Skip to main content

Osaka Top Japanese and Olympic Hopeful Tomo Morimoto On Hold Until Nagoya

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20080128-OHT1T00072.htm
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/chugoku/okayama/080129/oky0801290224004-n1.htm
http://www.okanichi.co.jp/20080129122320.html
http://www.okanichi.co.jp/20080129122635.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

At the Osaka International Women's Marathon on Jan. 27, 2nd place overall finisher Tomo Morimoto (24, Team Tenmaya) couldn't quite secure a position on the Beijing Olympic team. Although she couldn't move with eventual winner Mara Yamauchi's breakaway at 32 km, Morimoto didn't lose any additional ground over the final 9 km. Describing her race, Morimoto said, "I was watching the breathing of the runners around me, and at 30 km I took off. I was a little weak mentally this time, though and couldn't keep my own race together. That's why my time was not what I wanted."

Morimoto was the top Japanese finisher in 2:25:34, off her target time of 2:22-23. "I'm very happy to have been the top Japanese in an Olympic selection race," Morimoto commented after the race. "The Nagoya selection race is still coming up and I know that it will be hard to make the Olympics with the time I ran here, but I'm going to train with the assumption that I will be selected. I'm trying not to think about it and to just focus on doing what I need to do to recover from this marathon quickly and get on with my training." Team Tenmaya coach Yutaka Taketomi detailed Morimoto's preparation schedule, including a long, intensive training camp on Amami Oshima. "We will be focusing on improving her speed until after the official Olympic team selection is made."

Among the scheduled entrants at Nagoya are Morimoto's Team Tenmaya teammates Naoko Sakamoto and Yurika Nakamura. For Morimoto, "It would be wonderful if Tenmaya had a team member in the Olympics for the 3rd time in a row, but of course, for myself they are still my rivals. I want to reach my own dream."

On Jan. 29 Morimoto attended an award ceremony where she was presented with a bouquet of flowers by Okayama Prefecture Governor Masahiro Ishii. "I couldn't reach my goal of winning, but I'm proud to still be in contention for the Olympics," Morimoto said during her speech. Addressing the assembled crowd, Governor Ishii told Morimoto, "I look forward to hearing good news in March. Please take care of yourself while recovering and do your best during your spring training."
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Arao Becomes 1st Man in 40 Years to Score Back-to-Back Ome Road Race Wins

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...
3 comments
Read more

Osaka Marathon Preview

The Osaka Marathon is Sunday, one of Japan's biggest mass-participation races and the next stop on the calendar for its elite marathoners hoping to qualify for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials in the fall of 2027. Last year it snowed mid-race, but this year is looking warmer than ideal given the season, with sunny skies, almost no wind, and temps forecast to be 11˚ at the start and rising to 19˚ by the time the winners are finishing. NHK is broadcasting Osaka with a heavy emphasis on the men's race, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it from overseas. There's also official streaming on Youtube starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, although it doesn't look like it's the same as what NHK will be showing. Given Osaka's history at the elite level as the continuation of the men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the women's field is small relative to the men's, just enough to tick World Athletics' label requirements and with almost no do...
1 comment
Read more

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

Last year's top 3 Sheila Chepkirui , Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba are back for this year's Nagoya Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, but things are being set up more for it to be a race between Chepkirui, 2:17:49 in Berlin 2023, Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda , 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024. Aynalem has the freshest sub-2:20 of the 3, with neither Chepkirui nor Maeda having done it in 2 years. Maeda's only recent result is a 1:10:07 from Houston last month, but when she ran her NR she didn't have any kind of tuneup race to indicate her fitness so it's probably best not to read too much into that. If it goes out as a 2:18 race those are the only 3 who can probably hang with it. If it turns out to be more of a 2:20 race like when Chepkirui won in 2:20:40 last year then there's a group of 7 at the 2:20-2:22 level who will be in the picture, including Chumba, Selly Chep...
Post a Comment
Read more