Skip to main content

Kibiwott and Sang Go Under Course Record at Nagano Marathon

by Brett Larner

Cooler than usual temperatures helped two Kenyans, winner Francis Kibiwott and runner-up Silas Sang, take down double Olympic marathon medalist Erick Wainaina's long-standing Nagano Marathon course record of 2:10:17 on April 15, Kibiwott setting a new mark of 2:09:05 and Sang just five seconds back in a new PB of 2:09:10.  The women's race was a slower affair, but winner Pauline Wangui (Kenya) still managed a sizeable PB as she won in 2:34:22 by nearly a minute over Ethiopian Belainesh Gebre.

Kibiwott, Sang, countryman Moses Kangogo, Russian Alexey Sokolov and ultramarathon specialist Kiyokatsu Hasegawa (Team JR Higashi Nihon) set off in a pack of five, but by 20 km it had whittled down to just the three Kenyans.  The trio hit halfway in 1:04:28, with2:08 man  Kangogo falling off after 25 km.  Kibiwott and Sang were together until near the end, Kibiwott emerging on top in a hard push to the finish.  Down 24 seconds at halfway, Sokolov came within four seconds of Kangogo at 40 km but could not manage to close the gap and ended up 4th, six seconds behind.  Hasegawa faded badly to 2:16:03, more than five minutes behind Sokolov,  but still hung on to 5th.

The women's race was more of a duel between Wangui and Gebre, the pair running together until near 35 km before Wangui was able to edge away.  Top Japanese woman Sayuri Baba (Team Sekisui Kagaku) came from far behind to almost close the gap to fading 4th-placer Lauren Shelley (Australia) but came just short as she finished 5th in 2:37:38 to Shelley's 2:37:13.

2012 Nagano Marathon
Nagano, 4/15/12
click here for top 15 results and splits

Men
1. Francis Kibiwott (Kenya) - 2:09:05 - CR
2. Silas Sang (Kenya) - 2:09:10 - PB (CR)
3. Moses Kangogo (Kenya) - 2:10:53
4. Alexey Sokolov (Russia) - 2:10:59 - PB
5. Kiyokatsu Hasegawa (Team JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:16:03

Women
1. Pauline Wangui (Kenya) - 2:34:22 - PB
2. Belainesh Gebre (Ethiopia) - 2:35:19
3. Rose Kerubo Nyangacha (Kenya) - 2:36:18
4. Lauren Shelley (Australia) - 2:37:13
5. Sayuri Baba (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 2:37:38 - PB

(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

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...
1 comment
Read more

Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon

On Apr. 9 the Kinki Region Bureau of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Division arrested Matthew Inglis Fox , 38, an Australian business owner of no known fixed address, on charges of violating the importation regulations of the Narcotics Control Act by smuggling tablets containing marijuana elements from the United States. The suspect had entered Japan in February to run in the Osaka Marathon . The suspect was arrested on suspicion of smuggling approximately 12 pills containing marijuana by sending them from a U.S. airport to Osaka's Kansai Airport using an international courier service on Feb. 19. The Osaka branch of the Customs Service discovered the tablets in arriving cargo and suspected them to be narcotics. Customs contacted the Narcotics Control Division, which then began its investigation of the case. According to the Narcotics Control Division, the suspect denies the charges.  Translator's note: Fox, who received a lifetime ban from the Ageo City Half Mara...
41 comments
Read more

Long Time Coming - Akira Akasaki and Haruka Onodera's Road to the 2022 United Airlines NYC Half

Back in pre-pandemic days Akira Akasaki and Haruka Onodera  were still in college, Akasaki at Takushoku University and Onodera at Teikyo University . At the 2019 Ageo City Half Marathon they frontran most of the race together, dead set on finishing in the top two Japanese collegiate spots to win invitations to the 2020 United Airlines NYC Half. For Akasaki it had already been a year and a half wait. Inspired by Kenta Murayama 's 1:00:57 5th place in finish in New York in 2017 and Kei Katanishi 's 7th-place in 2018, Akasaki went for it his junior year in his debut at the 2018 Ageo Half . "Coming up to 10 km I was in the lead pack and feeling good, so I knew I had a shot at going to New York and got pretty excited," he said. But right after the 10 km turnaround point he tripped and fell, and by the time he was back up the lead group was out of range. He finished 20th in 1:03:07, over a minute and a half behind top Japanese university man Ken Nakayama . "I was f...
1 comment
Read more