Skip to main content

Shimahara and Yoshida Top Honolulu Marathon

by Brett Larner

Kiyoko Shimahara wins the 2008 Honolulu Marathon

Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC), who finished 3rd in October's Chicago Marathon behind defending Honolulu Marathon champion Alevtina Biktimirova (Russia), came back to score her first marathon victory since her debut in the 2003 Katsuta Marathon, running 2:32:36 to defeat Biktimirova in the 2008 Honolulu Marathon on Dec. 14.

Running in conditions of heavy rain, Shimahara, an athlete with a proven track record in hot races, took the lead just past 34 km and never relented. Her teammate Kaori Yoshida, winner of October's Casablanca Marathon, ran as pacemaker but hung on for 2nd place in 2:34:35. Japanese runners also took 7th through 10th in the women's division and 7th and 9th in the men's division.

Two-time Olympian and three-time World Championships national team member Megumi Oshima ran as an independent after having recently quit her position with Team Shimamura, finishing 8th in 2:57:44. Two-time defending Mt. Fuji Mountain Race champion Yuri Kambara was 14th in 3:10:22. Former Tokyo International Women's Marathon winner Mari Tanigawa jogged the race in 4:24:37 after having skipped the final edition of Tokyo last month.

Complete results for the 2008 Honolulu Marathon are available here.

2008 Honolulu Marathon - Top Finishers
Women
1. Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC) - 2:32:36
2. Kaori Yoshida (Second Wind AC) - 2:34:35
3. Alice Timbilili (Kenya) - 2:37:31
4. Olesya Nurgalieva (Russia) - 2:39:13
5. Alevtina Biktimirova (Russia) - 2:45:06
6. Elena Nurgalieva (Russia) - 2:48:15
7. Sayaka Maeda (Japan) - 2:54:55
8. Megumi Oshima (Japan) - 2:57:44
9. Yumiko Daigo (Japan) - 3:01:03
10. Takako Oi (Japan) - 3:04:00

Men
1. Patrick Ivuti (Kenya) - 2:14:35
2. Stephen Njoroge (Kenya) - 2:17:41
3. Pius Muasa Mutuku (Kenya) - 2:17:51
4. Joseph Mutiso (Kenya) - 2:19:35
5. Jimmy Muindi (Kenya) - 2:21:43
6. Andrew Letherby (Australia) - 2:25:32
7. Koichi Fujino (Japan) - 2:27:56
8. Samuel Mwangi (Kenya) - 2:28:09
9. Shuichi Ito (Japan) - 2:29:55
10. Nailu Nigussie (Ethiopia) - 2:30:32

(c) 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
oh my goodness megumi oshima sucks! She used to be so good. She ran 2:24 and finish second to reiko tosa in the 2004 nagoya marathon. This is probably the end of her career.
December 16, 2008 at 10:32 AM
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

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

'Kobe 2024: Aitchison, Athmani Lead Record-Breaking Thursday'

  https://www.paralympic.org/news/kobe-2024-para-athletics-world-championships-aitchison-athmani-lead-record-breaking-thursday Complete results and daily schedule from the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships are here .
Post a Comment
Read more