Skip to main content

Akaba: From Besting Ndereba to the Olympics

http://www.daily.co.jp/general/2007/11/24/0000749007.shtml

translated by Brett Larner

Japan won the first mixed male and female team edition of the International Chiba Ekiden on Nov. 23 in a time of 2:05:56. Osaka World Championships participant Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) ran the second-fastest time on the 5 km second stage of the ekiden, covering the course in 15:34. Anchor Yukiko Akaba (28, Team Hokuren), received the tasuki on the 7.195 km final stage just 4 seconds back from Osaka World Championships women`s marathon gold medallist Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) but passed her well before the goal. Akaba, who gave birth to daughter Yuna in August last year, is planning to run the 10000 m in the Beijing Olympics.

The `running mama` took a big step toward the gold medal in Beijing. Starting 4 seconds behind, Akaba pulled even with Catherine the Great after only 760 m and quickly pulled away to run alone to the finish. "When I got the tasuki with no real gap behind Ndereba I thought, `Oh yeah, this is going to be tasty.`" At the finish line she waved her left hand proudly to her coach and husband Shuhei who held little Yuna in his arms.

This was Akaba`s second time to take down a big name in less than a month. In the East Japan Jitsugyodan Women`s Ekiden on Nov. 3 she broke Sydney Olympic marathon champion Naoko Takahashi`s 9 year-old stage record on the 11.1 km fifth stage by 14 seconds with a time of 34:37. She has gained great confidence for the Beijing Olympics 10000 m from these performances.

It has only been just over a year since she gave birth, her weight having dropped during that time from 56 kg to 42 kg. After giving birth on Aug. 20 last year, her attitude toward the sport has changed. She offers an unambiguous, "I am aiming at the world. I want Yuna to see how well I can run." She is also grateful to Shuhei for supporting her and Yuna while she is training, joking that her only domestic responsibility is doing the laundry.

Akaba has her eye on the marathon as well. She wants to compete in the 2009 Berlin World Championships marathon and plans to run either the Osaka or Nagoya International Women`s Marathon the same year to qualify. After making such an impressive comeback from childbirth, this running mama will be more and more in the public eye.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Ex-Fiancee Slags Olympian Dean in Gossip Mag After Taking Him to Court Over Child

In March this year it was learned that Genki Dean , 33, a javelin thrower who represented Japan in the Paris Olympics, had gotten married. His partner was Yuka Sato , 32, another javelin thrower who retired last fall. Reporters broke the news of their "javelinuptials" with a wry smile. As a 20-year-old 3rd-year at Waseda University Dean had a massive breakthrough with what was at the time the 2nd-best mark in Japanese history, qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics. He struggled with injury for years, but last year he returned to the Olympics when he represented Japan in Paris. This season he is competing around the world in hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo World Championships. But against that backdrop was an ongoing struggle with another woman, his ex-fiancee. "I met him in 2017, and we clicked right away and became lovers," she said. The pair started living together, and she soon got pregnant. According to her, at first Dean was really happy about it and cried ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hakone Ekiden Select Team Qualification Protocol Changes

On June 19 the KGRR , organizers of the Hakone Ekiden , published a press release on the new criteria for making the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team for the prestigious race. The new process will assign a single place on the team to 10 different universities, with an additional 6 spots for individuals. The Kanto Region Student Alliance team is intended to broaden the opportunities for schools to participate in Hakone, making it possible for traditionally strong schools that failed to qualify to still be represented and for new programs to be able to take part for the first time. It was first created in 2003 for the 79th Hakone Ekiden under the name Kanto Region Select Team. From 2007 to 2013 its team results counted in overall placing, but after being eliminated in 2014 it was brought back a year later in a non-scoring capacity under its new name and has been a part of the event ever since with the exception of Hakone's 100th running in 2024. Nomination to the Student All...
Post a Comment
Read more