2:29:45 (Chicago 2010)
23. Akane Wakita (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 2:29:54 (Nagoya Int'l 2010)
24. Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:31:10 (Tokyo 2011)
25. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 2:33:36 (Nagoya Int'l 2010)
Pacers
51. Aniko Kalovics (Hungary)
52. Rene Kalmer (South Africa)
53. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.)
54. Mao Kuroda (Team Yutaka Giken)
(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
The Japanese selection races for the country's marathon teams for the London Olympics wrap up this Sunday with the new-and-improved Nagoya Women's Marathon. Modernizing from a small, elite-only race to the world's largest women-only mass participation field of 15000 and an accompanying co-ed half-marathon, Nagoya retains its elite history with what may be the closest thing the country has seen to a straight-up single-race Olympic trial. Fifteen elite Japanese women will be going for what are generally believed to be the two remaining Olympic team places, at least eight of them with a realistic chance of making the team. Fuji TV will be broadcasting the race live nationwide starting at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, Mar. 11, and overseas viewers should be able to watch online for free via the lo-res splendor of Keyhole TV. Twitter coverage via @JRNLive will unfortunately not be available for this race.
Races need an international field of at least five different nationalities to maintain IAAF label status, and Nagoya's organizers have duly complied with an overseas field of five, one athlete each from Kenya, Romania, Russia, the Ukraine and Lithuania. Veteran medalists Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) and Lidia Simon (Romania) return for their perpetual Japanese invites along with Eastern Europeans Albina Mayorova (Russia), Olena Shurkhno (Ukraine) and Rasa Drazdauskaite (Lithuania), but barring a dramatic improvement and remarkable closing ability like Ukrainian Tetiana Gamera-Shmyrko at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon, it doesn't seem likely that any of the foreign competition will factor into what is generally expected to be a fast race.
Fifteen Japanese women are on the invited list to contend for the Olympic team. General opinion has two places available, with Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) a lock after her 2:23:23 victory but Yokohama International Women's Marathon winner Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) given little chance of making the Olympic team with only a 2:26:32.
The favorites look to be Daegu World Championships 5th-placer Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) and Berlin World Championships silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei). Akaba already had a solid chance for the London team on the strength of her Daegu performance but passed up a planned shot at a fast time at last month's Tokyo Marathon in order to try to improve her standings in the selection rankings in Nagoya. To do that she will have to run fast and win. Ozaki faltered in Daegu and lost out to Kizaki in the last stretch of Yokohama in November, so likewise she will need to be fast and in first to earn her spot on the team.
Athens Olympics gold medalist and national record holder Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) and her NR predecessor Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) are scheduled to start, and given their sub-2:20 credentials they cannot be discounted. Noguchi has not raced a marathon since 2007 due to a never-ending series of injuries and pushed her public goodwill to the limit over the winter with a series of highly-publicized domestic comeback runs only to withdraw at the last minute virtually every time, most recently at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon. Nagoya is her absolute last chance to qualify for London. Is she really ready? Has the all the comeback talk just been a marketing ploy? If she is even close to fit she is a leading contender. Shibui has not raced well since winning the 2009 Osaka International Women's Marathon, her recent marathon best a 2:29:03 at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon nearly ten minutes off her former NR. But like Noguchi if she is even close to her old self she is the match of any of the other Japanese women. It may be a bigger stretch, but she is Yoko Shibui.
At the next level are a handful of younger runners with the potential for a step up to the next level. Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) was impressive in her 2:24:29 runner-up performance at last spring's edition of Yokohama to make the Daegu World Championships. Kaoru Nagao (Team Univ. Ent.) was only 4th in both runnings of Yokohama last year but switched to Nagoya from Tokyo after a 1:10:32 PB to finish as the top Japanese woman at last month's Marugame Half-Marathon. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) was 2nd at Osaka 2011 to make the Daegu World Championships, beating veteran Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) in the selection process despite a faster PB performance by Fujinaga under difficult circumstances in London last year. Both are possibilities in Nagoya, with Ito having soundly beaten Fujinaga in Marugame.
More distant possibilities are 2010 Nagoya winner Yuri Kano (Team Shiseido), 2009 Tokyo Marathon winner Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Univ. Ent.) and, elevated to winner of the 2011 Tokyo Marathon following the doping disqualification of Russian Tatyana Aryasova, Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal). Although neither Kano nor Nasukawa have shown recent fitness, Higuchi ran well in Marugame, suggesting she may be the best bet of the three.
Rounding out the invited field are Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC), Akane Wakita (Team Toyota Jidoshokki), Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) and Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera). Yoshida won January's Mari Tanigawa Half-Marathon in a solid 1:11:16 but ran poorly last month at the Ome 30 km. A teammate of Ozaki's, Katsumata's debut was only a 2:31:10 but she showed potential for better and could be a darkhorse. Miyauchi is the most talented of this group but has not yet been able to execute a strong marathon.
With the drama in the men's Olympic selection races coming with the team announcement on Mar. 12, Nagoya should be a dynamic cap to the winter Japanese marathon season and Olympic-qualifying series as the women's team lineup is likely to be clear once the second Japanese woman is across the finish line.
