Skip to main content

Olympian Kentaro Nakamoto Going for First Marathon Win at Beppu-Oita

by Brett Larner

Updated 1/29/13: Masashi Hayashi (Team Yakult) and Takehiro Arakawa (Team Asahi Kasei) have withdrawn.

The Feb. 3 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon announced on Jan. 16 that London Olympics marathon 6th-placer and 2:08:53 man Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) will head the elite field for its 62nd running.  Japan's most stable and successful current male marathoner, Nakamoto said in pre-race comments that he hopes to score his first marathon win on home Kyushu ground in Beppu-Oita, and with the race's results counting toward 2013 World Championships team selection the win would strengthen the position his strong Olympic showing has already given him.  Nakamoto's toughest domestic competition will come from the ever-popular Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) in his second marathon of the year, and from Masashi Hayashi (Team Yakult) who broke 2:10 for the first time at last spring's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon just over a minute behind Nakamoto.  Last year's Nobeoka Nishi Nihon Marathon winner Kazuya Ishida (Team Nishitetsu) could be a surprise factor despite a best just under 2:12.

Adam Draczynski (Poland) has the fastest time in the overseas field with a 2:10:49, but the #1 contender among them is last year's runner-up and two-time Hofu Yomiuri Marathon winner Serod Batochir (Mongolia).  In an echo of last year's Fukuoka, Kawauchi made it clear that he entered Beppu-Oita in order to have another go at Batochir.  Regardless of what else happens, look for the two of them to be knocking each other down.  Abdelkrim Boubker (Morocco) and Michael Shelley (Australia) are not far behind Batochir and Draczynski on time and should be players in the lead pack.

Also noteworthy in the field are a talented crop of first-timers, including 1:01 half marathoners Tewelde Estifanos (Eritrea), Daisuke Matsufuji (Team Kanebo) and Mamoru Hirano (Team Yasukawa Denki).  2012 National University Half Marathon Championships runner-up Yudai Yamakawa (Teikyo Univ.) will also be making an early marathon debut.  In the tiny women's field, two-time defending champion Chiyuki Mochizuki (Canon AC Kyushu) will return to go for the threepeat.

The Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon will be broadcast live on the 3rd.  Check back closer to race date for details on following the race via streaming and JRN's Twitter coverage.

2013 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon Elite Field
Oita, 2/3/13
click here for complete field listing

Men
11. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) - 2:08:37 (Tokyo '11)
12. Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) - 2:08:53 (Lake Biwa '12)
13. Tomoyuki Sato (Team Asahi Kasei) - 2:09:43 (Tokyo Int'l '04)
14. Masashi Hayashi (Team Yakult) - 2:09:55 (Lake Biwa '12) - withdrawn
1. Adam Draczynski (Poland) - 2:10:49 (Vienna '10)
2. Serod Batochir (Mongolia) - 2:11:05 (Beppu-Oita '12)
3. Abdelkrim Boubker (Morocco) - 2:11:18 (Ottawa '12)
4. Michael Shelley (Australia) - 2:11:23 (Amsterdam '11)
15. Kazuya Ishida (Team Nishitetsu) - 2:11:57 (Nobeoka '12)
16. Masaki Shimoju (Team Konica Minolta) - 2:12:18 (Nobeoka '10)
17. Takehiro Arakawa (Team Asahi Kasei) - 2:13:39 (Beppu-Oita '12) - withdrawn
119. Takanori Ide (Team Kyudenko) - 2:13:41
101. Shingo Igarashi (Team Subaru) - 2:13:46 (Nobeoka '11)
102. Naoya Hashimoto (Team Chudenko) - 2:13:50 (2010)
18. Masahiro Ishida (Team Sagawa Express) - 2:13:54 (Nobeoka '11)
120. Mao Fukuyama (Team Kyudenko) - 2:14:10
103. Yoshiki Otsuka (Team Aichi Seiko) - 2:14:12 (Lake Biwa '12)
113. Ben Moreau (Great Britain) - 2:16:46 (London '10)
5. Tewelde Estifanos (Eritrea) - debut - 1:01:40 (World Half '10)
125. Daisuke Matsufuji (Team Kanebo) - debut - 1:01:46 (Marugame Half '12)
121. Mamoru Hirano (Team Yasukawa Denki) - debut - 1:01:49 (Marugame Half '12)
173. Yudai Yamakawa (Teikyo Univ.) - debut - 1:02:26 (National University Half '12)
127. Yoshiyuki Oseki (Team Subaru) - debut - 1:02:35 half
128. Yohei Nishiyama (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - debut - 1:02:38 half
129. Rui Yonezawa (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - debut - 1:02:41 half
122. Hisanori Kitajima (Team Yasukawa Denki) - debut - 1:02:50 half

Men's Pacers
51. Jason Mbote (Kenya)
52. Stephen Chelimo (Kenya)
53. Kenta Noguchi (Team Toyota)
54. Takuya Fukatsu (Team Asahi Kasei)
55. Akiyuki Iwanaga (Team Kyudenko)

Women
2001. Chiyuki Mochizuki (Canon AC Kyushu)
2002. Megumi Yamashita (Team Toto)
2003. Chie Yamada (Fukuoka T&F Assoc.)

(c) 2013 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

Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Entry Roster Sizes Increased from 14 to 16

Hakone Ekiden organizers KGRR have announced details for the qualifying half marathon for next year's 103rd Hakone Ekiden. The Yosenkai qualifying race will be held Oct. 17 in Tachikawa, Tokyo. The combined times of the 10 fastest finishers from each participating team will be used for team scoring, with the 10 fastest teams going on the the main event next January and top-placing individuals from teams that do not qualify being names to the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team. One change from previous years is that the number of runners each school can enter has been increased from 14 to 16. Teams will still only be allowed to have from 10 to 12 athletes on the starting line, but the move gives coaches greater flexibility in making the final decision on their starting rosters. No changes have been made to the qualifying times of 34:00 for 10000 m or 1:13:00 for the half marathon, and the new earlier starting time of 8:30 a.m. introduced last year in an effort to mitigate ...
Post a Comment
Read more

2-Time Olympian Yuka Takashima Joins Uniqlo Women's Team

On July 21 the Uniqlo women's team announced that 2-time Olympic 10000 m runner Yuka Takashima had joined its lineup as of July 16. Born in Yamaguchi in 1998, Takashima anchored Okayama's Kojokan H.S. to its first-ever National High School Ekiden win in 2005. After graduating she joined the Denso corporate team, playing a key role in its 3-straight National Corporate Women's Ekiden titles. In 2015 she ran the 10000 m at the 2015 Beijing World Championships. In the spring of 2016 Takashima transferred to the Shiseido corporate team, where she made the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics team in the 10000 m. She played an important role for the team in its ekidens, and in 2022 anchored Shiseido to its first national title in 16 years. In 2023 she was 2nd in the 10000 m National Championships, securing her place on her 2nd Olympic team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Takashima's PBs are 15:26.33 for 5000 m, 30:57.26 for 10000 m, and 2:26:13 for the marathon. In March this year T...
Post a Comment
Read more