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Yokota Tops Japanese Results at KBC Nacht

by Brett Larner

Men's 800 m national record holder Masato Yokota (Team Fujitsu) had the best result of the day for the Japanese contingent at this year's KBC Nacht meet in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium on July 10. Less than half a second off his national record of 1:46:16, Yokota won the 800 m in 1:46.63 by the narrowest of margins over South African Jonas Windy. Among the other Japanese participants in the meet, Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) was perhaps the most disappointing as he fell well short in his attempt on the Japanese 5000 m national record, running only 13:27.36 for 9th. A summary of results is included below.

2010 KBC Nacht - Top Results
Men's 800 m
1. Masato Yokota (Team Fujitsu) - 1:46.63
2. Jonas Windy (South Africa) - 1:46.64
3. Ludolph Siren (Germany) - 1:47.29

Men's 1500 m B-heat
1. Mthobisi Baloyi (South Africa) - 3:41.58
2. Gregory Beugnet (France) - 3:31.99
3. Niels Verwer (Netherlands) - 3:42.75
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4. Yasunori Murakami (Team Fujitsu) - 3:42.99
10. Masahiro Takaya (Japan) - 4:02.62

Men's 5000 m
1. Jacob Cheshari (Kenya) - 12:59.72
2. Josphat Menjo (Kenya) - 13:00.67
3. Leonard Komon (Kenya) - 13:17.32
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9. Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:27.36

Men's 5000 m B-heat
1. Mert Girmalegese (Turkey) - 13:34.73
2. Kemal Koyuncu (Tukey) - 13:35.72
3. Scott Bauhs (U.S.A.) - 13:36.77
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7. Satoru Kitamura (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:43.99
15. Takuya Ishikawa (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 14:00.84

Men's Javelin
1. Jakub Vadeljch (Czech Rep.) - 78.57
2. Peter Esenwin (Germany) - 76.50
3. Tom Goyvaerts (Belgium) - 76.46
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6. Kazuki Yamamoto (Japan) - 72.28

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
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Comments

Anonymous said…
Even though the winning time was under 13, the conditions were not ideal for a super fast time. It was windy, warm and slightly dusty from the wind that created a slight headwind on the back straight.

That was my first time to watch Mr. Sato run in person. His stride is very efficient. I think that his mechanics are actually much better for the marathon.
July 11, 2010 at 3:37 PM
Brett Larner said…
Thanks for the firsthand report. Having watched Sato on the roads in Hakone and post-university I agree, he has a good future in the marathon. I think it'll be a few years though as he focuses on the track national records.
July 11, 2010 at 9:17 PM
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