Skip to main content

Kobayashi Runs PB to Win Hokuren 3000m

by Brett Larner

As expected, women`s 1500 m national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) delivered the biggest result of the Hokuren Distance Challenge Sapporo meet, winning the 3000 m in a PB of 8:51.85. Kobayashi and Ann Karindi (Team Yutaka Giken) simply outclassed the rest of the field, quickly opening a large gap and running together until Kobayashi`s stronger kick left her Kenyan competitor behind. Karindi finished in 8:52.24, a PB of nearly 10 seconds; 3rd place finisher Mariko Nakao (Team OKI) was far behind in 9:19.95.

Kobayashi`s time was the 3rd fastest in the world so far this year and not far off the Japanese national record of 8:44.40 held by Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal). In April she ran a 5000 m PB of 15:07.37 to become the only Japanese woman thus far to meet the Beijing Olympics A-standard in the 5000 m. She has thus far failed to meet the Olympic B-standard in the 1500 m after setting the national record of 4:07.86 in Sept., 2006 but is expected to try again at the National Track and Field Championships later this month.

Top finishers in each event are listed below. For complete results from the Sapporo meet click here.

Men`s 1500 m

  1. Takeshi Arisumi (Team Nishitetsu) - 3:49.27
  2. Naoya Ban (Team NTN) - 3:50.34
  3. Kosuke Murasashi (Team YKK) - 3:50.81

Women`s 1500 m

  1. Saori Yamashita (Team Hokuren) - 4:16.46
  2. Minami Nakaarai (Suma Gakuen H.S.) - 4:21.50
  3. Maki Arai (Team Uniqlo) - 4:22.27

Women`s 3000 m

  1. Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 8:51.85 (PB)
  2. Ann Karindi (Team Yutaka Giken) - 8:52.24 (PB)
  3. Mariko Nakao (Team Oki) - 9:19.95

Men`s 3000 m SC

  1. Tomoyoshi Umegae (Team NTN) - 8:47.16
  2. Michinori Takano (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 8:49.11
  3. Takayuki Matsuura (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 8:50.18

Women`s 3000 m SC

  1. Kazuka Wakatsuki (Team Toto) - 9:59.57
  2. Maiko Yamaguchi (Team Yamada Denki) - 10:28.61
  3. Yuka Ohara (Team Shimamura) - 10:35.51

Men`s 5000 m A-Group

  1. Yuki Nakamura (Team Kanebo) - 13:44.69
  2. Terukazu Omori (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 13:45.12
  3. Keita Akiba (Team Komori) - 13:45.30

Women`s 5000 m

  1. Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz) - 16:00.30
  2. Miho Notagashira (Team Wacoal) - 16:07.18
  3. Yuka Tokuda (Team Yamada Denki) - 16:14.43

Men`s 5000 m B-Group

  1. Teruto Ozaki (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 14:03.47
  2. Kiyotaka Shimamura (Team S&B) - 14:05.04
  3. Akihiko Tsumurai (Team Mazda) - 14:06.74

Men`s 5000 m Walk

  1. Koichiro Morioka (Team Fujitsu) - 19:28.26
  2. Yuki Yamasaki (Hasegawa AC) - 20:04.21
  3. Ken Akashi (Team Alsok) - 20:07.72

Women`s 5000 m Walk

  1. Masumi Fuchise (Ryukoku Univ.) - 22:11.11
  2. Mayumi Kawasaki (Team Ebisawa Seisakujo) - 22:33.69

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Goshima and Kasai Win 10000 m National Titles, Maeda Breaks U20 Asian Record

Rino Goshima and Jun Kasai stepped up with PBs to win the 2024 National Championships 10000 m titles Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium. In the women's race, Goshima, 4th in last December's 2023 National Championships 10000 m, went out front from the start with Kenyan teammate Judy Jepngetich pacing and 2023 3rd-placer Haruka Kokai in tow. Things were never on track to hit the 30:40.00 Paris Olympics standard, but except for a brief dip to 3:08 at 7000 m Goshima held steady at 3:05 to 3:06/km even as Kokai and Jepngetich fell off. With blood dripping from her left knee after getting spiked by Jepngetich, Goshima closed in 3:03 to take 5 seconds off her best from December's Nationals and win in 30:53.31, moving up to all-time Japanese #6. Jepngetich also PBd at 31:09.42 without counting in the standings, with Kokai 2nd in 31:10.53 and Kazuna Kanetomo 3rd in a PB 31:59.29. The runner-up last time, Yuka Takashima was last in 33:33.27. The men's race went out in a

Ichiyama 8th at Copenhagen Marathon

Currently the #10-ranked Japanese man in the marathon with the fastest-ever domestic time at the elite Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx) made his international debut at Sunday's Copenhagen Marathon , literally an international debut as it was his first time outside the country. Ichiyama hoped to be in contention to break the 2:08:23 CR and go for the win, and with cool and breezy conditions ran easy in the lead group through 30 km. But something ate away at almost everyone as time went by, several people in the lead men's and women's groups saying humidity, and past 30 km Ichiyama fell off. Falling as low as 9th, he rallied after 40 km to finish 8th in 2:13:07. "It was different than in Japanese races," he said. "I'm used to bigger packs and more even pacing, but this was a kind of racing I hadn't done before. There's a lot to think about. I didn't feel like I was sweating a lot, but I got really thirsty and started sk

Golden Games in Nobeoka Top Results

  For everyone not running yesterday's 10000 m National Championships , where the Asahi Kasei corporate team dominated the men's race with four out of four men sub-28 including winner Jun Kasai , 27:17.46, the grand dame of Japan's long distance time trial circuit was happening on AK's home ground in Miyazaki at the Golden Games in Nobeoka . Not including kids' races, a total of 74 women and 227 men ran in 14 heats of 5000 m, with a packed-in crowd of fans lining the track beating on metal sponsor boards with batons. It's a pretty awesome meet, and memorable performances included: National champion Kamimura Gakuen H.S. standout Caroline Kariba continued to kill it in the second month of her corporate league career, winning the 5000 m A-heat in 15:00.95 in a race where 3 out of the top 4 including her ran PBs. National champion Meijo University seemed flat at this point in the season, with none of its people under 16 minutes and star Nanase Tanimoto leading