Skip to main content

'Russian Sports Agent and U.S. Marathon Officials Under Federal Investigation'

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/sports/marathon-doping-investigation.html

Mr. Baranov is pictured at a Japanese race in the lead photo in the above article.  For years JRN has covered his presence in Japan, where his athletes of Russian and other Eastern European nationality have long dominated the elite women's marathon circuit only for many to have their performances annulled for doping and biological passport violations.  One can only hope that Japan opens a similar investigation into these performances, Baranov and his Japanese business and business collaborators.

Comments

CK said…
...very interesting article, thanks for the link.
"One can only hope that Japan opens a similar investigation into these performances, Baranov and his Japanese business and business collaborators."
Second that opinion, but unfortunately don't feel too optimistic about it. Would be great to see a performances-in-Japan focused article of yours appear on Baranov in the mainstream or athletics-specific Japanese language press Brett (- has anyone been paying attention critical to this topic in JPN with as much awareness as you for the past few years ?) Pleasantly surprised to see that there's a story in the NY Times. Can it become news here, or is that pie in the sky?

Brett Larner said…
Thanks, CK. It's nice to see this all finally coming to light. I'm continuing to work on assembling material regarding his Japanese activities. News of the stuff reported in the NYT article did appear in the Japanese press. But no, I don't really expect to see anything at all happen here. Meanwhile, we can look forward to the Saitama Int'l Marathon inviting Maryna Damantsevich this weekend....

Most-Read This Week

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Shikama and Njeri Win Sendai International Half Marathon

Shunsuke Shikama (Logisteed) and Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) won the Sendai International Half Marathon Sunday in Sendai, Shikama in 1:01:31 and Njeri in 1:09:20. Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) was the top Japanese woman at 2nd overall. The men's race went through 5 km in 14:34 and 10 km in 29:22. Shikama ran alongside top competition including Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.), who has been running well in half marathons this season, and Tokyo World Championships marathon team member Naoki Koyama (Honda). On a course with many small ups and downs, Shikama attacked on a downhill just after 15 km, quickly breaking free of the lead group of 7. 13 seconds up by 20 km, Shikama covered the last 1.0975 km in 3:06 to seal his first Sendai title. A graduate of Juntendo University , Shikama is in his 4th season with Logisteed. At the 2024 National Corporate Half Marathon he ran 1:00:41, and at last year's East Japan Corporate Ekiden he won the Third Stage. In his marathon d...