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2008 Golden Games in Nobeoka - Results

by Brett Larner

The 2008 Golden Games in Nobeoka track meet took place May 31. The meet acts as a kind of championship for professional jitsugyodan runners in the leadup to the National Championships in late June and is somewhat unusual in that it features a limited number events, with only the 800, 1500 and 5000 m distances contested along with a 3000 m event for junior high school students. The 5000 m is the main event of the day, with 10 heats for men and 4 for women. Primarily featuring jitsugyodan runners with heavy representation by teams` foreign ringers, the meet also attracts the most ambitious of the nation`s university runners, those who want to run against the strongest competitors.

The most impressive result of the day came in the women`s 800 m, where Team Natureal`s Miho Sato broke the meet record by over one second to win in 2:04.10. 2nd place finisher Ayako Jinnai of Saga University also broke the old meet record but was far behind Sato in 2:05.11. The men`s 1500 m also saw a new meet record with a 3:38.11 by Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko`s Kazuya Watanabe. Kenyans Pauline Wanguru (Team Kyudenko) and Mary Wangari (Ritsumeikan AP Univ.) went 1-2 in the women`s 5000 m, with Megumi Seike of Team Sysmex close behind in 3rd, the top Japanese in 15:26.31 but just shy of the Olympic B-standard.

In the men`s 5000 m heats, Team Honda`s Yakob Jarso recorded the fastest time of the day, 13:21.30, to take the win in the D-heat and squeeze under the Olympic A-Standard. 2nd through 4th place cleared the B-standard. Osaka World Championships 10000 m bronze medalist Martin Mathathi (Team Suzuki) won the A-heat in a comparatively slow 13:46.87. The fastest Japanese runner of the day was Josai University junior Yuta Takahashi, 9th in the otherwise all-African D-heat in 13:43.06. Komazawa University`s Tsuyoshi Ugachi ran 13:53.15 in the A-heat just six days after finishing 2nd in the Kanto Regional University T&F Championsips half marathon. 5000 m national record Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica-Minolta), who set a PB in th 10000 m at last month`s Cardinal Invitational, ran an unaccountably slow 13:55.11 to finish 5th in the B-heat. Beijing Olympics men`s marathon team member Satoshi Osaki (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) was 3rd in the C-heat in 13:55.16. The surprise winner of February`s Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Team Asahi Kasei rookie Tomoya Adachi, ran 13:58.27 to finish 10th in the B-heat.

Listed below are the combined top men`s and women`s times with heat and placing indicated. Also included are the top results from the 800 m and 1500 m. For complete results visit the meet website.

