Skip to main content

A Comeback Victory for Yokoyama in Ome

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20090216-OHT1T00040.htm

translated by Brett Larner

At the 43rd Ome Marathon on Feb. 15, Tomoe Yokoyama (32, Team Toto) won the women's 30 km race in 1:47:01 six years after her previous Ome victory in 2003. Now completely recovered from a right leg injury which sidelined her career for years, Yokoyama is enthusiastically looking forward to running the marathon in the 2012 London Olympics.

Running under a picture-perfect blue sky, Yokoyama left her competitors far behind as she broke the goal tape, exhibiting in her comeback Ome victory the kind of running not seen since her long-ago first win in 2003. "I'm really grateful to everyone who's helped me up 'til now," she commented afterwards. "And my confidence to race is back." Wearing the laurel wreath for the first time in six years as she stood upon the highest point of the podium, Yokoyama's smile transmitted her joy to all.

The period between her wins has been one of nonstop hardship. Soon after Ome 2003 she injured her right heel in training, after which running anything longer than a half marathon became extremely painful. In the midst of this time of trouble, her sponsor Seiko Instruments disbanded its running team in March 2005. She moved to Team Phiten alongside Naoko Takahashi, but after only a year moved again to Team Toto. These six years were, "unbelievably tough," she recalls quietly.

Yokoyama's older brother Kei, 34, a former runner for Team Fujitsu, is now head coach of Team Toto, and together the pair of siblings is working toward a common goal. She receives acupuncture and other medical treatments for her heel, and to improve her core strength has incorporated a six-hour mountain-climbing course in the mountains around Kita-Kyushu into her training. To cut down on the stress on her brother, this time Yokoyama entered Ome's general division. In the first half of the race she ran in the 2nd pack, but after rounding the turnaround point she accelerated rapidly and opened a gap of 28 seconds over 2nd place.

"Ome this year was the first step toward the marathon," Yokoyama says confidently. "I'm planning to run Boston in April, then next season I'll do one of the three big women's marathons (Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya)." She intends to dedicate herself completely to her running over the next three years, even holding off on getting married until after the London Olympics. "I want to be an athlete like (Naoko) Takahashi," she concludes. From Ome's streets a runner's dreams of the world stage have been born again.

Tomoe Yokoyama - born Aug. 9, 1976 in Tokyo. 152 cm, 41 kg. Lives with her parents and two brothers. Began running in junior high school and training in Yoshio Koide's Sakura AC while in high school. Ran for Team Seiko Instruments and Team Phiten before moving to Team Toto in 2006. PBs: 10000 m - 32:55.83 / marathon: 2:34:37

Translator's note: Although it seems unlikely, under Rikuren's new selection procedures a strong performance in Boston would put Yokoyama into consideration for the 2009 Berlin World Championships marathon team.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Ninja Runner Yuka Ando Leads Japanese Women's Marathon Team in London: "I Want to Go For It"

Her form has been dubbed "ninja running." Both arms held straight down with almost no movement. That idiosyncratic style carried Yuka Ando , 23, to the fastest-ever marathon debut by a Japanese woman, 2:21:36, at March's Nagoya Women's Marathon to land at #4 on the all-time Japanese lists. All at once Ando found herself catapulted to the top level of women's marathoning, a candidate for Japan's next great marathoner. When she was younger Ando ran moving her arms like other runners, but she had a bad habit of moving robotically, her upper body and lower body not working in sync. The turning point came in 2014 when she joined Suzuki Hamamatsu AC . Working there with coach Masayuki Satouchi to eliminate the faults in her form, the pair arrived at the ninja running style that let her run relaxed. "Other people keep asking me, "Isn't it hard to run like that?" but for me it's comfortable," she said. The efficient form helped her mai

Yamaguchi 10th at United Airlines NYC Half - Weekend Overseas Results

2024 national cross-country champion Tomonori Yamaguchi was the top Japanese finisher in the men's race at the United Airlines NYC Half , taking 10th in 1:04:36. A 2nd-year at Waseda University , Yamaguchi was one of three collegiate runners running New York in the 11th year of JRN's development program collaboration between the Ageo City Half Marathon and the New York Road Runners, a program that has seen people like future half marathon and marathon NR breaker Yuta Shitara and Paris Olympic team member Akira Akasaki make their international debuts. Yamaguchi's Waseda teammate Taishi Ito started fast, going with the leaders through 5 km in 14:29 before losing touch. Hosei University senior Rei Matsunaga went through in 14:42 in his last race before joining the JR Higashi Nihon corporate team in April. Yamaguchi, who caught COVID after winning last month's National Cross-Country Championships, started more conservatively with a 15:11 first 5km. But where both Ito

Rui Aoki Wins National University Men's Half Marathon - Weekend Results

Yuka Ando 's win at the Nagoya Women's Marathon was the big news of the weekend, but there were other high-level races happening, even in Nagoya. Held in parallel with the marathon, the Nagoya City Half Marathon saw Australians Natalie Rule and Ed Goddard take easy wins by about 2.5 minutes each, Rule in 1:13:57 and Goddard in 1:04:01. The new Biwako Marathon also had a non-Japanese winner, China's Yousheng Guan scoring 1st in 2:14:58 with Japan's Hirohito Sugai next in 2:16:40. Mikiko Ota won the women's race in 2:50:44. The Shizuoka Marathon returned for its first running in five years, with club runner Shumpei Oda leading the top 7 men under 2:20 in 2:15:36. Women's winner Remi Tanaka ran 2:41:23, beating runner-up Ayumi Sano by exactly 7 minutes. And in Tokyo, Rui Aoki continued what has been a great season so far for Koku Gakuin University with a win at the National University Men's Half Marathon . Aoki and Hiro Konda of Chuo Gakuin Unive