by Brett Larner
Women`s 5000 m
Yukiko Akaba
Born: Oct. 18, 1979, Tochigi Prefecture
Team Affiliation: Hokuren
Olympic Event PBs: 5000m; 15:06.07, 7/13/08; 10000m: 31:15.34, 6/27/08
Season Highlights:
-Hokuren Distance Challenge 5000m, all-time Japanese 3rd best: 15:06.07, 7/13/08
-Nat’l T&F Championships 10000m, 2nd place and all-time Japanese 4th best: 31:15.34, 6/27/08
-Nat’l T&F Championships 5000m, 2nd place: 15:13.96, 6/29/08
-Hyogo Relay Carnival 10000m: 31:36.54, 4/27/08
-Nat’l Pro Half Marathon Champion, new CR and all-time Japanese 3rd best: 1:08:11, 3/16/08
Career Highlights:
-Nat’l Pro Half Marathon Champion with new CR, 2008
-2nd place, Nat’l T&F Championships 5000m and 10000m, 2008
-Nat’l University Champion, 5000m, 1999
Akaba`s relatively recent profile fails to fully illustrate her long history. A standout collegiate runner during her days at Josai University, Akaba went on to be a garden variety professional runner in the Japanese jitsugyodan corporate running environment. In Aug., 2006 at age 27 she gave birth to her daughter, Yuna, an event which would normally spell the end of a career. Instead Akaba made a dramatic return in the fall of 2007, swiftly clocking a streak of PB performances which turned many heads. In the spring of 2008 she continued her rise, breaking Mizuki Noguchi`s course record at the Jitsugyodan Half Marathon Championships, finishing in the top two in both the 5000m and 10000m at the National Championships, and entering the all-time top four Japanese performances in the 5000m, 10000m and half marathon. She now stands as one of the very best Japanese distance running women and commands a great amount of respect in Japan for her cast-iron discipline in training and racing. Akaba will probably choose to focus on the 10000m in Beijing. Between her relatively less competitive 5000m mark and fatigue from the 10000m, contention in the 5000m would be more suprising.
Yuriko Kobayashi
Born: Dec. 12, 1988, Hyogo Prefecture
Team Affiliation: Toyota Jidoshoki
Olympic Event PB: 15:07.37, 4/10/08
Season Highlights:
-National Champion, 5000m: 15:11.97, 6/29/08
-PB, Hokuren Distance Challenge 3000m: 8:51.85, 6/4/08
-2nd place, Cardinal Invitational 1500m: 4:12.11, 5/4/08
-All-time Japanese 4th best, Kanaguri Memorial Meet 5000m: 15:07.37, 4/10/08
-Stage Best, Yokohama Int’l Women`s Ekiden, 5 km (road): 15:04, 2/24/08
Career Highlights:
-NR, 1500m: 4:07.86, 2006 (broke NR twice in 2006)
-High School NR, 1500m: from 4:16.61 to 4:07.86 in 2004, 2005 (3 times) and 2006 (twice)
-High School NR, 3000m: 8:52.33, 2005
-National Champion, 5000m, 2008
-National Champion, 1500m, 2005
-World XC Championships, 2006
-World Junior T&F Championships, 2004, 2006
-World Youth Games, 2005
-National Track and Field Championships 1500 m, 2005-2007
One of the greatest young hopes of the Japanese women`s distance running world, Yuriko Kobayashi set the 1500m national record and won the National Championships 1500m as a high school student. While she broke the Olympic B-standard in setting the national record of 4:07.86 in 2006, Kobayashi has since been unable to improve or even come close to that mark. This spring she set the all-time 4th best Japanese mark in the 5000m, 15:07.37, with an even faster time for 5 km on the roads. In light of this situation she opted to go for the 5000m in the Beijing Olympics, easily defeating national record holder Kayoko Fukushi to win the National Championships 5000m in June while skipping the 1500m. Kobayashi is an aggressive but intelligent racer and will probably attempt to hang in contention at the rear of the Beijing lead pack as long as possible. She has an unusually strong finish for a Japanese runner and could outkick faster runners in a slow race.
