NR Holders Maeda and Ogura Lead Hokkaido Marathon Elite Field

Corona numbers in Japan are at record-breaking levels right now, some of the highest in the world, but at least a few races are throwing caution to the wind, in their own highly controlled way, and trying to go ahead. The Hokkaido Marathon is one of them, an end-of-summer regular making a comeback this year in order to give a shortcut to 2024 MGC Race olympic trials qualification to anyone who can handle hot conditions. It announced its elite field today.

Honami Maeda, was the first woman to qualify for the pre-Tokyo Olympics MGC, winning Hokkaido back in 2017 and going on to win the trials. She broke the 30 km NR without wearing super shoes after that, but things haven't been great for her for a long time. But while every other good marathoner from the Tenmaya team has never pulled back up once they start the downward spiral, Maeda has re-emerged this spring with two good half marathons, the better a 1:08:28 PB and CR win in nearby Hakodate a month ago.

That's all good, but she has competition from two people with solid times in Osaka this past January, Mao Uesugi (Starts), 2nd in Osaka in 2:22:29, and Maeda's teammate Natsumi Matsushita, 3rd in 2:23:05. There are another four women in the 2:26~2:30 range, so with conditions likely to be not that favorable for fast times the big three will probably have to deal with hot weather specialists.

Half marathon NR holder Yusuke Ogura and Ryu Takaku, both 2:06 men from the Yakult team, front the men's race, which includes five other men with recent bests between 2:07:05 and 2:07:41. Deeper entry lists haven't been announced yet but there are sure to be a lot more just a step or two down the ladder. In both races, the winner will have the chance to pick up MGC qualification if they hit the required time standards.

Held in Sapporo, where the Tokyo Olympics marathons were forcibly relocated, Hokkaido is leaning into the Paralympic movement too even though Tokyo managed to hang on to the marathons at the Paralympic Games last fall. Women's gold medalist Misato Michishita (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) and men's bronze medalist Tadashi Horikoshi (NTT Nishi Nihon) lead the visually-impaired field, and there's a wheelchair field of six led by men's NR holder Kota Hokinoue (Yahoo!).

2022 Hokkaido Marathon Elite Field Highlights

Sapporo, Hokkaido, 28 Aug. 2022

times listed are best in last 3 years except where noted

runner field listing

wheelchair field listing

Women

Mao Uesugi (Starts) - 2:22:29 (2nd, Osaka Int'l 2022)

Natsumi Matsushita (Tenmaya) - 2:23:05 (3rd, Osaka Int'l 2022)

Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) - 2:23:30 (2nd, Osaka Int'l 2021)

Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) - 2:26:35 (7th, Osaka Int'l 2020)

Chiharu Ikeda (Hitachi) - 2:26:50 (10th, Nagoya 2022)

Miharu Shimokado (SID Group) - 2:29:20 (12th, Tokyo 2022)

Yui Okada (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:30:03 (14th, Tokyo 2022)

Yuko Kikuchi (Hokuren) - 2:32:08 (23rd, Nagoya 2022)

Misato Michishita (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 2:54:13 (Hofu 2022) - visually impaired

Men

Ryu Takaku (Yakult) - 2:06:45 (8th, Tokyo 2020)

Yusuke Ogura (Yakult) - 2:06:51 (5th, Lake Biwa 2021)

Toshiki Sadakata (Mitsubishi Juko) - 2:07:05 (10th, Tokyo 2020)

Shun Yuzawa (SG Holdings) - 2:07:31 (8th, Tokyo 2021)

Kazuki Muramoto (Sumitomo Denko) - 2:07:36 (11th, Lake Biwa 2021)

Masaru Aoki (Kanebo) - 2:07:40 (12th, Lake Biwa 2021)

Tsubasa Ichiyama (Komori Corp.) - 2:07:41 (13th, Lake Biwa 2021)

Tadashi Horikoshi (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:21:21 (Kasumigaura 2022) - visually impaired

Wheelchair Men

Masazumi Soejima (Socio Soejima) - 1:18:50 (Boston 2011)

Hiroyuki Yamamoto (unattached) - 1:19:32 (Boston 2017)

Hiroki Nishida (Baccarat Pacific) - 1:20:28 (Boston 2017)

Kota Hokinoue (Yahoo!) - 1:20:52 (Seoul 2013) - NR

Sho Watanabe (Toppan) - 1:24:00 (Oita 2019)

Keisuke Shiroma (C's Athlete) - debut

Wanjiru Breaks Own MR, Fuwa and Ishida Return - Kanto Regionals Day 1 Highlights

Japan's best college meet kicked off Thursday at Tokyo's National Stadium at the 103rd Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships . Looking like she was doing a controlled tempo run, 2nd-yr Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) lapped the entire field to win the women's 10000 m in a meet record 32:02.87, almost 15 seconds under the record she last year in her debut. 3rd-yr Aoi Takahashi (Josai Univ.) was 2nd in 33:29.22 and 2nd-yr Nana Nagashima (Josai Kokusai Univ.) 3rd in a PB 33:30.28, but the other main news alongside Wanjiru's new record was the return of collegiate 10000 m record holder Seira Fuwa (Takushoku Univ.) in her first 10000 m in 19 months. Fuwa hung at the back of the chase pack for the first half, made a move to lead it in the second half, and ultimately faded to 9th in 33:40.20. Every comeback has to start somewhere. The D1 men's 10000 m had a tight group up front with the top 6 all finishing within 6 seconds and under 28:10. 3rd-yr Jam

Two-Time Olympic Marathon Medalist Erick Wainaina Referred to Prosectors on Suspicion of Assault

According to investigators, two-time Olympic marathon medalist Erick Wainaina has had his case referred to prosecutors after allegedly injuring a railway employee by striking him in the face at a station in Setagaya, Tokyo. Wainaina, 50, was the bronze medalist in the marathon at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and won silver in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Wainaina is suspected of assaulting a woman in her late teens and a male Tokyo Denentoshi Line employee by hitting them in the face during an altercation at Komazawa University Station in March this year, resulting in minor injuries to the man's face. According to investigators, the incident began on the train between Wainaina and the woman, and after getting off at Komazawa University Station he hit her in the face when she asked him to go to the station office with her to report it. When the male railway employee responded to the situation Wainaina reportedly hit him too. In response to questioning Wainaina is said to have answered,

Police Arrest 20-Year-Old Man Charged With Assaulting Female Runner at Popular Tokyo Running Spot

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a female runner along the banks of the Tama River in Ota Ward, Tokyo. "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go for a walk and move my body a bit," the man told police. Local resident Hirai Muroyama , 20, of no known occupation, was arrested on charges of sexual assault. He is accused of acts including grabbing the breasts of a woman in her 20s at around 10 p.m. on May 31 along the banks of the Tama River. According to police, the woman was taking a break in her run when Muroyama approached her silently from behind and grabbed her breasts before running away. Under police interrogation Muroyama told investigators, "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go out for a walk and move my body. I'd had a few drinks and was feeling pretty hype. She was totally my type." source article: https://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newsey

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