Skip to main content

Wakamatsu Wins Final Himejijo 10-Miler

by Brett Larner

Yoshihiro Wakamatsu (Team Nissin Shokuhin), a graduate of Hakone Ekiden course record holder Toyo University, won the final running of the historic Himejijo Road Race men's 10 miler on Feb. 11. Throwing in a surge at 7 km he easily broke away from the field, which included London Olympics marathoner Ryo Yamamoto (Team SGH Group Sagawa), two-time Himejijo winner Kazuyoshi Tokumoto (Team Monteroza), and Norihisa Imai of Toyo's 2014 Hakone-winning squad, to open a gap of 30 seconds and claim the win unchallenged in 47:38. Tsukasa Morita (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) was a solo 2nd in 48:08, his teammate Jun Shinoto, the 2006 national champion in the 3000 m steeplechase, winning a tight pack race for 3rd in 48:21.

In the women's 5 km, Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. went 1-2 with Tomoka Iwai winning in 16:24 over Tomoka Katada in 16:28.

The Himejijo Road Race is set to be transformed into a mass-participation marathon after 54 years as an elite event.  Look for the new race, the Himeji Castle World Heritage Site Marathon, to open in 2015.  Click here for more background on the format change.

 54th Himejijo Road Race
Himeji, Hyogo, 2/11/14
complete results coming shortly

 Men's 10 Miles
1. Yoshihiro Wakamatsu (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 47:38
2. Tsukasa Morita (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 48:08
3. Jun Shinoto (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 48:21
4. Kazuyoshi Tokumoto (Team Monteroza) - 48:24
5. Ryo Yamamoto (Team SGH Group Sagawa) - 48:26
6. Yushi Nowaki (Team Toyota Boshoku) - 48:26
7. