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

Comments

Most-Read This Week

On the Loss of the ARRS Database

At some point in the last few months I discovered that both versions of the ARRS database, the static one and the searchable version , are gone. Last week David Monti posted a link to the ARRS history of an event he covered in Race Results Weekly, I guess copying and pasting a link from last year without looking at it, and that reminded me to write something about the loss of the database. The Association of Road Racing Statisticians was basically a one-man show operated from the remote Northern California shores by Ken Young . When the site existed its intro read: The Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyses and publishes results and statistics regarding elite distance running at distances 3000m and longer...The data of ARRS is stored in the ARRS database, which has more than 1.3 million performances from more than 240,000 races by more than 95,000 elite and sub-elite distance runners worldwide...This website ...

Multiple National Records This Weekend

Olympic and World champion Haruka Kitaguchi got the biggest headlines among Japanese athletes this weekend, overcoming a rough last year and a half that included injury and a coaching change to break her own javelin throw NR by over a meter and a half to win the inaugural WA Ultimate Championship in Budapest. U20 WR and Asian AR holder Ziyi Yan opened with a big 68.05, 0.67 m further than Kitaguchi's best-ever from back in 2023. That could have been the end, but Kitaguchi came back from a 61.15 m first attempt to throw a massive 68.92 m NR on her next one, ultimately enough for the win. She still has a long way to go to match the 18-year-old Yan's 71.74 m from May, but it was a clear statement that Kitaguchi is back. Back home at the National Corporate Track and Field Championships in Kyoto, women's pole vault NR holder Misaki Morota continued a solid comeback season of her own, bettering her NR from May by 1 cm with a 4.51 m on her first attempt. Morota took another 3...

Keita Satoh Running New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile

1500 m U20 NR holder Keita Satoh (Nike Swoosh TC) is running this weekend's New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile , the first time that a Japanese man has been invited in the race's 45-year history. In university Sato had to change focus away from middle distance to the half marathon-scale lengths of the Hakone Ekiden stages, but since graduating in March and relocating to Flagstaff he has refocused on the 1500 m, going from 3:43.19 in April in his first 1500 m in almost 4 years to 3:38.30 over the course of 5 races. Fifth Avenue will be his last race before heading back to Japan for one more track 1500 m and some down time. Men's entries with best 1500 m times in last 3 years: Stefan Nillessen (NED) - 3:29.23 (2025) Flavien Szot (FRA) - 3:30.74 (2025) Oliver Hoare (AUS) - 3:31.07 (2024) Jake Heyward (GBR) - 3:31.18 (2026) Titouan Le Grix (FRA) - 3:31.46 (2026) Romain Mornet (FRA) - 3:31.62 (2025) Adam Spencer (AUS) - 3:31.83 (2026) Pieter Sisk (BEL) - 3:31.85 (2025) Gary Martin (...