Skip to main content

Olympic Marathoner Nakamoto Returns Home to Kita-Kyushu

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20120815/ath12081517340001-n1.html

translated by Brett Larner

London Olympics men's marathon 6th-place finisher Kentaro Nakamoto (29, Team Yasukawa Denki) returned home at Kita-Kyushu Airport on Aug. 15, greeted with bouquets of flowers and blessings from the assembled crowd.  All he could say in return was a shy, "Thank you."  Sporting a suit, Nakamoto was first greeted in the arrival hall by former Yasukawa Denki runner Keitaro Murase, 38, who pumped his hand in a hearty handshake and said, "Congratulations!" as applause rang out all around them.

Straining to hold back his emotions, Nakamoto told the crowd, "I ran to the absolute best of my ability.  I'm not satisfied with the result, but I can come back now and say to you from the heart that I gave it my best."  In training for London Nakamoto has barely seen his son Riku, who was born less than two months ago, and, he said, "My family was biggest motivation.  I wanted to be able to tell my son, 'Your dad gave it everything he had.'  Looking four years ahead I want to keep doing the best job I can."

Team Yasukawa Denki head coach Naoki Yamagashira commented, "I'm very happy that he was able to bring the full benefits of his training into play.  The plan now is for him to take it nice and easy as he enjoys the rewards of his success."  Murase added his personal blessing, saying, "Kentaro realized the dream that all of us held.  He's an incredible person."

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Chien Breaks TPE NR, Iwata Betters ID-Class WR - Weekend Track Roundup

The last weekend of the academic and fiscal year saw at least 5 meets with good results domestically and abroad. Kicking things off Friday was the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, where Tomohiro Shinno and Naoto Hasegawa took 1st and 3rd in the men's high jump, both of them only clearing 2.18 m along with 2nd-placer Roman Anastasios . 12 other Japanese athletes were in action on the second day of the meet on Saturday, where 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura ran 3:42.84 for 6th in the men's 1500 m. Nagiya Mori had a better one in the men's 3000 m with a 7:45.40 for 4th. Both Yota Mashiko and Rui Suzuki cleared 8:00 too, Mashiko's 7:53.84 the 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese-born high schooler. Abigail Fuka Ido and Nagisa Takahashi both placed 3rd in their events, Ido going 23.85 (-0.9) in the women's 200 m and Takahashi clearing 1.82 m in the women's high jump. 8 Japanese men were at The TEN in California to run 10000 m. In the B-heat won by Edward Marks in ...

JAAF Announces World Road Running Championships Half Marathon Team

The JAAF announced the men's and women's half marathon teams today for this fall's World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen: Women Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon) - 1:09:14 (1st, 2026 Osaka Half) Wakana Kabasawa (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:09:20 (1st, 2026 Nat'l Corp. Half) Rina Shimizu (Noritz) - 1:09:22 (2nd, 2026 Osaka Half) Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) - 1:09:23 (3rd, 2026 Osaka Half) Men Tomoya Ogikubo (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 1:00:22 (4th, 2026 Marugame Half) Yuma Nishizawa (Toyota Boshoku) - 1:00:26 (5th, 2026 Marugame Half) Neo Namiki (Subaru) - 1:00:29 (6th, 2026 Marugame Half) Daisuke Sato (Chuo Univ.) - 1:00:40 (7th, 2026 Marugame Half) Mile and 5 km teams, if any, will be decided after June's National Track and Field Championships. © 2026 Brett Larner , all rights reserved

Updates on Transfers

April 1 is the start of Japan's new academic and fiscal year, and there's always a wave of transfer announcements to go with it. Some notable ones yesterday: 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo skipped university to go straight to 2023 Queens Ekiden national champion Sekisui Kagaku after her graduation from Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. Multiple NR holder Nozomi Tanaka rejoined the Toyota Jidoshokki women's team after having left it to pursue a solo pro career as a New Balance athlete. Already on the team for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games in the 10000 m, Ririka Hironaka announced a switch from her longtime home at Japan Post to the Uniqlo women's team. Collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda joined the 2026 national champion GMO corporate team after graduating from 2026 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University last week. Hakone Ekdien First Stage CR holder Rui Aoki joins the Sumitomo Denko corporate team after running his final race for 2025 Izumo Ekiden w...