Fukushi a Non-Entity in Stockholm

by Brett Larner

Women's 5000 m national record holder Kayoko Fukushi's dry spell since her bizarre marathon debut in 2008 continued July 31 at the DN Galan meet in Stockholm, Sweden. Scheduled to run the 10000 m at next month's World Championships, Fukushi lacks a valid qualifying mark for the 5000 m and needed to put in an A-standard performance in Sweden to join Yurika Nakamura in doubling. Instead, Fukushi dropped one of her slowest times in recent memory, 15:36.02. Despite the relatively slow pace overall she finished 9th out of 10 as American Jennifer Barringer took the win in 15:05.25. Last year at the Beijing Olympics Fukushi showed that she is skilled at peaking for championship races, but with only three weeks to go until the World Championships her performance in Sweden significantly lowers expectations. For complete results click here.

(c) 2009 Brett Larner

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