Combined Men`s 5000 m Results
13:21.30 (D:1) - Yakob Jarso, Team Honda
13:21.75 (D:2) - John Kariuki, Team Toyota Boshoku
13:22.27 (D:3) - Micah Njeru, Team Toyota Boshoku
13:22.76 (D:4) - Cyrus Njui, Team Nissan Jidosha
13:28.44 (D:5) - Samuel Ndungu, Team Aichi Steel
13:32.06 (D:6) - Hillary Chenonge, Team Aisan
13:33.56 (D:7) - Martin Mukule, Team Toyota Jidosha
13:34.82 (D:8) - Hailu Mekonnen, Team Honda
13:43.06 (D:9) - Yuta Takahashi, Josai University (junior)
13:44:92 (B:1) - Nicholas Makau, Team JAL Ground Service
13:45.54 (D:10) - Samuel Gatogo, Team Suzuki
13:46.87 (A:1) - Martin Mathathi, Team Suzuki
13:49.72 (A:2) - Kazuharu Takai, Team Kyudenko
13:49.92 (B:2) - Tomoyoshi Umegae, Team NTN
13:50.10 (A:3) - Tomoaki Bungo, Team Asahi Kasei
13:50.26 (A:4) - Masayuki Obata, Team Yasukawa Denki
13:51.47 (A:5) - Tsukasa Morita, Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko
13:51.83 (A:6) - Hidekazu Sato, Team Toyota Boshoku
13:52.33 (D:11) - Abera Ertiban, Team Kurosaki Harima
13:52.62 (A:7) - Aso Takahiro, Team Aisan
13:53.15 (A:8) - Tsuyoshi Ugachi, Komazawa University (junior)
13:53.49 (B:3) - Keita Tsuchihashi, Team Asahi Kasei
13:54.14 (C:1) - Hisanori Kitajima, Team Yasukawa Denki
13:54.19 (A:9) - Kensuke Takahashi, Team Toyota Jidosha
13:54.49 (B:4) - Sota Hoshi, Komazawa University (junior)
13:54.85 (C:2) - Makoto Harada, Team JR East Japan
13:55.11 (B:5) - Takayuki Matsumiya, Team Konica-Minolta
13:55.16 (C:3) - Satoshi Osaki, Team NTT West Japan
13:55.92 (C:4) - Yasuhito Ikeda, Team NTT West Japan
13:56.58 (B:6) - Ryo Yamamoto, Team Sagawa Express
13:56.97 (B:7) - Kenichiro Setoguchi, Team Asahi Kasei
13:57.17 (B:8) - Masakazu Fujiwara, Team Honda
13:57.20 (A:10) - Takashi Horiguchi, Team Honda
13:57.59 (C:5) - Kenji Takeuchi, Team Toyota Jidosha Kyushu
13:58.08 (B:9) - Tomohiko Sumi, Team Toyota Boshoku
13:58.18 (C:6) - Tomoyuki Sato, Team Asahi Kasei
13:58.27 (B:10) - Tomoya Adachi, Team Asahi Kasei
13:58.53 (E:1) - Geoffrey Ngugi, Daiichi Kodai University (sophomore)
13:58.66 (B:11) - Yoichiro Akiyama, Team Honda
13:58.73 (C:7) - Yasuyuki Nakamura, Team Suzuki
13:58.87 (C:8) - Akiyuki Iwanaga, Team Kyudenko
13:59.23 (C:9) - Makoto Tobimatsu, Team Yasukawa Denki
13:59.48 (C:10) - Makoto Otsu, Team Toyota Jidosha Kyushu

Women`s 5000 m A-Group
1. 15:25.60 - Pauline Wanguru, Team Kyudenko
2. 15:26.06 - Mary Wangari, Ritsumeikan AP University (senior)
3. 15:26.31 - Megumi Seike, Team Sysmex
4. 15:28.47 - Keiko Nogami, Team Juhachi Ginko
5. 15:34.19 - Madoka Ogi, Team Juhachi Ginko
6. 15:37.59 - Nanako Hayashi, Team Kyocera
7. 15:39.56 - Ryoko Kisaki, Team Daihatsu
8. 15:41.05 - Betelhem Moges, Team Denso
9. 15:42.10 - Mika Yoshigawa, Team Panasonic
10. 15:43.70 - Mika Okunaga, Team Kyudenko

Men`s 800 m
1. 1:47.64 - Hiroshi Sasano, Team Fujitsu
2. 1:47.96 - Jae Hun Lee, Koyo City Hall
3. 1:48.49 - Takeshi Kuchino, Nittai University (senior)
4. 1:48.53 - Mitsuaki Yoshii, Waseda University (junior)
5. 1:49.18 - Taiki Tsutsumi, Team Acom

Women`s 800 m
1. 2:04.10 - Miho Sato, Team Natureal (meet record)
2. 2:05.11 - Ayaka Jinnai, Saga University (meet record)
3. 2:05:40 - Ruriko Kubo, Team Deodeo
4. 2:06:31 - Saori Yamashita, Team Hokuren
5. 2:06.60 - Kieko Shinada, Tsukuba University

Men`s 1500 m
1. 3:38.11 - Kazuya Watanabe, Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko (meet record)
2. 3:38.53 - Fumikazu Kobayashi, Team NTN
3. 3:40.77 - Yasuhiro Tago, Team Chugoku Denryoku
4. 3:40.82 - Kazuharu Murakami, Team Fujitsu
5. 3:45.53 - Hiroyuki Morikawa, Osaka Police Dep`t

Women`s 1500 m
1. 4:25.59 - Misako Suguro, Team Shiseido
2. 4:26.82 - Yoshika Tatsumi, Team Noritz
3. 4:27.28 - Mika Tanimizu, Meijo University (frosh)
4. 4:27.91 - Aya Isomine, Team Shiseido
5. 4:28.97 - Akane Ota, Team Niigata Albirex
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