Kayoko Fukushi
Born: Mar. 25, 1982, Aomori Prefecture
Team Affiliation: Wacoal
Olympic Event PBs: 5000m: 14:53.22, 2005 – NR; 10000m: 30:51.81, 2002
Season Highlights:
-10th place, Rome Golden Gala Meet 5000m: 15:19.74, 7/11/08
-3rd place, Nat’l T&F Championships 5000m: 15:16.27, 6/29/08
-3rd place, Nat’l T&F Championships 10000m: 31:18.79, 6/27/08
-19th place, Osaka In’l Women`s Marathon: 2:40:54, 1/27/08
Career Highlights:
-WR, 15 km (road): 46:55, 2006
-NR, Half Marathon: 1:07:26, 2006
-NR, 5000m: 14:53.22, 2005
-NR, 3000m: 8:44.40, 2002
-Former NR, 5000m: 14:55.19, 2002 (broke NR 3 times in 2002 incl. first Japanese sub-15:00)
-JrR, 10000m: 31:42.05, 2001
-JrR, 5000m: 15:10.23, 2001
-JrR, 3000m: 8:52.30, 2001
-Asian Champion, 10000m, 2006
-National Champion, 10000m, 2002-2007
-National Champion, 5000m, 2002, 2004-2007
-Athens Olympics 10000m, 2004
-World T&F Championships 5000m and 10000m, 2003, 2005, 2007
-World Road Race Championships, 2006
-World XC Championships, 2002, 2006
-World Junior T&F Championships, 2000
Kayoko Fukushi could easily be called the greatest female Japanese distance runner to appear thus far. The national record holder at 3000m, 5000m and half marathon, she has since high school dominated Japanese distance running at distances shorter than the marathon. Japan having as it does a major focus on the marathon, Fukushi was under intense pressure for the last few years to move up in distance, particularly after she broke Mizuki Noguchi`s national record in her debut half marathon. Fukushi finally relented, running the Osaka International Women`s Marathon in Jan., 2008 in an apparent attempt to make the Beijing Olympics in the marathon. After running alone at near sub-2:20 pace through the first half of the race Fukushi executed arguably the greatest marathon crash and burn the world has ever seen from an elite runner, finishing in 2:40:54 after falling repeatedly and cutting her face.
After Osaka Fukushi suffered leg injuries which kept her from serious training until late May. She ran the National Championships 5000m and 10000m on only a month of training, finishing 3rd in each to end her streak of national titles in both events. She subsequently ran poorly in Europe, calling into question whether she will be in serious condition for the Beijing Olympics. The sometimes bizarre race tactics she uses, such as those in the National Championships 10000m and at the 2007 Osaka World Championships 10000m, and the strangely blasé persona she employs in interviews make her even more unpredictable. Given her lack of base and the weakness she has shown in her finish this season Fukushi is not likely to perform well in the 5000m after running the 10000m.
© 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
photos from Rikuren archive
Women`s 5000 m
Yukiko AkabaBorn: Oct. 18, 1979, Tochigi Prefecture
Team Affiliation: Hokuren
Olympic Event PBs: 5000m; 15:06.07, 7/13/08; 10000m: 31:15.34, 6/27/08
Season Highlights:
-Hokuren Distance Challenge 5000m, all-time Japanese 3rd best: 15:06.07, 7/13/08
-Nat’l T&F Championships 10000m, 2nd place and all-time Japanese 4th best: 31:15.34, 6/27/08
-Nat’l T&F Championships 5000m, 2nd place: 15:13.96, 6/29/08
-Hyogo Relay Carnival 10000m: 31:36.54, 4/27/08
-Nat’l Pro Half Marathon Champion, new CR and all-time Japanese 3rd best: 1:08:11, 3/16/08
Career Highlights:
-Nat’l Pro Half Marathon Champion with new CR, 2008
-2nd place, Nat’l T&F Championships 5000m and 10000m, 2008
-Nat’l University Champion, 5000m, 1999
Akaba`s relatively recent profile fails to fully illustrate her long history. A standout collegiate runner during her days at Josai University, Akaba went on to be a garden variety professional runner in the Japanese jitsugyodan corporate running environment. In Aug., 2006 at age 27 she gave birth to her daughter, Yuna, an event which would normally spell the end of a career. Instead Akaba made a dramatic return in the fall of 2007, swiftly clocking a streak of PB performances which turned many heads. In the spring of 2008 she continued her rise, breaking Mizuki Noguchi`s course record at the Jitsugyodan Half Marathon Championships, finishing in the top two in both the 5000m and 10000m at the National Championships, and entering the all-time top four Japanese performances in the 5000m, 10000m and half marathon. She now stands as one of the very best Japanese distance running women and commands a great amount of respect in Japan for her cast-iron discipline in training and racing. Akaba will probably choose to focus on the 10000m in Beijing. Between her relatively less competitive 5000m mark and fatigue from the 10000m, contention in the 5000m would be more suprising.
