Takabayashi 5000 m PB at Memorial Rasschaert

by Brett Larner

In the last meet of the federation's annual northern Europe track trip, the Aug. 6 Memorial Rasschaert Flanders Cup Meet in Belgium, sub-62 half marathoner Yusuke Takabayashi (Team Toyota) ran his second PB in a week, clocking 13:34.38 for 5000 m to erase his oldest standing PB. Takabayashi, a second-year corporate runner, beat his Komazawa University-era teammate Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta), Japan's leading 10000 m and half marathon runner of 2011, and current teammate Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) by less than four seconds, dropping both on the final lap in a bid to keep up with eventual winner Faisa Dame Tasama (Belgium). Takabayashi's mark puts him at fifth for the year in the 5000 m among Japanese men.

2011 Memorial Rasschaert Flanders Cup Meet
Ninove, Belgium, 8/6/11
click here for complete results
Men's 5000 m
1. Faisa Dame Tasama (Belgium) - 13:32.86
2. Yusuke Takabayashi (Team Toyota) - 13:34.38 - PB
3. Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta) - 13:37.00
4. Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) - 13:38.03
5. Alemu Bekele (Bahrain) - 13:46.54
6. Takuya Ishikawa (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 13:49.93
7. Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 14:06.88
8. Fredrik Uhrbom (Sweden) - 14:09.11
9. Michael Brandenbourg (Belgium) - 14:09.93
10. Persen Asbjorn Ellefsen (Norway) - 14:10.59
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12. Kazuya Deguchi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 14:19.47

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

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