Skip to main content

Sendai International Half Marathon, Osaka Grand Prix and More

by Brett Larner

It's a big weekend in Japan with three major events across the country. The biggest is no doubt the Osaka Grand Prix Meet on May 8. Most events feature the standing Japanese national champion or national record holder along with international competition including Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica, 100 m), Andrew Hinds (Barbados, 100 m), Monzavous Edwards (U.S.A., 200 m), Mounir Yemmouni (France, 1500 m), Doricah Obare (Kenya, 5000 m), Perdita Felicien (Canada, 100 mH), Bershawn Jackson (U.S.A., 400 mH), Christian Cantwell (U.S.A., SP), and Becky Breisch (U.S.A., DT). A complete entry list is available here. One notable withdrawal is the meet's biggest star, Chinese hurdler Xiang Liu.

Also on May 8 is the first of the regional spring corporate track meets, the Central Japan Corporate Track and Field Championships. This weekend's events include the men's and women's 5000 m, with the 10000 m scheduled for next weekend. Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku) headlines the men's race, facing Kenyans Joseph Gitau (Team JFE Steel) and Samuel Ganga (Team Mazda) as well as his young teammates Hideaki Date, Takuya Ishikawa and Naoki Okamoto. Kenyan Danielle Filomena Cheyech (Team Uniqlo) should have no trouble in the women's 5000 m, where her toughest competition comes from Team Tenmaya's Rei Obara and Kaori Urata.

Sunday, May 9 sees the Sendai International Half Marathon. The race has been billed as the highly-anticipated debut of 10 mile junior world record holder Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC), but although he is listed as an entrant his name appears on neither the start list nor the list of withdrawals. If he starts, look for a threat to Samuel Wanjiru's Japanese all-comers record. If not, it is up to ailing Kenyan Mekubo Mogusu (Team Aidem) to turn in his first good performance of the year and get back under the hour mark. The Japanese contingent is led by Yukihiro Kitaoka (Team NTN), the top Japanese man at last year's World Half Marathon and a member of November's Asian Games marathon squad.

2009 World Championships marathoner Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) is the top runner in the women's race in Sendai. With the withdrawal of Kenyan Julia Mumbi (Team Universal Entertainment) and the strong Megumi Seike (Team Sysmex), Fujinaga's toughest competition may come from identical twins Yoko and Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) or Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo's Miki Ohira and Chisato Osaki.

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

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