2012 Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field
Nagoya, Mar. 11, 2012
click here for complete elite field listing
1. Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) - 2:18:47 (Chicago 2001)
2. Lidia Simon (Romania) - 2:22:54 (Osaka Int'l 2000)
3. Albina Mayorova (Russia) - 2:25:35 (Chicago 2003)
4. Olena Shurkhno (Ukraine) - 2:28:34a (San Diego 2011)
5. Rasa Drazdauskaite (Lithuania) - 2:29:47 (Turin 2011)
11. Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) - 2:19:12 (Berlin 2005)
12. Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 2:19:41 (Berlin 2004)
13. Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:23:30 (Tokyo Int'l 2008)
14. Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) - 2:24:09 (London 2011)
15. Yuri Kano (Team Shiseido) - 2:24:27 (Tokyo Int'l 2008)
16. Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) - 2:24:29 (Yokohama Int'l 2011)
17. Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Univ. Ent.) - 2:25:38 (Tokyo 2009)
18. Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) - 2:25:40 (London 2011)
19. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:26:55 (Osaka Int'l 2011)
20. Kaoru Nagao (Team Univ. Ent.) - 2:26:58 (Yokohama Int'l 2011)
21. Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal) - 2:28:49 (Tokyo 2011)
22. Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) - 2:29:45 (Chicago 2010)
23. Akane Wakita (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 2:29:54 (Nagoya Int'l 2010)
24. Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:31:10 (Tokyo 2011)
25. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 2:33:36 (Nagoya Int'l 2010)
Pacers
51. Aniko Kalovics (Hungary)
52. Rene Kalmer (South Africa)
53. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.)
54. Mao Kuroda (Team Yutaka Giken)
(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Correction: Only 193 Sub-66 at National University Men's Half-Marathon Championships
by Brett Larner
Earlier this week JRN reported that based on Waseda University posting that one of its athletes had finished 211th at the Mar. 4 National University Men's Half-Marathon Championships in 1:06:11 it appeared that over 200 athletes may have broken 66 minutes for the first time ever. With complete results available it is now evident that only 193 athletes, led by Teikyo University sophomore Toshikatsu Ebina in 1:02:23, broke 1:06. This surpasses the previous world record of 188 set at the 2005 Ageo City Half Marathon but falls short of clearing the 200 mark.
JRN regrets the error.
2012 National University Men's Half-Marathon Championships
Tachikawa, Tokyo, 3/4/12
click here for complete results
1. Toshikatsu Ebina (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:02:23 - PB
2. Yudai Yamakawa (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:02:36 - PB
3. Takumi Honda (Nittai Univ.) - 1:02:37 - PB
4. Duncan Muthee (Kenya/Takushoku Univ.) - 1:02:40 - PB
5. Kenta Kitazawa (Takushoku Univ.) - 1:02:40 - PB
6. Kenta Chiba (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:02:41 - PB
7. Yuki Matsumura (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:02:44 - debut
8. Natsuki Terada (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:47 - debut
9. Wataru Ueno (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:02:50 - PB
10. Kazuhiro Kuga (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:02:52 - PB
-----
25. Shuji Matsuo (Senshu Univ.) - 1:03:34
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50. Koki Takahashi (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:04:16
-----
100. Ryota Watanabe (Nihon Univ.) - 1:04:54
-----
150. Kosuke Tanaka (Waseda Univ.) - 1:05:28
-----
193. Hironari Terada (Nihon Univ.) - 1:05:59
-----
200. Kodai Matsushita (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:06:02
(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Earlier this week JRN reported that based on Waseda University posting that one of its athletes had finished 211th at the Mar. 4 National University Men's Half-Marathon Championships in 1:06:11 it appeared that over 200 athletes may have broken 66 minutes for the first time ever. With complete results available it is now evident that only 193 athletes, led by Teikyo University sophomore Toshikatsu Ebina in 1:02:23, broke 1:06. This surpasses the previous world record of 188 set at the 2005 Ageo City Half Marathon but falls short of clearing the 200 mark.
JRN regrets the error.
2012 National University Men's Half-Marathon Championships
Tachikawa, Tokyo, 3/4/12
click here for complete results
1. Toshikatsu Ebina (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:02:23 - PB
2. Yudai Yamakawa (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:02:36 - PB
3. Takumi Honda (Nittai Univ.) - 1:02:37 - PB
4. Duncan Muthee (Kenya/Takushoku Univ.) - 1:02:40 - PB
5. Kenta Kitazawa (Takushoku Univ.) - 1:02:40 - PB
6. Kenta Chiba (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:02:41 - PB
7. Yuki Matsumura (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:02:44 - debut
8. Natsuki Terada (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:47 - debut
9. Wataru Ueno (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:02:50 - PB
10. Kazuhiro Kuga (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:02:52 - PB
-----
25. Shuji Matsuo (Senshu Univ.) - 1:03:34
-----
50. Koki Takahashi (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:04:16
-----
100. Ryota Watanabe (Nihon Univ.) - 1:04:54
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150. Kosuke Tanaka (Waseda Univ.) - 1:05:28
-----
193. Hironari Terada (Nihon Univ.) - 1:05:59
-----
200. Kodai Matsushita (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:06:02
(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
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