Kinukawa Takes a Major Win at East Japan Corporate Championships, Gives Credit to Wanjiru

by Brett Larner

The corporate regional spring track championships wrapped up this weekend with the East Japan Jitsugyodan T&F Championships in hot, humid and windy Kumagaya, Saitama. The big news at the meet came in the women's 5000 m, where 10000 m junior national record holder Megumi Kinukawa (Team Mizuno) emerged from nearly four years of illness and injury to take her first competitive win in memory, running 15:37.50 to beat Kenyan Felista Wanjugu (Team Univ. Ent.) and World Championships marathon team leader Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei). Although still short of a World Championships B-standard, Kinukawa's run was her first time under 15:40 in almost four years and a large step in the right direction ahead of next month's National T&F Championships. After the race Kinukawa, who was a star at Sendai Ikuei H.S. at the same time as the late Samuel Wanjiru (Kenya), told journalist Tatsuo Terada, "I didn't think I was ready to run like this. It's been three or four years of darkness, but I think Samuel was there to give me some of his strength. I'd say the doorway to a comeback opened up about 1 cm. I don't want it to swing back shut, so I'll just keep pushing it open."

Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) was strong in the women's 10000 m with a PB of 32:34.00 for the win over the pro debut of university star Kasumi Nishihara (Team Yamada Denki) who was 2nd in 32:50.55. National record holder Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was 8th in 33:46.70, while marathoner Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) was 11th in 34:00.41.

Apart from Kinukawa and Shoi, Japan-based Africans swept the distance events at the championships. The most interesting race came in the men's 5000 m, where 2008 world jr. XC champion and 2006 world jr. 10000 m champion Ibrahim Jeilan (Ethiopia/Team Honda) had a narrow win over 2010 and 2008 double world jr. 3000 mSC champion Jonathan Ndiku (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable), 13:25.71 to 13:27.76. Ndiku did chalk up one win, taking the 1500 m in 3:42.28. Long-distance man Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) took 3rd in the 1500 m in a new PB of 3:44.80, afterwards expressing satisfaction as he looks toward the 5000 m for his first World Championships team.

Click here for part two of the men's 10000 m.

Japanese 10000 m all-comers record holder Josephat Ndambiri (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) had a win in the men's 10000 m, 27:39.21 over past Kenyan XC champion Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin). Grace Kimanzi (Kenya/Team Starts) rounded out the weekend's results with a successful double in the women's 1500 m and 3000 m.

East Japan Jitsugyodan T&F Championships

Kumagaya, Saitama, 5/21-22/11

click here for complete results

Women's 10000 m

1. Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 32:34.00 - PB

2. Kasumi Nishihara (Team Yamada Denki) - 32:50.55

3. Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 32:51.92

Men's 10000 m

1. Josephat Ndambiri (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) - 27:39.21

2. Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 27:41.32

3. Paul Kuira (Kenya/Team Konica Minolta) - 27:51.13

Women's 5000 m

1. Megumi Kinukawa (Team Mizuno) - 15:37.50

2. Felista Wanjugu (Kenya/Team Univ. Ent.) - 15:39.95

3. Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 15:40.67

Men's 5000 m

1. Ibrahim Jeilan (Ethiopia/Team Honda) - 13:25.71

2. Jonathan Ndiku (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) - 13:27.56

3. Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:34.68

Women's 3000 m

1. Grace Kimanzi (Kenya/Team Starts) - 9:11.97

2. Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 9:21.21

3. Machi Tanaka (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 9:24.33

Women's 1500 m

1. Grace Kimanzi (Kenya/Team Starts) - 4:24.69

2. Eri Watanabe (Team Panasonic) - 4:26.31

3. Michiko Suguro (Team Shiseido) - 4:26.80

Men's 1500 m

1. Jonathan Ndiku (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) - 3:42.28

2. Daniel Gitau (Kenya/Team Fujitsu) - 3:44.66

3. Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 3:44.80 - PB

Kawabata Over Kawauchi at Takashimadaira 20 km

Like a distant echo of the thunder of yesterday's Yosenkai 20 km reverberating across the city, Tokyo's other major 20 km road race took place this morning in the northwestern suburb of Takashimadaira. Narrowly surviving the loss of its main sponsor last year, the Takashimadaira Road Race offers a unique 5 km loop course that delivers fast times. Now in its 42nd year, Takashimadaira is a favorite for upper-tier universities that don't have to run the Yosenkai to requalify for the Hakone Ekiden, for other schools' second-stringers, and for top-level independents and amateurs.

This year's race was fronted by a group of runners from Izumo Ekiden winner Tokai University who didn't make Tokai's final Izumo roster, by London World Championships marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) and others from yesterday's Yosenkai winner Teikyo University and the Hakone-qualified Juntendo University and Komazawa University. In the same cool and lightly rainy…

Kawauchi and Kanematsu Win Rainy Shimantogawa 100 km

The 23rd edition of the Shimantogawa Ultramarathon took place Oct. 15 in Shimanto, Kochi. 1822 runners started the 100 km division, where Yoshiki Kawauchi (26, Saitama T&F Assoc.) and Aiko Kanematsu (37, Team RxL) took the men's and women's titles for the first time.

The 100 km division started under a heavy downpour at 5:30 a.m. in front of Warabioka J.H.S. The 576 participants in the 60 km division got off 4 1/2 hours later from Koinobori Park, with both races finishing at Nakamura H.S.

Kawauchi, the younger brother of "civil servant runner" Yuki Kawauchi, ran Shimantogawa for the second time, improving dramatically on last year's run to win in 6:42:06. "Last time I was 21st, a total disaster," Kawauchi said afterward. "My brother told me, 'Don't overdo it on the uphills,' and his advie helped me get through it. The scenery around Iwama Chinkabashi was really beautiful."

Kanematsu began running with her husband around age 30…

Osaka Marathon Elite Field

One of the world's ten biggest marathons, in its six runnings to date the Osaka Marathon has continued to avoid the addition of a world-class elite field of the same caliber as at equivalently-sized races like Tokyo, Berlin and Boston. In place of doling out cash to pros, Osaka's women's field has developed into a sort of national championship race for amateur women.

In the field this year are six, probably all six, of the amateur Japan women to have broken 2:40 in the last three years. Last year's top three, Yoshiko Sakamoto (F.O.R.), Yumiko Kinoshita (SWAC) and Hisae Yoshimatsu (Shunan City Hall) lead the way at the 2:36 +/- level, with a second trio of Marie Imada (Iwatani Sangyo), Mitsuko Ino (R2 Nishin Nihon) and Chika Tawara (RxL) all around the 2:39 level.

Last year's winner Sakamoto and 3rd placer Yoshimatsu squared off in September at Germany's Volksbank Muenster Marathon, Yoshimatsu tying Sakamoto's Osaka winning time of 2:36:02 to take 3rd over …

japan running news

Search This Blog