Skip to main content

Kiprotich and Barsosio Break Sydney Marathon Course Records, Sasaki and Yamaguchi 3rd and 4th

Despite warm and windy conditions the Blackmores Sydney Marathon saw new course records in both its men's and women's races. Felix Kiprotich (Kenya) led the way in the men's race with the first-ever sub-2:10 clocking on Sydney's challengingly hilly and twisting course, breaking away from a group including Michael Kunyuga (Kenya) and Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) for the win in 2:09:49.

The top three all broke the course record. Sasaki, a Rio Olympian in the marathon who failed to qualify for today's MGC Race 2020 Olympic trials, could take extra satisfaction from having been 26 seconds faster than MGC winner Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) on a far tougher course. "I was aiming to win," Sasaki told JRN post-race, "but the course was really twisty and it was hard to run. It would have been nice to be a bit faster, but given my current situation and the problems I've had since Lake Biwa last year I think this put me back on my feet and will help me in my next race. Thanks for cheering for me. It was fun."

In the women's race a lead quartet of Africans took it out on track to go five minutes under the course record, almost fast enough to challenge Naoko Takahashi's 2:23:14 Australian all-comers record from the 2000 Sydney Marathon. The pace burned the group down, leaving only Kenyan Stellah Barsosio out front with a male pacer. Barsosio slowed slightly on the infinite twists and turns of the course's last 10 km but was still strong enough to take almost four minute off the course record in 2:24:33. Barsosio's time was so good that runner-up Josephine Chepkoech (Kenya) was almost two minutes under the course record despite being over two minutes behind. Ethiopian-born 3rd-placer Tejitu Chalshissa (Bahrain) just missed the record with a 2:28:22.

Three weeks after likewise just missing the course record at the New Caledonia Marathon, amateur runner Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) was in Sydney in pursuit of her first sub-2:30 clocking with support from JRN. Moving up from 7th to 5th and spending most of the race there on her own, Yamaguchi went through halfway in 1:13:52. Over the second half she moved up to 4th, but the endless sharp turns in the last 10 km wore her down and she faded to a 2:33:09. That was still a PB by over 30 seconds, but it left Yamaguchi disappointed. "I made it to the end safely" she said post-race. "It was a PB but not the kind of time I was shooting for. I have to try again."

Blackmores Sydney Marathon

Sydney, Australia, 9/15/19
complete results

Men
1. Felix Kiprotich (Kenya) - 2:09:49 - CR
2. Michael Kunyuga (Kenya) - 2:10:05 (CR)
3. Satoru Sasaki (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 2:11:02 (CR)
4. Elijah Kemboi (Kenya) - 2:12:55
5. Silas Too (Kenya) - 2:13:49

Women
1. Stellah Barsosio (Kenya) - 2:24:33 - CR
2. Josephine Chepkoech (Kenya) - 2:26:43 (CR)
3. Tejitu Chalchissa (Bahrain) - 2:28:22
4. Haruka Yamaguchi (Japan/AC Kita) - 2:33:09 - PB
5. Alice Mason (New Zealand) - 2:38:35

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Arao Becomes 1st Man in 40 Years to Score Back-to-Back Ome Road Race Wins

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...
3 comments
Read more

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

Last year's top 3 Sheila Chepkirui , Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba are back for this year's Nagoya Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, but things are being set up more for it to be a race between Chepkirui, 2:17:49 in Berlin 2023, Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda , 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024. Aynalem has the freshest sub-2:20 of the 3, with neither Chepkirui nor Maeda having done it in 2 years. Maeda's only recent result is a 1:10:07 from Houston last month, but when she ran her NR she didn't have any kind of tuneup race to indicate her fitness so it's probably best not to read too much into that. If it goes out as a 2:18 race those are the only 3 who can probably hang with it. If it turns out to be more of a 2:20 race like when Chepkirui won in 2:20:40 last year then there's a group of 7 at the 2:20-2:22 level who will be in the picture, including Chumba, Selly Chep...
Post a Comment
Read more

'Kobe 2024: Aitchison, Athmani Lead Record-Breaking Thursday'

  https://www.paralympic.org/news/kobe-2024-para-athletics-world-championships-aitchison-athmani-lead-record-breaking-thursday Complete results and daily schedule from the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships are here .
Post a Comment
Read more