Skip to main content

Kawauchi Wins BMW Oslo Marathon in Fastest Time Since 1986

Running his first race of any distance since finishing 9th at last month's London World Championships, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) won Saturday's BMW Oslo Marathon in the fastest time in Oslo since before he was born.

Pre-race Kawauchi's goal was to take a shot at the 2:12:58 Norwegian all-comers record, the fastest time ever run on Norwegian soil. With a new two-loop course featuring a pair of tough hills interspersed by a flat seaside section on each loop his game plan was to try to run 3:10/km until midway through the second lap, then try to push it on the climb and descent of the last hill to make up whatever seconds he needed.

15 km into the first lap he was 10 seconds ahead of schedule in 47:20 and 90 seconds clear of 2nd place, but the steep hill starting a kilometer later took its toll and by 20 km he was 24 seconds behind.  Over the second lap the strong sunlight and warmer than usual temperatures and the two weeks he took off after London also began to eat away at his pace, and despite pushing the downhill last 4 km sub-2:16 looked in doubt. But with his characteristic last kick Kawauchi crossed the line in 2:15:58, more than 10 minutes ahead of runner-up Frew Zenebe Birkineh (Ethiopia) and faster than anyone has run in Oslo since Swedish legend Kjell-Erik Stahl ran 2:14:59 in 1986 the year before Kawauchi was born. His 72nd career marathon, it was also his 70th time breaking 2:20:00.
Post-race Kawauchi was limping with pain in his left leg, telling reporters, "It was a tougher course than I was expecting, and my legs are totally dead. The downhills really hurt. I'm really happy to have won in my first time in Norway and I'm grateful to all the people of Oslo who cheered me on by name, but I was hoping to run a faster time. If I have the chance I hope to come back and try to do better." After the award ceremony he headed to a nearby beach to ice his legs in the cold seawater.

BMW Oslo Marathon

Oslo, Norway, 9/16/17
click here for complete results

Men's Marathon
1. Yuki Kawauchi (Japan/Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 2:15:58
2. Frew Zenebe Birkineh (Ethiopia) - 2:26:44
3. Andreas Grogaard (Norway) - 2:33:20

Women's Marathon
1. Hilde Aders (Norway) - 2:54:29
2. Camilla Frejd (Sweden) - 3:07:18
3. Mari Krakemo Finnerud (Norway) - 3:08:53

Men's Half Marathon
1. Okubamichael Fissehatsion (Eritrea) - 1:04:45
2. Zerei Kibrom Mezngi (Eritrea) - 1:04:54
3. Senay Fissehatsion (Norway) - 1:05:28

Women's Half Marathon
1. Runa Skrove Falch (Norway) - 1:16:30
2. Pemilla Eugenie Epland (Norway) - 1:17:04
3. Karoline Holsen Kyte (Norway) - 1:17:17

text, video and photos © 2017 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Metts said…
Looking at the overall results of both Oslo and Sydney, it seems the sub-elites those maybe between 2:20 and 2:40 have really disappeared.Even the 2:40 to 3:00 is lacking depth. I remember looking at the overall Tokyo results a few times and it seems the depth was/is still there in 2:20 to 2:40 and 2:40 to 3:00.
September 18, 2017 at 10:47 AM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox  for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...
82 comments
Read more

Batt-Doyle and Strintzos Break Records at Launceston Half

Australians Isobel Batt-Doyle and Haftu Strintzos turned in record-breaking performances to win the McGrath Launceston Running Festival Peppers Silo Half Marathon in Tasmania. Running with a private male pacer, NR holder Batt-Doyle dusted the field with the fastest half marathon ever by an Australian woman on Australian soil, a 1:08:46 CR that put her 2 and a half minutes ahead of runner-up Genevieve Gregson . Last year's runner-up Yumi Yoshikawa was almost a minute back from Gregson in 3rd in 1:12:03, but was almost run down by club runner Ayaka Shimoyamada . Starting slow in her international debut, Shimoyamada moved up from 7th over the 2nd half of the race to finish 4th in 1:12:06, kicking hard in the home straight to try to catch Yoshikawa and momentarily blacking out after finishing. Kaho Onishi was 7th in 1:12:45 in her own international debut. The men's half had pacing set at 2:53/km to try to deliver the first-ever sub-61 half marathon on Australian soil. CR holde...
Post a Comment
Read more

CHN and JPN National Records Go Down - Weekend Track Update

There weren't any Japanese athletes in action at the Rabat Diamond League meet Sunday, but 2 lower-tier domestic meets produced new national records. At the Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama, Samuel Kibathi (Toyota) led the top 5 in the men's 10000 m under 28 minutes in 27:39.97. In 3rd, China's Wenjie Wang took just over a second off his own NR from the same meet last year, setting a new record of 27:47.53. His teammate Haoran Tang was 6th in a 28:27.44 PB, with the top Japanese time in the race being a 28:33.39 for 8th from Jin Yuasa (Toyota). Amazingly, Wang and Tang were back the next day on day 2 of the Nittai meet, Wang running a PB of 13:35.58 for 4th in the A-heat and Tang winning the B-heat in a PB of 13:38.80. Isaac Ndiema took the A-heat in 13:26.49, with the fastest Japanese time going to Yuhei Urano (Fujitsu) with a 13:35.94 for 5th behind Wang. Other Nittai highlights: Deborah Chemutai (Univ. Ent.) won a photo finish against Yua Nagamori ...
Post a Comment
Read more