Skip to main content

Yoko Shibui runs 40km PB in training for Tokyo International Women`s Marathon

http://www.daily.co.jp/newsflash/2007/10/16/0000698768.shtml

translated by Brett Larner

On October 15th, former Japanese women`s marathon national record holder Yoko Shibui (2:19:41, Berlin 2004) broke her 40km PB during a training run as part her preparation for the Tokyo International Women`s Marathon on November 18th. In Tokyo, one of Japan`s Olympic selection races, Shibui will face defending Olympic gold medallist and current Japanese national record holder Mizuki Noguchi (2:19:12, Berlin 2005).Shibui ran this 40km training run to simulate staying with Noguchi, who is heavily favored to win Tokyo. The next day, Shibui left Japan for a high-altitude training camp in Kunming, China.

-----That`s it for the translation. This looks like it`s going to be an incredible race if both Shibui and Noguchi make it to the starting line intact. With Reiko Tosa having secured a spot on the Beijing Olympic team by medalling at the World Championships there are only two slots left but three qualifying races, Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. It`s very unlikely that whoever comes in second in Tokyo will be selected and also probable that the winner will not be selected if the winning times in Osaka and Nagoya are faster. Thus it seems like neither of these sub-2:20 women can afford to run a conservative race. The Tokyo Int`l course is pretty challenging with large uphills in the last few km, but Eri Yamaguchi ran 2:22:12 and Gert Thys ran 2:06:33 there in `99 so fast times are possible. I think that they`ll be going for the course record (Yamaguchi`s time) at an absolute minimum, possibly sub-2:20.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

'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 .

Japan's First Goldless Day - Asian Athletics Championships Day Four Highlights

Day 4 of the Bangkok Asian Athletics Championships was the first without a single gold medal going to Japan, but there were still enough silvers and bronzes to go around. Robyn Lauren Brown of the Philippines outclassed the rest of the women's 400 mH final field, taking gold in 57.50. Eri Utsunomiya and Ami Yamamoto made it a Japanese 2-3, Utsunomiya running 57.73 for silver and Yamamoto 57.80 for bronze. Yusaku Kodama also scored silver in the men's 400 mH, running 48.96 behind Qatari winner Bassem Hemeida 's 48.64. Yuki Yamasaki won bronze in the heptathlon with 5696 points, Uzbekistan's Ekaterina Voronina taking gold in 6098 and Swapna Barman silver in 5840. Teammate Karin Odama was 4th in 5487. Another bronze came in the mixed 4x400 m relay, with Japan running 3:15.71 behind India's 3:14.70 and Sri Lanka's 3:15.41. Naoto Hasegawa and Ryoichi Akamatsu both cleared 2.23 m in the men's high jump, Hasegawa finishing 4th overall and Akamatsu 5th. ...

'Kobe 2024: Monday Sees Shocking Wins on the Track and the Field'

  https://www.paralympic.org/news/kobe-2024-para-athletics-world-championships-monday-sees-shocking-wins-track-and-field Complete results and daily schedule from the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships  are here .