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Berlin Marathon - Japanese Results

by Brett Larner
photos by Dr. Helmut Winter

Behind Wilson Kipsang's brilliantly self-controlled world record run at the 40th Berlin Marathon, 2:09:10 man Suehiro Ishikawa (Team Honda) and last year's fastest Japanese man overseas, 24-year-old Koji Kobayashi (Team Subaru) with a 2:10:40 best from the 2012 Chicago Marathon, spent the race sparring with Brazilian great Marilson dos Santos in the second pack.  Keying off dos Santos through 10 km, Ishikawa fell back three seconds between 10 and 15 km with Kobayashi staying at his side before deciding to stay in the race and regain direct contact.

In a virtual replay of his run against Dathan Ritzenhein (U.S.A.) in Chicago last year, Kobayashi stayed glued to dos Santos on low-2:07 pace until 35 km before starting to lose ground and then fading badly.  As dos Santos went ahead to take 6th in 2:09:24 Ishikawa, who had fallen as much as a minute behind, closed hard to retake Kobayashi in the final 2 km.  Ishikawa crossed the line 7th in 2:10:24, Kobayashi staggering in for 8th in 2:11:31. Further back, Norio Kamijo (Team Yachiyo Kogyo), hoping for an improvement on his 2:13:37 best, started off at a reasonable pace just sub-2:10 but slowed progressively to 2:13 pace before crashing to a 26th-place finish in 2:19:20.

The women's race was largely a bust for the Japanese as domestic favorite Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) was nowhere to be found. Eri Hayakawa (Team Toto), with a 2:26:17 best from Nagoya this year, started the race well, on track for a 2:25 best, but abruptly ran into trouble after 15 km and plummeted to a 2:37:45 finish in 7th.



40th Berlin Marathon
Berlin, Germany, 9/29/13
click here for complete results

Men
1. Wilson Kipsang (Kenya) - 2:03:23 - WR
2. Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) - 2:04:05 - PB
3. Geoffrey Kipsang (Kenya) - 2:06:26
4. Stephen Kwelio Chemlany (Kenya) - 2:07:44 - PB
5. Maswai Kiptanui (Kenya) - 2:08:52 - PB
6. Marilson dos Santos (Brazil) - 2:09:24
7. Suehiro Ishikawa (Japan/Team Honda) - 2:10:24
8. Koji Kobayashi (Japan/Team Subaru) - 2:11:31
9. Rui Silva (Portugal) - 2:12:16
10. Sisay Jisa (Ethiopia) - 2:12:17
-----
26. Norio Kamijo (Japan/Team Yachiyo Kogyo) - 2:19:20

Women
1. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 2:21:13
2. Sharon Cherop (Kenya) - 2:22:28
3. Irina Mikitenko (Germany) - 2:24:54
4. Helah Kiprop (Kenya) - 2:28:02
5. Desiree Davila (U.S.A.) - 2:29:15
6. Vianey de la Rosa (Mexico) - 2:32:35
7. Eri Hayakawa (Japan/Team Toto) - 2:37:45
8. Nina Stocker (Germany) - 2:37:46
9. Lizzi Lee (Ireland) - 2:38:09
10. Maria Yolanda Gutierrez (Spain) - 2:38:18

(c) 2013 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

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