Nishihara Sets 10 km National Collegiate Record at Sanyo Women's Road Race

by Brett Larner

As the year draws to a close the last major non-ekiden road race of the Japanese calendar, the Sanyo Women's Road Race 10 km and half marathon, took place Dec. 23 in Okayama. With the cancellation of the National University Women's Invitational Ekiden Bukkyo University put many of its best runners into both races, resulting in one of the most competitive 10 km fields in Sanyo history.

Kenyan ace Sally Chepyego Kaptich (Team Kyudenko) dueled with 2010 National University 5000 m champion Kasumi Nishihara (Bukkyo Univ.) before pulling away to win in 32:13. Nishihara outran teammate and collegiate 10000 m national record holder Hikari Yoshimoto to take 2nd in 32:26, a new collegiate 10 km road national record and the second-fastest time ever by a Japanese woman on the Sanyo course. Yoshimoto in turn held off pros Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) and Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) for 3rd in 32:34. Shigetomo, who had an outstanding race just four days ago to put Tenmaya into the lead for its first-ever National Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden title, was the top Tenmaya finisher, the team's ace Yurika Nakamura finishing only 19th in 34:02. A notable finisher was accident and injury-plagued junior 10000 m national record holder Megumi Kinukawa (Team Mizuno), who turned in virtually her only race of the year in 33:33 for 13th.

In the half marathon, the newly-minted Team Otsuka Seiyaku continued to make an impact with its Shoko Mori breaking away at 17 km from a lead pack including year-leading Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera), Sapporo Half Marathon winner Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) and Team Tenmaya's national title-winning anchor Kaori Urata. Mori ran a nearly four-minute PB, finishing in 1:11:41 to take the win with a 25-second margin over runner-up Miyauchi.

2010 Sanyo Women's Road Race
10 km
click here for complete results
1. Sally Chepyego Kaptich (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 32:13
2. Kasumi Nishihara (Bukkyo Univ.) - 32:26 - NUR
3. Hikari Yoshimoto (Bukkyo Univ.) - 32:34
4. Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 32:36
5. Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) - 32:38
6. Machiko Iwakawa (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 32:48
7. Namiko Yamamoto (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 32:52
8. Christine Muyanga (Kenya/Team Panasonic) - 32:58
9. Chinami Mori (Bukkyo Univ.) - 33:08
10. Mai Ishibashi (Bukkyo Univ.) - 33:09
-----
13. Megumi Kinukawa (Team Mizuno) - 33:33
19. Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) - 34:02

Half Marathon
click here for complete results
1. Shoko Mori (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:11:41 - PB
2. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 1:12:06
3. Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) - 1:12:29
4. Kaori Urata (Team Tenmaya) - 1:12:35
5. Mina Nomura (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 1:13:45
6. Mika Okunaga (Team Kyudenko) - 1:14:14
7. Yuka Izumi (Team Tenmaya) - 1:14:26
8. Chiharu Matsuo (Team Kyudenko) - 1:14:34
9. Emi Mori (Bukkyo Univ.) - 1:14:48
10. Yumi Sato (Team Shiseido) - 1:15:23

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...

World Marathon Majors Japanese Entries

We're back from a short summer break. A week and a half out from the first race of the season's four World Marathon Majors races, here's a look at Japanese athletes scheduled to run. Everything right now is about qualifying for the MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to be held in the fall of 2027 in Nagoya. The JAAF makes no mistake about wanting to keep its top people racing domestically where it can get a share of revenue from the TV broadcast and race operations, so anyone who decides to race overseas has to do it in a WA platinum label race and hit either 2:06:30 or 2:23:30, regardless of place, course or weather if they want to make the trials. At the same time concessions are make for domestic races, like for example the late-August Hokkaido Marathon where up to 3 men and 3 women can qualify if they go 2:12:00 or 2:32:00. As a result, you get things like last year where amateur runner Yudai Fukuda made the trials by finishing 3rd Jap...

Nakajima Breaks 100 mH NR Twice, Kitaguchi Returns - August Track Roundup

Catching up on what's been happening in track and field this month during our summer break: Men's 3000 m NR holder Nagiya Mori was just off his 5000 m PB at the IFAM Oordegem meet in Belgium on Aug. 1, taking 16th in 13:15.01. Shota Nakano was 26th of 28 in 13:35.02. This year's national champion Ryoma Aoki ran the 3000 mSC but didn't finish. Naoto Hasegawa was the only Japanese athlete at Mutaz Essa Barshim 's What Gravity Tour stop at the Monaco Athletics Festival meet on Aug. 5. Having cleared 2.30 m for the first time earlier this year Hasegawa only managed 2.18 m in Monaco, taking 7th of 10. There were a lot of good performances at the Fuji Hokuriku World Trial meet in Fujiyoshida on Aug. 9, but the one that got the headlines was a 12.62 (-0.2) NR in the women's 100 mH by Hitomi Nakajima . Nakajima actually did it twice, running 12.62 (+2.0) in the heats before repeating in the final. Masumi Aoki also ran big in the heats, with a 12.68 (+2.0) for al...

japan running news

Search This Blog