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Weekend Overseas Road Results

by Brett Larner
photo by Dr. Helmut Winter

Japanese athletes turned up in three large road races in Europe this weekend. Moscow World Championships marathon team hopeful Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) led the way, finishing 3rd at the Berlin Half Marathon in 1:10:00 in a tuneup for the London Marathon in two weeks. Yamanashi Gakuin H.S. graduate and former Team Hokuren runner Philes Ongori (Kenya) was 2nd in 1:08:01.

 At the Paris Marathon, a group of third-tier athletes doing Paris after taking top placings at November's Ohtawara Marathon ran well.  2009 World University Games half marathon silver medalist Kikuyo Tsuzaki (Team Noritz) ran a PB 2:36:57 for 12th, while in the men's race both Atsushi Hasegawa (Team Subaru) and Ryoichi Matsuo (Team Asahi Kasei) both broke their PBs with marks of 2:15:25 and 2:16:28.

 At Saturday's Prague Half Marathon, Kenta Iinuma (Team Yasukawa Denki) and Azusa Nojiri (Hiratsuka Lease) failed to make much of an impression as both finished far off their bests.  Iinuma, a teammate of London Olympics men's marathon 6th-placer Kentaro Nakamoto, was more than three minutes off his best and less than one minute ahead of women's winner Gladys Cherono (Kenya) in 1:05:51.  Nojiri, a former Team Daiichi Seimei athlete trying to make a go of it as an independent, was almost five minutes off her best in 1:15:15 for 10th.

 As in Paris, several developing Japanese athletes will run next weekend's Boston Marathon off strong showings at domestic Japanese races.  Manami Kamitanida (Team Hitachi) will be in the women's field after winning January's Katsuta Marathon, while Takushoku University graduate Tomohiro Tanigawa (Team Konica Minolta) will make his marathon debut as the top Japanese man in Boston after placing 2nd in February's Ome 30 km in his debut at that distance.

Berlin Half Marathon
Berlin, 4/7/13
click here for complete results

Women
1. Helah Kiprop (Kenya) - 1:07:54
2. Philes Ongori (Kenya) - 1:08:01
3. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:10:00 - PB

Men
1. Jacob Kendagor (Kenya) - 59:36
2. Silas Kipruto (Kenya) - 1:00:12
3. Victor Kipchirchir (Kenya) - 1:00:27

Paris Marathon
Paris, 4/7/13
click here for complete results

Women
1. Boru Tadese (Ethiopia) - 2:21:06
2. Merima Mohammed (Ethiopia) - 2:23:14
3. Eunice Kirwa (Kenya) - 2:23:34
-----
12. Kikuyo Tsuzaki (Team Noritz) - 2:36:57 - PB

Men
1. Peter Some (Kenya) - 2:05:38
2. Tadese Tola (Ethiopia) - 2:06:33
3. Eric Ndiema (Kenya) - 2:06:34
-----
19. Atsushi Hasegawa (Team Subaru) - 2:15:25 - PB
21. Ryoichi Matsuo (Team Asahi Kasei) - 2:16:28 - PB
25. Naoki Yamashita (Team NTN) - 2:21:02

Prague Half Marathon
Prague, 4/6/13
click here for complete results

Women
1. Gladys Cherono (Kenya) - 1:06:48
2. Worknesh Degefa (Ethiopia) - 1:08:12
3. Isabella Ochichi (Kenya) - 1:09:21
-----
10. Azusa Nojiri (Hiratsuka Lease) - 1:15:15

Men
1. Zersenay Tadese (Eritrea) - 1:00:10
2. Amanuel Mesel (Eritrea) - 1:00:10
3. John Kipsang (Kenya) - 1:00:16
-----
19. Kenta Iinuma (Team Yasukawa Denki) - 1:05:51

(c) 2013 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

photo (c) 2013 Dr. Helmut Winter
all rights reserved
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