Skip to main content

Nishihara Over Kojima for Silver in 5000 m - World University Games Day Five

by Brett Larner

2009 World University Games women's 10000 m gold medalist Kasumi Nishihara of Bukkyo University came back for more on the last day of women's distance competition, outrunning Ritsumeikan University rival Kazue Kojima to take silver in the 5000 m on July 11. Russian Natalia Medvedeva led through the first kilometer before eventual winner Sara Moreira of Portugal took over, running away to a 15:32.78 victory. Nishihara was a distant 2nd in 15:46.95, outkicking Medvedeva who took the bronze in 15:49.60.

Kojima, who was undefeated in domestic university competition coming into her senior year, was never a factor as she finished only 7th in a weak 16:03.45. With Nishihara having broken Kojima's 5000 m PB earlier in the season it looks as through the pair are set for a great series of duels over their final year of university competition.

In other track events, men's 800 m national champion Masato Yokota advance to the finals, as did the men's 4x400 m relay squad anchored by World University Games 400 m gold medalist Yuzo Kanemaru. The men's 4x100 m team, a favorite for a medal, had no so luck as they were eliminated after dropping the baton.

On the field, men's pole vaulter Takafumi Suzuki finished 8th overall, while men's long jumper Yasuyuki Horiike advanced to the next round.

2009 World University Games - Top Finishers
click event headers for complete results
Women's 5000 m
1. Sara Moreira (Portugal) - 15:32.78
2. Kasumi Nishihara (Bukkyo Univ.) - 15:46.95
3. Natalia Medvedeva (Russia) - 15:49.60
-----
7. Kazue Kojima (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 16:03.45

Men's 800 m - Semifinals
1. Vitalij Kozlov (Lithuania) - 1:49.06
2. Sajad Moradi (Iran) - 1:49.07
3. Walid Meliani (Algeria) - 1:49.11
-----
12. Masato Yokota (Japan) - 1:50.07

Men's 4x400 m Relay - Heat 1
1. Japan (Hideyuki Hirose - Yusuke Ishitsuka - Kazuaki Yoshida - Yuzo Kanemaru) - 3:08.38
2. Denmark - 3:09.49
3. Algeria - 3:09.67

Men's 4x100 m Relay - Heat 1
DSQ - Japan (Masashi Eriguchi - Shintaro Kimura - Mitsuhiro Abiko - Hitoshi Saito)

Men's Pole Vault - Final
1. Alexander Gripich (Russia) - 5.60
2. Giorgio Piantella (Italy) - 5.55
3. Henrik Gruber (Germany) - 5.45
-----
8. Takafumi Suzuki (Japan) - 5.25

Men's Long Jump - Qualifying Round
1. Xiongfeng Su (China) - 7.98
2. Marcin Starzak (Poland) - 7.83
3. Deok Hyeon Kim (South Korea) - 7.82
-----
6. Yasuyuki Horiike (Japan) - 7.66

(c) 2009 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

2026 Tokyo Marathon Elite Field

The Mar. 1 Tokyo Marathon has great fields this year, so let's get right to it. The women's field has 3 of last year's top 10, winner for the 2nd year in a row and Tokyo CR holder Sutume Asefa Kebede , 3rd-placer and 2025 Chicago winner Hawi Feysa , and 5th-placer and 2025 Berlin winner Rosemary Wanjiru , plus 2024 Valencia winner Megertu Alemu , 2025 Prague winner Bertukan Welde , 2024 Paris winner Mestawut Fikir , 2024 Osaka winner Waganesh Mekasha , former WR holder Brigid Kosgei , and a lot more. Japanese hopes pretty much go to all-time #7 Ai Hosoda , 2:20:31 in Berlin 2024 but who announced this month that she is retiring after Tokyo despite having qualified for the 2028 Olympic marathon trials with her 2:23:27 for 6th in Sydney last year. Other internationals include Canadian Malindi Elmore , American Sara Hall , a big Chinese group led by Yuyu Xia , Poland's Aleksandra Brzezińska and Australian Vanessa Wilson . The men's race has 5 of last year's top 1...
4 comments
Read more

Measuring Marathon Courses by Bicycle

http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2013&d=0110&f=column_0110_034.shtml translated by Brett Larner The full marathon is a sport where you compete over 42.195 km, but how do they go about measuring that distance?  Today we're going to look a little bit at how they go about certifying the distance of a marathon. The reality is that major international marathons use a bicycle to measure the distance.  This rule is an international standard, and the same method of measurement is used everywhere.  It was put into place in 1986.  In order to ensure that the same method is used everywhere, a bicycle that meets IAAF specifications must be used for measurement. In the case of Japan's major marathons, to be certain that the distance is correct a provisional measurement is first made.  Before the course is certified using a bicycle the course is measured using a 50 m-long length of wire to determine that it is in fact 42.195 km.  When a bicycle is u...
2 comments
Read more

Ai Hosoda Announces Retirement

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/Photo Run, all rights reserved On Jan. 8 the Edion women's corporate team announced that Ai Hosoda , 30, will retire at the end of March this year. The Tokyo Marathon will be her last race. At Nagano Higashi H.S. Hosoda ran in the National High School Ekiden her 2nd and 3rd years. During her 3rd year at Nittai University she won both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, going on to win the bronze medal in the 10000 m at the World University Games in her 4th year at Nittai. After graduating she joined the Daihatsu corporate team, debuting at the 2019 Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:29:27. 2 years later she transferred to Edion. She qualified for the Paris Olympics marathon trials at the 2022 Nagoya Women's Marathon and finished 3rd in the trials in the fall of 2023, but was later bumped down to Olympic alternate after another athlete ran a faster time. Instead of the Olympics, Hosoda ran the 2024 Ber...
2 comments
Read more