Yuriko KobayashiBorn: Dec. 12, 1988, Hyogo Prefecture
Team Affiliation: Toyota Jidoshoki
Olympic Event PB: 15:07.37, 4/10/08
Season Highlights:
-National Champion, 5000m: 15:11.97, 6/29/08
-PB, Hokuren Distance Challenge 3000m: 8:51.85, 6/4/08
-2nd place, Cardinal Invitational 1500m: 4:12.11, 5/4/08
-All-time Japanese 4th best, Kanaguri Memorial Meet 5000m: 15:07.37, 4/10/08
-Stage Best, Yokohama Int’l Women`s Ekiden, 5 km (road): 15:04, 2/24/08
Career Highlights:
-NR, 1500m: 4:07.86, 2006 (broke NR twice in 2006)
-High School NR, 1500m: from 4:16.61 to 4:07.86 in 2004, 2005 (3 times) and 2006 (twice)
-High School NR, 3000m: 8:52.33, 2005
-National Champion, 5000m, 2008
-National Champion, 1500m, 2005
-World XC Championships, 2006
-World Junior T&F Championships, 2004, 2006
-World Youth Games, 2005
-National Track and Field Championships 1500 m, 2005-2007
One of the greatest young hopes of the Japanese women`s distance running world, Yuriko Kobayashi set the 1500m national record and won the National Championships 1500m as a high school student. While she broke the Olympic B-standard in setting the national record of 4:07.86 in 2006, Kobayashi has since been unable to improve or even come close to that mark. This spring she set the all-time 4th best Japanese mark in the 5000m, 15:07.37, with an even faster time for 5 km on the roads. In light of this situation she opted to go for the 5000m in the Beijing Olympics, easily defeating national record holder Kayoko Fukushi to win the National Championships 5000m in June while skipping the 1500m. Kobayashi is an aggressive but intelligent racer and will probably attempt to hang in contention at the rear of the Beijing lead pack as long as possible. She has an unusually strong finish for a Japanese runner and could outkick faster runners in a slow race.
Kayoko FukushiBorn: Mar. 25, 1982, Aomori Prefecture
Team Affiliation: Wacoal
Olympic Event PBs: 5000m: 14:53.22, 2005 – NR; 10000m: 30:51.81, 2002
Season Highlights:
-10th place, Rome Golden Gala Meet 5000m: 15:19.74, 7/11/08
-3rd place, Nat’l T&F Championships 5000m: 15:16.27, 6/29/08
-3rd place, Nat’l T&F Championships 10000m: 31:18.79, 6/27/08
-19th place, Osaka In’l Women`s Marathon: 2:40:54, 1/27/08
Career Highlights:
-WR, 15 km (road): 46:55, 2006
-NR, Half Marathon: 1:07:26, 2006
-NR, 5000m: 14:53.22, 2005
-NR, 3000m: 8:44.40, 2002
-Former NR, 5000m: 14:55.19, 2002 (broke NR 3 times in 2002 incl. first Japanese sub-15:00)
-JrR, 10000m: 31:42.05, 2001
-JrR, 5000m: 15:10.23, 2001
-JrR, 3000m: 8:52.30, 2001
-Asian Champion, 10000m, 2006
-National Champion, 10000m, 2002-2007
-National Champion, 5000m, 2002, 2004-2007
-Athens Olympics 10000m, 2004
-World T&F Championships 5000m and 10000m, 2003, 2005, 2007
-World Road Race Championships, 2006
-World XC Championships, 2002, 2006
-World Junior T&F Championships, 2000
Kayoko Fukushi could easily be called the greatest female Japanese distance runner to appear thus far. The national record holder at 3000m, 5000m and half marathon, she has since high school dominated Japanese distance running at distances shorter than the marathon. Japan having as it does a major focus on the marathon, Fukushi was under intense pressure for the last few years to move up in distance, particularly after she broke Mizuki Noguchi`s national record in her debut half marathon. Fukushi finally relented, running the Osaka International Women`s Marathon in Jan., 2008 in an apparent attempt to make the Beijing Olympics in the marathon. After running alone at near sub-2:20 pace through the first half of the race Fukushi executed arguably the greatest marathon crash and burn the world has ever seen from an elite runner, finishing in 2:40:54 after falling repeatedly and cutting her face.
After Osaka Fukushi suffered leg injuries which kept her from serious training until late May. She ran the National Championships 5000m and 10000m on only a month of training, finishing 3rd in each to end her streak of national titles in both events. She subsequently ran poorly in Europe, calling into question whether she will be in serious condition for the Beijing Olympics. The sometimes bizarre race tactics she uses, such as those in the National Championships 10000m and at the 2007 Osaka World Championships 10000m, and the strangely blasé persona she employs in interviews make her even more unpredictable. Given her lack of base and the weakness she has shown in her finish this season Fukushi is not likely to perform well in the 5000m after running the 10000m.
© 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
photos from Rikuren archive
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