Skip to main content

Nishiyama and Minatoya to Make U.S. Debut at United Airlines NYC Half

by Brett Larner

coach Atsushi Fujita, Yusuke Nishiyama and Haruki Minatoya in New York

For the fifth year in a row the NYRR have invited the top two Japanese university finishers at November's Ageo City Half Marathon to make their U.S. debuts at the United Airlines NYC HalfLast year in Ageo Kenya Sonota and Yusuke Nishiyama from four-time National University Ekiden champion Komazawa University went 1-2 in 1:02:48 and 1:02:52 to seal up their invites to New York, just outkicking Japan's best first-year Haruki Minatoya of Tokai University.  Three weeks ago Sonota sustained an injury that forced him to withdraw.  19-year-old Minatoya, already entered for the National University Half Marathon, was ready to take over.

In New York with support from JRN and Komazawa coach Atsushi Fujita, the former Japanese marathon national record holder at 2:06:51, Nishiyama was a star runner at Iga Hakuho H.S. with a win on the First Stage at the 2012 National High School Ekiden Championships his senior year.  He comes to New York off a strong junior year at Komazawa, winning the Fifth Stage at October's Izumo Ekiden and taking first in the university race at last month's Chiba X-Run cross country meet.

Minatoya coach Hayashi Morozumi was the high school coach of Yuki Sato, the Nike Oregon Project's Suguru Osako, and other current top-level Japanese men before taking over at Tokai.  Under his coaching Minatoya ran 13:54.07 for 5000 m, 28:46.59 for 10000 m and 1:02:54 in his half marathon debut in Ageo, the only Japanese first-year to clear 14 minutes, 29 minutes and 1:03:00 this year.

With past Komazawa runners Kenta Murayama and Ikuto Yufu having run 1:02:02 and 1:02:50 in New York Nishiyama hopes to break 1:02:30.  Minatoya, the first runner from Tokai to make it to New York, looks to end his first college season with a new PB.  With possible snow forecast for the day a lot will depend on the weather.  JRN will be on-hand to cover their performances.  Watch live on ABC7 starting at 7:30 a.m. local time.

United Airlines NYC Half 
Elite Men's Field
New York City, 3/20/16

Wilson Chebet (Kenya) - 59:15
Zane Robertson (New Zealand) - 59:47
Stephen Sambu (Kenya) - 1:00:41
Juan Luis Barrios (Mexico) - 1:00:46
Diego Estrada (U.S.A.) - 1:00:51
Sam Chelanga (U.S.A.) - 1:01:04
Daniele Meucci (Italy) - 1:01:06
Lusapho April (South Africa) - 1:01:16
Kevin Chelimo (Kenya) - 1:01:21
Girma Mecheso (U.S.A.) - 1:02:16
Jordan Chipnagama (Zambia) - 1:02:24
Yusuke Nishiyama (Japan/Komazawa Univ.) - 1:02:43
Ian Burrell (U.S.A.) - 1:02:51
Haruki Minatoya (Japan/Tokai Univ.) - 1:02:54
Yonas Mebrahtu (Eritrea) - 1:02:59
Herbert Okuti (Uganda) - 1:03:52
Matthew Kiplagat (Kenya) - 1:03:59
Byron Piedra (Ecuador) - 1:04:09
Lee Merrien (Great Britain) - 1:04:12
John Beattie (Great Britain) - 1:04:48

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Ninja Runner Yuka Ando Leads Japanese Women's Marathon Team in London: "I Want to Go For It"

Her form has been dubbed "ninja running." Both arms held straight down with almost no movement. That idiosyncratic style carried Yuka Ando , 23, to the fastest-ever marathon debut by a Japanese woman, 2:21:36, at March's Nagoya Women's Marathon to land at #4 on the all-time Japanese lists. All at once Ando found herself catapulted to the top level of women's marathoning, a candidate for Japan's next great marathoner. When she was younger Ando ran moving her arms like other runners, but she had a bad habit of moving robotically, her upper body and lower body not working in sync. The turning point came in 2014 when she joined Suzuki Hamamatsu AC . Working there with coach Masayuki Satouchi to eliminate the faults in her form, the pair arrived at the ninja running style that let her run relaxed. "Other people keep asking me, "Isn't it hard to run like that?" but for me it's comfortable," she said. The efficient form helped her mai

Yamaguchi 10th at United Airlines NYC Half - Weekend Overseas Results

2024 national cross-country champion Tomonori Yamaguchi was the top Japanese finisher in the men's race at the United Airlines NYC Half , taking 10th in 1:04:36. A 2nd-year at Waseda University , Yamaguchi was one of three collegiate runners running New York in the 11th year of JRN's development program collaboration between the Ageo City Half Marathon and the New York Road Runners, a program that has seen people like future half marathon and marathon NR breaker Yuta Shitara and Paris Olympic team member Akira Akasaki make their international debuts. Yamaguchi's Waseda teammate Taishi Ito started fast, going with the leaders through 5 km in 14:29 before losing touch. Hosei University senior Rei Matsunaga went through in 14:42 in his last race before joining the JR Higashi Nihon corporate team in April. Yamaguchi, who caught COVID after winning last month's National Cross-Country Championships, started more conservatively with a 15:11 first 5km. But where both Ito

Rui Aoki Wins National University Men's Half Marathon - Weekend Results

Yuka Ando 's win at the Nagoya Women's Marathon was the big news of the weekend, but there were other high-level races happening, even in Nagoya. Held in parallel with the marathon, the Nagoya City Half Marathon saw Australians Natalie Rule and Ed Goddard take easy wins by about 2.5 minutes each, Rule in 1:13:57 and Goddard in 1:04:01. The new Biwako Marathon also had a non-Japanese winner, China's Yousheng Guan scoring 1st in 2:14:58 with Japan's Hirohito Sugai next in 2:16:40. Mikiko Ota won the women's race in 2:50:44. The Shizuoka Marathon returned for its first running in five years, with club runner Shumpei Oda leading the top 7 men under 2:20 in 2:15:36. Women's winner Remi Tanaka ran 2:41:23, beating runner-up Ayumi Sano by exactly 7 minutes. And in Tokyo, Rui Aoki continued what has been a great season so far for Koku Gakuin University with a win at the National University Men's Half Marathon . Aoki and Hiro Konda of Chuo Gakuin Unive