japan running news

On Apr. 23 it was learned that 1952 Helsinki Olympian and 1953 Boston Marathon winner Keizo Yamada passed away on Apr. 2. He was 92. Yamada was well-known for having run sub-3 in the marathon in his 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s, his last sub-3 coming at age 54 at the 1981 Honolulu Marathon. He last ran Boston in 2010 at age 82, running 6:16:56. source articles: https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20200423-00000177-kyodonews-spo translated and edited by Brett Larner

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/8157832.stm

by Brett Larner 81 year-old Keizo Yamada, the 1953 Boston Marathon winner, returned to this year's race on Apr. 20. Yamada successfully finished his 18th Boston in 6:16:56 after a first half of 2:33:29. Universal Sports reports that Yamada intends this year's running to be his last. A laughably slow women's race gave Team Toto's Tomoe Yokoyama and amateur runner Hiroko Sho some unexpected international camera exposure as they ran at the head of the elite women's pack in the earliest stages of the race. Yokoyama had suffered injuries since winning February's Ome Marathon 30 km road race and hoped only to break 2:40, meaning that the lead pack's speed throughout the first 10 km of the race suited her fine. As the pace crept glacially forward Sho drifted away, but Yokoyama moved to the front and alternated the lead with veteran American Colleen de Reuck. Only nearing halfway, for which Yokoyama clocked 1:19:59, did she begin to lose contact, eventually fading ...

by Brett Larner Once again this year, the Tokyo Marathon has invited an all-star lineup of major international names current and historic to take part in the event's 10 km and marathon divisions as special guest runners. A listing of this year's scheduled guests: Marathon Keizo Yamada - 1953 Boston Marathon winner and 1953 Olympics marathoner Kenji Kimihara - 1968 Olympics marathon silver medalist and 1966 Boston Marathon winner Hideki Kita - 1981 Tokyo International Marathon winner and 1980 Olympics track runner Hiromi Taniguchi - 1991 World Championships marathon gold medalist and 1992 Olympics marathoner Eriko Asai - 1988 Olympics and 1987 World Championships marathoner Mari Tanigawa - 1991 Tokyo International Women's Marathon winner 10 km Constantina Tomescu-Dita (Romania) - 2008 Olympics marathon gold medalist Rosa Mota (Portugal) - 1988 Olympics marathon gold medalist Kaori Icho - 2004 and 2008 Olympics freestyle wrestling 63 kg. gold medalist Chiharu Icho - 2004 and ...