Skip to main content

Kenyans Sweep National Corporate T&F Championships 1500 m and 5000 m

by Brett Larner

Along with the men's 10000 m on the first day of competition, Japan-resident Kenyans swept the men's and women's 5000 m and 1500 m at the 2011 National Jitsugyodan Track & Field Championships, Sept. 24-25 in Tokushima.  Daniel Gitau (Team Fujitsu), best known for his quadruple win in the 800 m, 1500 m, 5000 m and 10000 m at the 2009 Kanto Regional Track & Field Championships, doubled here with wins in the 1500 m and 5000 m, outkicking two-time world junior 3000 mSC champion Jonathan Ndiku (Team Hitachi Cable) in both races.  The top collegiate 10000 m runner of 2010, Yusuke Hasegawa (Team S&B) had the best run of his pro career as he finished 4th in the 5000 m in 13:34.70.  Along with Yuichiro Ueno and Kensuke Takezawa, S&B runners now hold three of the ten fastest 5000 m times of the year by Japanese men.

Sally Chepyego (Team Kyudenko), a teammate of men's 10000 m winner Paul Tanui (Team Kyudenko), had a comfortable frontrunning win in the 5000 m in 15:23.09 ahead of a four-way battle which included 1500 m specialists Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) and Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki).  Yoshikawa emerged from the pack to take 2nd in 15:31.78, the 3rd-best time of the year by a Japanese woman.  With both Yoshikawa and Kobayashi having opted for the longer distance the field was open for Kobayashi's teammate Ann Karindi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) to take the 1500 m, winning in 4:13.03.  Grace Kimanzi (Team Starts) narrowly beat yet another Toyota Jidoshokki runner, Ayaka Mori, for 2nd in 4:20.04.

2011 National Jitsugyodan Track & Field Championships
Pocari Sweat Stadium, Tokushima, 9/24-25/11
click here for complete results

Men's 5000 m Final
1. Daniel Gitau (Kenya/Team Fujitsu) - 13:32.25
2. Jonathan Ndiku (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) - 13:34.06
3. Patrick Mwaka (Kenya/Team Aisan Kogyo) - 13:34.28
4. Yusuke Hasegawa (Team S&B) - 13:34.70
5. Josephat Ndambiri (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) - 13:37.14
6. Yuki Matsuoka (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 13:37.52
7. Samuel Ndungu (Kenya/Team Aichi Seiko) - 13:39.29
8. Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:41.21
9. Nicholas Makau (Kenya/Team Yachiyo Kogyo) - 13:41.33
10. Yuya Konishi (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 13:47.28

Women's 5000 m Final
1. Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 15:23.09
2. Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) - 15:31.78
3. Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 15:33.36
4. Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:33.89
5. Misaki Onishi (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:34.47
6. Chihiro Takato (Team Wacoal) - 15:40.72
7. Yoshie Kurisu (Team Tenmaya) - 15:41.01
8. Yurie Doi (Team Starts) - 15:41.38
9. Mariko Nakao (Team Shiseido) - 15:44.61
10. Risa Kikuchi (Team Hitachi) - 15:45.38

Men's 1500 m Final
1. Daniel Gitau (Kenya/Team Fujitsu) - 3:46.01
2. Jonathan Ndiku (Kenya/Team Hitachi Cable) - 3:47.24
3. Yasuhiro Tago (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 3:47.52
4. Fumikazu Kobayashi (Team NTN) - 3:48.90
5. Hikaru Miyazaki (SDF Academy) - 3:49.31

Women's 1500 m Final
1. Ann Karindi (Kenya/Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:13.03
2. Grace Kimanzi (Kenya/Team Starts) - 4:20.04
3. Ayaka Mori (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:20.99
4. Satomi Ueda (Team Toto) - 4:24.40
5. Sayuri Sendo (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:24.41

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

'Kobe 2024: Aitchison, Athmani Lead Record-Breaking Thursday'

  https://www.paralympic.org/news/kobe-2024-para-athletics-world-championships-aitchison-athmani-lead-record-breaking-thursday Complete results and daily schedule from the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships are here .
Post a Comment
Read more

Marugame, Beppu-Oita and More - Weekend Preview

After the Osaka International Women's Marathon and Osaka Half Marathon last weekend Japan's winter road season rolls on with 3 big races Sunday. The Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon has a good field up front in the women's race with 5 runners, Eilish McColgan , Dolphine Omare , Isobel Batt-Doyle , Charlotte Purdue and Yuka Ando , with sub-1:09 bests and the debut of #1 collegiate runner Sarah Wanjiru of Daito Bunka University . 3 men in Marugame have recent sub-60 times, Emmanuel Maru , Richard Etir and Kotaro Shinohara leading the way. Shinohara was one of 2 Japanese men to break 60 at Marugame last year and missed the NR by 3 seconds in 59:30. After a 42:53 CR on his 15.3 km leg at the New Year Ekiden on Jan.1, 45:06 pace for 10 miles, he's looking to pick up at least another 4 seconds this time around. 14 other men in the field are at the 60-minute level, and Chuo University 's sub-28 10000 m runner Yamato Hamaguchi is making a highly anticip...
1 comment
Read more

Etir Breaks Marugame CR, Catrofe Sets Uruguay NR, Omare 3rd-Straight Win

On the one hand it was too windy for really fast times at the Marugame Half , but on the other it wasn't, apparently. It was pretty much a strong tailwind over the first 10 km and just a strong a headwind over the last 10, so it wasn't a surprise that the lead group of men went through 5 km in 13:59 and 10 km in 27:51. Up front in it were 59:30 collegiate record co-holders Richard Etir and Kotaro Shinohara , and sub-59:30 guy Emmanuel Maru . But with the National University Half Marathon having moved to Marugame last year there were a million fast Hakone kids up in it to, Hiromichi Nonaka from Koku Gakuin University leading the way but lots more right behind. Etir and Maru opened up on the field after the turnaround, and by 15 km Etir was alone, 9 seconds ahead of Maru and on sub-59 pace running into the wind. Like everyone else he struggled to keep pace in the wind, sub-59 slipping away but easily taking the win in 59:07, a CR and new collegiate record by 23 seconds. Maru e...
1 comment
Read more