Skip to main content

Moscow World Championships 5th-Place Nakamoto and Others Withdraw From Tokyo Marathon

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20140220-OHT1T00082.htm

translated and edited by Brett Larner

A representative of Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki), 5th in the Moscow World Championships marathon and 6th in the London Olympics marathon, announced on Feb. 20 that he has withdrawn from the Feb. 23 Tokyo Marathon, a selection race for this fall's Asian Games marathon in South Korea.  According to the team spokesperson, Nakamoto caught the flu in early February and has not fully recovered.  He is not entered in the final Asian Games selection race, the Mar. 2 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, meaning that Nakamoto will not be able to run the marathon at the Asian Games.

Also withdrawing are 2013 10000 m national champion and London Olympian Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin), former Aoyama Gakuin University captain Takehiro Deki (Team Chugoku Denryoku) and 2008 Tokyo winner Viktor Rothlin (Switzerland).

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Hassan Runs NR/CR for Osaka Win, Dibaba Hits Women's CR, Yoshida and Shuley Earn Legends

This was maybe the most entertaining marathon in years. After rocking the 2nd leg at last year's Hakone Ekiden Hibiki Yoshida (Sunbelx) ran an incredible 1:01:01 CR for the 21.9 km New Year Ekiden 2nd leg last month, equivalent to a 58:47 half marathon. That predicted a 2:03:27 marathon if he ever ran one, and when Yoshida announced he was debuting at this year's Osaka Marathon he wasted no time in saying it'd be a shot at the 2:04:55 NR. Things went out fast enough with a 14:50 split through 5 km, 2:05:11 pace, but Yoshida just couldn't hold back and took off at 8 km. He clearly DGAF about what was probably going to happen as his projected finish kept getting faster, 2:04:41, 2:04:15, 2:03:51, 2:03:40, edging closer and closer to what his New Year time predicted, but not helped along by the fact that he missed 4 out of his first 5 drink bottles. People laughed, and then cheered him on. 30 km was the first time he slowed, his finish projection dropping to 2:03:53, an...

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...