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Noguchi Out Indefinitely With Stress Fracture

http://mainichi.jp/select/today/news/20101228k0000m050093000c.html

translated by Brett Larner

On Dec. 27 Team Sysmex announced that 2004 Athens Olympics marathon gold medalist and marathon national record holder Mizuki Noguchi, 32, has sustained a stress fracture to her left ankle. The fracture is expected to take at least 5-6 weeks to heal.

Noguchi withdrew from the 2008 Beijing Olympics marathon shortly before the race with an injury to her left thigh. In October she made a return to competition at the West Japan Corporate Women's Ekiden, her first race in 2 years, 5 months. At the Dec. 19 National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships she ran the ace Third Stage but finished only 20th on the stage. Immediately afterwards she reported not feeling well and was found to have a fever of 39 degrees and to be suffering from intestinal inflammation. A short time later her left ankle began to hurt, and a medical examination discovered the stress fracture.

A person connected with Team Sysmex commented, "Noguchi wasn't feeling well at Nationals, and as a result her balance was off while she was running. The stress fracture is in a part of her leg that has never been injured before. It's impossible to say how long it will be before she tries to come back from this."
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TokyoRacer said…
That's too bad. i hate to think we have seen the last of her, but it is looking that way.
December 28, 2010 at 8:54 PM
Brett Larner said…
Agreed. 10 km slower than her marathon PB pace giving Noguchi a stress fracture does not sound promising. I don't think we'll see her in a half this spring or in Yokohama in the fall, which means she's right up against the wall for qualifying for London.
December 29, 2010 at 3:14 AM
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