Skip to main content

3 Races, 3 Wins in 24 Hours for Ongori at National Corporate Track and Field Championships

by Brett Larner

After winning the women's 10000 m on Friday night and then her heat of the 5000 m on Saturday morning, Kenyan ace Philes Ongori (Team Hokuren) returned Saturday night to take the women's 5000 m final at the 2009 National Jitsugyodan Track and Field Championships in Okayama. Ongori's time of 15:28.11 was a far cry from her sub-15 PB but strong enough to hold off countrywoman Doricah Obare (Team Hitachi) and all Japanese competitors. Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Giken) was the surprise top in the latter category, outkicking World Championships team members Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) and Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) for 3rd in a PB of 15:30.29.

After likewise winning the 10000 m and his heat of the men's 5000 m, Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) made a play for his own threepeat but came up short in his fatigue. Archrival Josephat Ndambiri (Team Komori Corp.) was waiting in the wings to take Ngatuny down, winning in 13:11.46 with Jonathan Ndiku (Team Hitachi Cable) and 2007 World Championships 10000 m bronze medalist Martin Mathathi (Team Suzuki) close behind in 2nd and 3rd. Left behind in the final kick, Ngatuny could only manage 4th in 13:18.63. 5000 m national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) was the top Japanese runner at 6th in 13:47.20, nearly 35 seconds off his record but a step back in the right direction from the injuries which have plagued him this year. Satoru Kitamura (Team Nissin Shokuhin), the top Japanese man in both the 10000 m and his heat of the 5000 m, was a casuality of the difficult three-race schedule, pulling out partway through the 5000 m final.

2009 National Jitsugyodan Track and Field Championships - Top Results
click event headers for complete results

Women's 5000 m - Final
1. Philes Ongori (Team Hokuren) - 15:28.11
2. Doricah Obare (Team Hitachi) - 15:30.18
3. Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Giken) - 15:30.29 - PB
4. Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) - 15:31.52
5. Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) - 15:32.45
6. Christine Muyanga (Team Panasonic) - 15:33.10
7. Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 15:34.13
8. Yuka Kakimi (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 15:37.31
9. Hiromi Koga (Team Denso) - 15:40.55
10. Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 15:43.18

Men's 5000 m - Final
1. Josephat Ndamibiri (Team Komori Corp.) - 13:11.46
2. Jonathan Ndiku (Team Hitachi Cable) - 13:11.99
3. Martin Mathathi (Team Suzuki) - 13:12.63
4. Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:18.63
5. Martin Mukule (Team Toyota) - 13:34.00
6. Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) - 13:47.20
7. Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 13:48.72 - PB
8. Kazuharu Takai (Team Kyudenko) - 13:51.99
9. Tomoyuki Morita (Team Kanebo) - 13:52.07
10. Jacob Wanjuki (Team Aichi Seiko) - 13:53.72

(c) 2009 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Saku Chosei H.S. Makes It 2 In a Row - National High School Ekiden Boys' Race

While the girls' race was a blowout by 2022 champ Nagano Higashi H.S. , the boys' race at Sunday's National High School Ekiden was a tense battle of turnover that saw all of the final top four teams take a stab at leading. 2023 3rd-placer Yachiyo Shoin H.S. handled the first 2 of the 7 stages in the 42.195 km race, with lead runner Rui Suzuki delivering a bold run on the 10.0 km First Stage that produced the fastest-ever time by a Japanese runner on the stage, 28:43, and put Yachiyo Shoin 29 seconds out front. Last year's Fifth Stage CR breaker Tetsu Suzuki ran Yachiyo Shoin down to put 2023 champ Saku Chosei H.S. into 1st on the 8.1075 km Third Stage, but Genta Sugano of last year's 8th-placer Sendai Ikuei H.S. had other plans and took the lead on the 8.0875 km Fourth Stage. Smiling and fist pumping to the crowd almost the entire way, Taketo Tsukada of last year's 6th-placer Omuta H.S. moved up from 3rd to 1st by 2 seconds over Saku Chosei on the 3.0 k...
Post a Comment
Read more

Japan Post Holds Off Sekisui Kagaku to Win Queens Ekiden National Title

  Japan Post  was back on top at the Queens Ekiden corporate women's national championships Sunday in Sendai, holding off last year's winner Sekisui Kagaku  over the second half of a race that came as close as 1 second to take 1st with a final margin of victory of 27 seconds. Sekisui Kagaku was out fast with a win on the 7.0 km opening leg by Erika Tanoura  and a new CR for the 12:56 second leg by Yuma Yamamoto , 17 seconds better than her own CR from last year. Last year's 4th-placer Shiseido  briefly led on the 10.6 km third leg with an excellent 33:17 stage win from Rino Goshima , but behind her Japan Post's Ririka Hironaka  returned from her latest injury problems to pass Sekisui Kagaku's Sayaka Sato  and hand off 6 seconds ahead. New recruit Caroline Kariba  ran Shiseido down on the 3.6 km fourth leg and put Japan Post 22 seconds ahead of Sekisui Kagaku, but a duel of marathoners between JP's  Ayuko Suzuki  and Sekisui's Hitomi Niiy...
1 comment
Read more

Nagano Higashi Girls Lead Start to Finish to Win National High School Ekiden

2022 National High School Ekiden girls' champion Nagano Higashi H.S. was back in force after a 5th-place finish last year, leading start to finish to win this year's national title Sunday in Kyoto. Lead runner Airi Mashiba kicked it off with a 19:30 stage win on the 6.0 km opening leg, something that head coach Fumio Yokouchi said later that he hadn't been expecting. That ended up being Nagano Higashi's only individual stage win in the 5-leg, 21.0975 km race, but the rest of its team ran well enough to hold a lead that was never less than 11 seconds but never more than 21. Last year's 4th-placer Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. spent most of the race in 2nd, but over the second half of the race Sendai Ikuei H.S. , 2nd last year by just 1 second, came from further back to run Kunei down on the anchor stage thanks in big part to a critical stage win on the 4th leg by Tsubomi Tezuka that put anchor Aoi Hosokawa in position to catch Kunei's Mizuki Oda . Nagano Higashi ...
Post a Comment
Read more