Skip to main content

Jason Lehmkuhle Wins Ome 30 km Road Race - First American Win Since 1983

by Brett Larner

American Jason Lehmkuhle in a sprint finish against Toyoyuki Abe meters before winning the 2011 Ome 30 km.

Jason Lehmkuhle won a tight sprint finish over Team NTT Nishi Nihon's Toyoyuki Abe at the 2011 Ome 30 km Road Race to become the first American to win the prestigious race since Greg Meyer's 1983 victory. Lehmkuhle was aggressive throughout the race, leading the field of over 15000 through the early kilometers and remaining at the head of the pack over the difficult ups and downs through the middle 20 km.

The pack, initially nine-strong, whittled down to a core of five by halfway. With roughly 5 km to go Lehmkuhle surged, first dropping eventual 4th-placer Atsushi Ikawa (Team Otsuka Seiyaku), then frequent leader Ryotaro Nitta (Team Konica Minolta). Local boy Daisuke Shimizu (Team Kanebo) was the next to fall, leaving only Abe at Lehmkuhle's side. The pair rounded the final righthand corner together with Lehmkuhle on the inside, and in the last sprint to the finish Lehmuhle emerged a step ahead in 1:32:08 to take the win over Abe's 1:32:09. Shimizu hung on to 3rd in 1:33:15 with Ikawa just behind after having overtaken a fading Nitta.

Marathon great Hiromi Ominami (Yutic AC), running Ome as a tuneup for next month's Nagoya International Women's Marathon, won the women's race unchallenged in 1:46:27. Saori Makishima (Canon AC Kyushu), paced by her coach, 2:09:11 marathoner Akira Shimizu, was 2nd, with veteran Yoshimi Hoshino (eAthletes Shizuoka AC) 3rd.

In the 10 km division, high schooler Yusuke Uchikoshi (Kokugakuin Kugayama H.S.), the son of 1993 World Championships marathon 5th placer Tadao Uchikoshi, won the men's race in 30:29, just 9 seconds off the course record. Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) took the women's race, a virtual matchrace between Nihon ChemiCon and Team Hokuren, in 33:02, the fastest time ever by a Japanese woman on the Ome course.

2011 Ome 30 km Road Race
click here for complete results
Men
1. Jason Lehmkuhle (U.S.A.) - 1:32:08
2. Toyoyuki Abe (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) - 1:32:09
3. Daisuke Shimizu (Team Kanebo) - 1:33:15
4. Atsushi Ikawa (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:33:30
5. Ryotaro Nitta (Team Konica Minolta) - 1:34:05

Women
1. Hiromi Ominami (Yutic AC) - 1:46:27
2. Saori Makishima (Canon AC Kyushu) - 1:48:20
3. Yoshimi Hoshino (eAthletes Shizuoka AC) - 1:53:29

10 km Division
click here for complete results
High School Boys
1. Yusuke Uchikoshi (Kokugakuin Kugayama H.S.) - 30:29
2. Kajima Nakamura (Takushoku Prep H.S.) - 30:31
3. Yuichi Mihiro (Takushoku Prep H.S.) - 30:42

Women
1. Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 33:02
2. Kazumi Hashimoto (Team Hokuren) - 33:28
3. Tomoyo Izumi (Team Hokuren) - 33:38

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Yuta Shitara Breaks Japanese Men's Half Marathon National Record in Berlin Marathon Tuneup at Usti nad Labem Half

A week after his 28:55 at the Birell Prague Grand Prix 10 km and just eight days out from the Berlin Marathon, Yuta Shitara (Honda) made the great leap forward, taking 8 seconds off Atsushi Sato's 2007 half marathon Japanese national record, finishing 8th at the Czech Republic's Usti nad Labem Half Marathon.

Shitara is probably most well-known outside Japan for going through halfway under 62 minutes during his marathon debut at this year's Tokyo Marathon and still ending up with a 2:09:27, but he's been turning heads in Japan since his second year at Toyo University when he broke a stage record at the 2012 Hakone Ekiden and outkicked the U.S.A.'s Dathan Ritzenhein to finish in 1:01:48 at the NYC Half two months later, until this year the fastest time ever by a Japanese man on U.S soil.

Three weeks before Tokyo this year he ran a 1:01:19 PB at the Marugame Half. Many people would call that a solid tuneup three weeks out from a serious marathon, but eight days? In P…
Post a Comment
Read more

Ayuko Suzuki Leaves for Altitude Training in Boulder Motivated for the Marathon

2017 London World Championships 5000 m and 10000 m runner Ayuko Suzuki (25, Japan Post) left from Narita Airport on Sept. 18 for altitude training in Boulder, Colorado.

Two days earlier at a half marathon in Czech Republic, Yuta Shitara (25, Honda), like Suzuki born in 1991, broke the 10-year-old Japanese men's half marathon national record in a time of 1:00:17. "It's a big motivation to see an athlete the same age as me doing something like that," she said. Showing her determination to be one of her generation's leaders, she added, "I'll be 28 [at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics], right in my prime mentally and physically. I want to run big too."

In the leadup to the Tokyo Olympics Suzuki has the marathon in sight along with the track. "I need to run a half marathon and marathon somewhere once to check [how well they suit me]," she said. "Coach and I will be talking about it." If everything goes according to plan, December's Sanyo …
Post a Comment
Read more

New Half Marathon NR Holder Yuta Shitara's Twin Brother Keita Joins Hitachi Butsuryu Corporate Team

Having left the Konica Minolta men's corporate team at the end of March this year, Keita Shitara, 25, announced on Sept. 19 that he will join the Hitachi Butsuryu team. The official announcement is scheduled for Sept. 20.

As a member of Toyo University Shitara was part of two Hakone Ekiden-winning teams before joining Konica Minolta following his graduation in 2014. His first year at Konica Minolta Shitara ran New Year Ekiden national championships' toughest stage, but since his second year he has experienced a slump. Saying, "I need to change my environment in order to get my head straight and back on track," Shitara chose to leave the team at the end of March, returning to Toyo as his training base.

The Hitachi Butsuryu team came into being in April, 2012 as the successor to the Hitachi Cable Marathon Team. It is based in Matsudo, Chiba. Under the leadership of head coach Manabu Kitaguchi, 45, it has grown steadily, placing 10th at this year's New Year Ekiden.…
Post a Comment
Read more