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Entry Lists Up for National T&F Championships

by Brett Larner

On May 19 Rikuren published the entry lists for this year's National Track and Field Championships, to be held June 4-6 in Marugame, Kagawa prefecture. With the cancellation of this weekend's Golden Games in Nobeoka most of the top Japanese distance athletes will shift focus to Nationals, making for a potentially thrilling championship meet. Entry lists for the distance events are reproduced below.

The men's events are notable for the absence of veterans like 5000 m national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica-Minolta) and half marathon national record holder Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku), the preponderance of the field instead made up of some of the best young runners Japan has these days. Kensuke Takezawa (Team S&B) and Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) will square off in both the 5000 m and 10000 m, their scheduled duel at the Golden Games forcibly postponed by two weeks. The Japanese man with the fastest PB in the 5000 m field, Yu Mitsuya (Team Toyota Kyushu), will join the fray fresh from setting a 1500 m PB at last weekend's Kyushu Jitsugyodan T&F Championships. Last year's 1500 m and 5000 m double national champion Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) will again attempt the double, and 10000 m national champion Yuki Iwai (Team Asahi Kasei) likewise returns. Top-ranked university runners Akinobu Murasawa (Tokai Univ.) and Ryuji Kashiwabara (Toyo Univ.) will also be in contention in the 5000 m and 10000 m respectively.

The defending national champions in the women's 5000 m and 10000 m, Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) and Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren), will be back to claim a second title. Each of them will face multiple national record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal), who appears to be back in top form after an injury-prone 2008-09 season. 1500 m national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) will double in 1500 m and 5000 m, while university sensation Hikari Yoshimoto (Bukkyo Univ.) and her teammate Kasumi Nishihara (Bukkyo Univ.) will do the 5 and 10 double. A notable and regrettable absence is 10000 m national record holder Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo), who has had recurring injury problems since running two hard marathons in the span of two months during the winter of 2008-09.

2010 National Track and Field Championships - Entry List Top 20
click here for complete entry lists
Men's 5000 m
Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 13:03.84
Yu Mitsuya (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 13:18.32
Kensuke Takezawa (Team S&B) - 13:19.00
Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) - 13:21.49
Satoshi Irifune (Team Kanebo) - 13:22.12
Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:23.57
Yusei Nakao (Team Toyota Boshoku) - 13:28.16
Yuta Takahashi (Team S&B) - 13:31.31
Bitan Karoki (Kenya/Team S&B) - 13:32.79
Yuki Matsuoka (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 13:35.37
Satoru Kitamura (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:36.56
Naoki Okamoto (Team Choguku Denryoku) - 13:37.71
Akinobu Murasawa (Tokai Univ.) - 13:38.68
Takeshi Makabe (Team Kanebo) - 13:40.04
Tomoaki Bungo (Team Asahi Kasei) - 13:40.11
Yusuke Hasegawa (Jobu Univ.) - 13:40.83
Shinji Kanagawa (Team Yachiyo Kogyo) - 13:42.57
Takuya Fukatsu (Team Asahi Kasei) - 13:43.06
Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 13:43.06
Yuki Yagi (Waseda Univ.) - 13:43.49

Women's 5000 m
Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) - 14:53.22
Doricah Obare (Kenya/Team Hitachi) - 15:04.87
Ann Karindi (Kenya/Team Toyota Jidoshoki) - 15:05.34
Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) - 15:05.37
Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) - 15:11.17
Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz) - 15:12.76
Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) - 15:13.01
Hitomi Niiya (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) - 15:23.27
Felista Wanjugu (Kenya/Team Universal Ent.) - 15:23.69
Hikari Yoshimoto (Bukkyo Univ.) - 15:26.72
Noriko Matsuoka (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 15:29.38
Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:30.29
Miho Notagashira (Team Wacoal) - 15:31.27
Kasumi Nishihara (Bukkyo Univ.) - 15:32.89
Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 15:34.13
Ai Igarashi (Team Sysmex) - 15:34.60
Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) - 15:35.12
Shoko Mori (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 15:35.12
Kazue Kojima (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) - 15:35.87
Seika Nishikawa (Team Sysmex) - 15:38.22

Men's 10000 m
Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 27:38.25
Kensuke Takezawa (Team S&B) - 27:45.59
Yusei Nakao (Team Toyota Boshoku) - 27:48.71
Takeshi Makabe (Team Kanebo) - 27:53.78
Yuki Iwai (Team Asahi Kasei) - 27:58.03
Satoru Kitamura (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 28:00.22
Yoshinori Oda (Team Toyota) - 28:03.92
Masato Kihara (Team Kanebo) - 28:06.48
Suehiro Ishikawa (Team Honda) - 28:07.04
Daisuke Shimizu (Team Kanebo) - 28:10.68
Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 28:11.99
Kazuyoshi Tokumoto (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 28:13.23
Atsushi Ikawa (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 28:14.75
Seigo Ikegami (Team Honda) - 28:16.12
Ryuji Kashiwabara (Toyo Univ.) - 28:20.99
Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta) - 28:21.58
Tomoyuki Morita (Team Kanebo) - 28:21.85
Kenichiro Setoguchi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 28:23.05
Bene Zama (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 28:27.61
Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 28:28.74

Women's 10000 m
Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) - 30:51.81
Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) - 31:15.34
Hikari Yoshimoto (Bukkyo Univ.) - 31:30.92
Noriko Matsuoka (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 31:31.45
Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) - 31:31.95
Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz) - 31:34.15
Hiromi Ominami (Fukui T&F Assoc.) - 31:35.18
Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 31:42.86
Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) - 31:47.82
Yukari Sahaku (Team Universal Ent.) - 32:01.80
Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) - 32:12.92
Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 32:15.91
Kasumi Nishihara (Bukkyo Univ.) - 32:29.59
Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal) - 32:37.72
Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 32:45.55
Yumi Hirata (Team Shiseido) - 32:50.03

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
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Comments

Kevin said…
Yukiko Akaba ran the fastest marathon time this year. She deserves to win.
May 24, 2010 at 8:42 AM
Kevin said…
Does Nakamura want to run another marathon this year? Doesn't she want to break Akaba's time?
May 24, 2010 at 8:43 AM
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