Skip to main content

Win a Japanese National Team Singlet in JRN's World Championships Marathon Prediction Contest

Japanese marathoners have won individual medals at every World Championships marathon since 1991 except for 1995. The members of this year's national team are extremely motivated to continue this legacy after the debacle at last summer's Beijing Olympics marathons, and there are realistic prospects.

To show its support JRN is holding a World Championships marathon prediction contest with the grand prize of a 2009 World Championships Japanese national team singlet. To enter, send an email with the subject line 'Marathon prediction contest' to the address in Brett Larner's user profile. Copy and paste the list of Japanese athletes below into the body of the message and fill in your prediction for each runner's overall finishing place and time including seconds. List 'DNS' for any runner you think will not start, including the alternates. List 'DNF' for any athlete you think will start but not finish. You must fill out both the men's and women's listings to be elligible for the grand prize. Entries must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Sat., Aug. 22nd Japan time to be considered. Late, incomplete or multiple entries will not be accepted.

The entry with the most accurate predictions for both the men's and women's marathons will win the grand prize. Runners-up, i.e. the entrants who give the most accurate predictions in either race, will also receive quality schwag. Winners will be notified via email.



Men's Marathon
Arata Fujiwara - place: / time:
Satoshi Irifune - place: / time:
Kazuhiro Maeda - place: / time:
Atsushi Sato - place: / time:
Masaya Shimizu - place: / time:
(alternate: Kensuke Takahashi - place: /
time: )

Women's Marathon
Yukiko Akaba - place: / time:
Yoshiko Fujinaga - place: / time:
Yuri Kano - place: / time:
Yoshimi Ozaki - place: / time:



Below is a quick guide to the Japanese marathon teams at this year's World Championships. The first column shows each athlete's fastest marathon time within the World Championships qualification window of Sept. 3, 2007 to Aug. 3, 2009. The second column shows his or her slowest time in a serious race effort during the same period. The third column shows the runner's lifetime best. Click here for a more detailed preview of the men's team, or here for a profile of the women's team. You can also search this blog for more info on a particular athlete. Click here for complete entry lists for the World Championships marathons. Good luck.

Labels:

Comments

Kevin said…
I think akaba will be the top japanese finisher cause of her impressive half marathon pb. This what I think
Akaba 7th place 2:25:25
yoshiko fujingaga 18th 2:28:09
Yuri Kano 11th place 2:26:34
yoshimi Ozaki 10th place 2:26:00
Yoko shibui 16th 2:27:16 I also think shibui will run wth the lead pack for 30km but is going to fade badly to 16th place.
August 11, 2009 at 8:05 AM
Brett Larner said…
Kevin--

Please email me your predictions if you want to enter the contest. Remember to include predictions for the men's race.
August 11, 2009 at 9:23 AM
Anonymous said…
Great idea, I´ll definitely take part (although I have no clue what Ozaki has been doing of late)!
Btw how is the combined accuracy of place and time measured and how is a DNS or DNF accounted for ´mathematically´?

Joe
August 11, 2009 at 4:46 PM
Brett Larner said…
Joe--

Essentially, for each runner you will be assigned 10 pts. per place different from the actual finishing place and 1 pt. for each second difference in predicted and actual finishing time. Incorrect DNS or DNF predictions will incur substantial penalties. A perfect prediction will score zero points, and thus the lowest score wins. One person can only win one of the three prizes (overall, men's, women's). In case of a tie the winner will be chosen through a vote by the JRN editorial board.
August 11, 2009 at 5:47 PM
Brett Larner said…
P.S. I will have men's and women's marathon previews up by the end of the week. I'll try to summarize each Japanese runner's recent performances. For more info on Ozaki or anyone else you can use the search function to find all the articles I've had about her.
August 11, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
3 comments
Read more