Skip to main content

Hashimoto and Yoshimatsu Win Hofu Yomiuri Marathon

by Brett Larner


In just his second marathon, 2016 Aoyama Gakuin University graduate Ryo Hashimoto (Team GMO Athletes) ran a PB of over three minutes to win the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon in 2:11:20.  Pacers took the race through 25 km at a relatively steadily pace on target for around 2:11:45.  With their departure at 26 km Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) repeated his big play from the Fukuoka International Marathon two weeks ago, throwing in a hard surge and opening a gap of 10 seconds over the rest of the field.  Hashimoto and Taiki Yoshimura (Team Asahi Kasei) were the only two to try to follow, and by 30 km they had started to close the gap.


Hashimoto passed Kawauchi near 32 km, splitting 15:05 from 30 to 35 km as he pulled away.  It was a pace he couldn't sustain but enough to guarantee him the win with a solid negative split.  Yoshimura passed Kawauchi around 34 km, pushing on for a one-minute PB of 2:12:19 for 2nd.  Showing the effects of his hard run in Fukuoka, Kawauchi had none of his usual finishing power, taking 3rd in 2:12:45. Hashimoto's 2:11:20 winning time made him the #9 Japanese man of the year in the marathon, a solid achievement in his first year as a pro at the new GMO Athletes team after being a benchwarmer at Aoyama Gakuin who never made the school's Hakone Ekiden team.  For Kawauchi it was his 34th career sub-2:13, 40th sub-2:14 and 50th sub-2:16, all new world records.


In the women's race, course record holder Hisae Yoshimatsu (Shunan City Hall) went out head-to-head with top-ranked pro Yuka Takemoto (Canon AC Kyushu), the pair splitting 18:00 through 5 km on pace to break Yoshimatsu's year-old course record of 2:35:46 by four minutes.  Surprisingly, Takemoto fell off quickly, 36 seconds behind at 10 km and plummeting backwards after that on the way to a DNF.  Yoshimatsu pushed on solo, her pace slowing before evening out to mid-2:34.  After 35 km she ran into trouble, splitting 21:06 from 35 to 40 km, but with a lead over over 10 minutes she was never in danger of losing the race.  Shuffling in to break the tape in 2:40:21, Yoshimatsu claimed her fourth-straight and sixth total Hofu Yomiuri Marathon win, the most dominant champion female or male in Hofu's 47-year history.

47th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon
Hofu, Yamaguchi, 12/18/16
click here for complete results

Men
1. Ryo Hashimoto (GMO Athletes) - 2:11:20 - PB
2. Taiki Yoshimura (Asahi Kasei) - 2:12:19 - PB
3. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 2:12:45
4. Isaac Macharia (Kenya) - 2:15:09
5. Yasuyuki Nakamura (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:15:35
6. Shinichi Yamashita (Takigahara SDF Base) - 2:16:22 - PB
7. Nao Kazami (Aichi T&F Assoc.) - 2:17:29 - PB
8. Shogo Kanezane (Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:18:15
9. Yuki Fujii (Tokuyama) - 2:19:08 - PB
10. Mahoro Ikeda (Aichi Seiko) - 2:19:38 - PB
-----
DNF - Ezekiel Jafary (Tanzania)

Women
1. Hisae Yoshimatsu (Shunan City Hall) - 2:40:21
2. Noriko Sato (First Dream AC) - 2:48:51
3. Ai Ogo (Himeji T&F Assoc.) - 2:50:01
-----
DNF - Yuka Takemoto (Canon AC Kyushu)

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Keita Sato Joins Swoosh TC

After appearing at a Nike event on Apr. 3, U20 1500 m NR and indoor 3000 m and 5000 m NR holder Keita Sato , 22, updated his Instagram profile to announce that he is joining Nike's Swoosh TC . At the Nike event Sato said that he plans to run the 1500 m at the Apr. 11 Kanaguri Memorial Meet, then will move to the U.S. "To be successful at the global level I need to train and grow alongside world-class athletes," he said. "I have to take every day seriously in order to achieve that dream of being internationally competitive." Swoosh TC was founded last year. Its coach Mike Smith has guided many athletes to international championships, including prior to Swoosh TC's launch, with some earning medals and podium finishes under his leadership. photo © 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved source article: https://www.rikujyokyogi.co.jp/archives/204241/2 translated by Brett Larner
Post a Comment
Read more

Updates on Transfers

April 1 is the start of Japan's new academic and fiscal year, and there's always a wave of transfer announcements to go with it. Some notable ones yesterday: 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo skipped university to go straight to 2023 Queens Ekiden national champion Sekisui Kagaku after her graduation from Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. Multiple NR holder Nozomi Tanaka rejoined the Toyota Jidoshokki women's team after having left it to pursue a solo pro career as a New Balance athlete. Already on the team for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games in the 10000 m, Ririka Hironaka announced a switch from her longtime home at Japan Post to the Uniqlo women's team. Collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda joined the 2026 national champion GMO corporate team after graduating from 2026 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University last week. Hakone Ekdien First Stage CR holder Rui Aoki joins the Sumitomo Denko corporate team after running his final race for 2025 Izumo Ekiden w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chien Breaks TPE NR, Iwata Betters ID-Class WR - Weekend Track Roundup

The last weekend of the academic and fiscal year saw at least 5 meets with good results domestically and abroad. Kicking things off Friday was the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, where Tomohiro Shinno and Naoto Hasegawa took 1st and 3rd in the men's high jump, both of them only clearing 2.18 m along with 2nd-placer Roman Anastasios . 12 other Japanese athletes were in action on the second day of the meet on Saturday, where 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura ran 3:42.84 for 6th in the men's 1500 m. Nagiya Mori had a better one in the men's 3000 m with a 7:45.40 for 4th. Both Yota Mashiko and Rui Suzuki cleared 8:00 too, Mashiko's 7:53.84 the 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese-born high schooler. Abigail Fuka Ido and Nagisa Takahashi both placed 3rd in their events, Ido going 23.85 (-0.9) in the women's 200 m and Takahashi clearing 1.82 m in the women's high jump. 8 Japanese men were at The TEN in California to run 10000 m. In the B-heat won by Edward Marks in ...
2 comments
Read more