Akidor Breaks Sanyo Ladies Half Marathon CR

Margaret Akidor made it three in a row at the Sanyo Ladies Road Race half marathon, breaking the course record with a PB 1:07:45 for the win. Akidor was part of a lead quartet with Shiori Yoshizono, Nanaka Izawa and the debuting Tabitha Njeri Kamau that went through 5 km together in 15:55. Yoshizono and Izawa dropped back over the next 5 km, falling 12 seconds behind as Akidor and Kamau hit 10 km in 31:55. From there Akidor started to inch away from Kamau, rolling on alone the rest of the way to the win.

Yoshizono and Izawa caught the fading Kamau just before 20 km and went right by, Yoshizono taking 2nd in 1:08:21 and Izawa 3rd in 1:08:25. Kamau was another 10 seconds back in 4th, almost 2 minutes up on 5th-placer Yuri Mitsune. Yoshizono and Izawa both broke into the Japanese all-time lists, Yoshizono coming in a 9th and Izawa at 10th.

3rd in the 10 km race last year, Kaede Kawamura got the win this time in 32:16, holding off Deborah Chemutai by 2 seconds in Chemutai's debut at the distance. Ayu Henmi took 3rd in 33:18.

43rd Sanyo Ladies Road Race

Okayama, 15 Dec. 2024

complete results

Half Marathon

1. Margaret Akidor (Comodi Iida) - 1:07:45 - CR, PB

2. Shiori Yoshizono (Tenmaya) - 1:08:21 - PB

3. Nanaka Izawa (Starts) - 1:08:25 - PB

4. Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:08:35 - debut

5. Yuri Mitsune (18 Ginko) - 1:10:33 - PB

6. Yuki Toyoda (Ehime Ginko) - 1:11:38

7. Madoka Nakano (Iwatani Sangyo) - 1:11:51

8. Chiharu Suzuki (Hitachi) - 1:12:11

9. Nana Matsumoto (Daiichi Seimei) - 1:12:29

10. Mao Kiyota (Suzuki) - 1:12:36

11. Mizuki Kakiuchi (Daiso) - 1:12:38

12. Ayaka Kato (Uniqlo) - 1:13:09

13. Hikaru Kitagawa (Univ. Ent.) - 1:13:22

14. Miku Fukuda (Ehime Ginko) - 1:13:25

15. Aika Murakami (Tokyo Metro) - 1:13:34

16. Io Akashi (18 Ginko) - 1:13:40

17. Yuka Masubuchi (Daiichi Seimei) - 1:13:57

18. Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) - 1:14:21

19. Miyu Ogino (Yamada Holdings) - 1:14:49

20. Ayano Ikemitsu (Kagoshima Ginko) - 1:14:59

10 km

1. Kaede Kawamura (Iwatani Sangyo) - 32:16

2. Deborah Chemutai (Univ. Ent.) - 32:18 - debut

3. Ayu Henmi (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 33:18

4. Rino Maeda (Iwatani Sangyo) - 33:19

5. Mitsu Ozaki (Sysmex) - 33:20

6. Sakiho Tsutsui (Univ. Ent.) - 33:22

7. Soyoka Segawa (Sysmex) - 33:24

8. Miu Yagi (Iwatani Sangyo) - 33:24

9. Akira Matsui (Ehime Ginko) - 33:25

10. Ayari Harada (Daiichi Seimei) - 33:28

11. Kokone Sakai (Sysmex) - 33:28

12. Azusa Sumi (Univ. Ent.) - 33:28

13. Mayuka Fujita (Route Inn Hotels) - 33:28

14. Honoka Higuchi (Daiichi Seimei) - 33:28

15. Ayaka Murao (Daihatsu) - 33:29

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

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...

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 ...

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