Zeyituna Husan and Ibrahim Hassan Break Beppu-Oita Mainchi Marathon CR

In its 71st edition the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon saw new course records in both the women's and men's races. On a cold and slightly windy day Japan-based Ethiopian Zeyituna Husan took advantage of the big crowds of amateur men at her pace, going through halfway in 1:14:44 en route in her debut to win in 2:31:41. Her time took 1:19 off the previous record set in 2018 by Hiroko Yoshitomi.

Excellent pacing that saw every 5 km split through 30 km in the men's race land in the 15:01 to 15:03 range and a big pack that rolled with it set up a tough last 12 km. Djibouti's Ibrahim Hassan inched it up a notch as soon as the pacers were done, covering the next two 5 km in 14:59 each. That gave him a short lead over Kenyan Daniel Kipchumba, but Hassan almost lost it. Deeply in the zone, he didn't notice the turn into the stadium for the track finish and ran into the back of the camera truck. Kipchumba surged to take advantage of Hassan's loss, but Hassan managed to pull it back together and hold on for the win by 5 seconds in a world-leading 2:06:43, a negative split even with the lost time. Hassan's time broke the Djibouti NR, set 9 years before he was born, by 24 seconds, and was the first 2:06 in Beppu-Oita history, beating last year's CR by 1:04.

Wrong turn! pic.twitter.com/A5l1bc1ltn
— Japan Running News (@JRNHeadlines) February 5, 2023

The main Japanese pack couldn't match that closing speed over the last 12 km, but both 3rd-placer Tsubasa Ichiyama, 2:07:44, and 4th-placer Shungo Yokota, 2:07:47, bettered or tied the old CR. The 22-year-old Yokota also had the distinction of breaking the 2:08:12 collegiate marathon record set in 2003 by current Chuo University head coach Masakazu Fujiwara. 5th and 6th-place Kento Kikutani and Shin Kimura made it under 2:08 as well, with the next three under 2:09 and another four sub-2:10.

Ichiyama, Yokota, Kimura and 7th-placer Tsukasa Koyama all joined the ranks of qualifiers for October's MGC Race Olympic marathon trials, with 10th-place Naoya Sakuda and 13th-place Kazuki Muramoto also making it in through the two-race sub-2:10 average option. 9th-place Yuichi Yasui, 11th-place Takashi Ichida and 12th-place Riki Nakanishi all broke 2:10 in Beppu but will have to try one more time before the end-of-May qualifying deadline to hit the two-race standard. The Ottawa Marathon should be packed with Japanese men shooting for that desperate last chance.

71st Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon

Beppu, Oita, 5 Feb. 2023

complete results

Women

1. Zeyituna Husan (Ethiopia/Denso) - 2:31:41 - CR

2. Rieko Koshi (Emoto) - 2:44:00

3. Hisae Yoshimatsu (Shunan City Hall) - 2:47:51

4. Sonoka Nakayama (Uchida AC) - 2:53:06

5. Mai Fushita (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) - 2:53:49

Men

1. Ibrahim Hassan (Djibouti) - 2:06:43 - CR, NR, WL

2. Daniel Kipchumba (Kenya) - 2:06:48

3. Tsubasa Ichiyama (Komori Corp.) - 2:07:44

4. Shungo Yokota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 2:07:47 - Univ. NR

5. Kento Kikutani (Toyota Boshoku) - 2:07:53

6. Shin Kimura (Honda) - 2:07:55

7. Tsukasa Koyama (Subaru) - 2:08:00

8. Tatsuya Maruyama (Toyota) - 2:08:26

9. Yuichi Yasui (Toyota) - 2:08:48

10. Naoya Sakuda (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:09:06

11. Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 2:09:15

12. Riki Nakanishi (Toenec) - 2:09:34

13. Kazuki Muramoto (Sumitomo Denko) - 2:09:41

14. Kento Otsu (Toyota Kyushu) - 2:10:13

15. Masaki Tsuda (Nishitetsu) - 2:10:40

Ichiyama 8th at Copenhagen Marathon

Currently the #10-ranked Japanese man in the marathon with the fastest-ever domestic time at the elite Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx) made his international debut at Sunday's Copenhagen Marathon , literally an international debut as it was his first time outside the country. Ichiyama hoped to be in contention to break the 2:08:23 CR and go for the win, and with cool and breezy conditions ran easy in the lead group through 30 km. But something ate away at almost everyone as time went by, several people in the lead men's and women's groups saying humidity, and past 30 km Ichiyama fell off. Falling as low as 9th, he rallied after 40 km to finish 8th in 2:13:07. "It was different than in Japanese races," he said. "I'm used to bigger packs and more even pacing, but this was a kind of racing I hadn't done before. There's a lot to think about. I didn't feel like I was sweating a lot, but I got really thirsty and started sk

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,

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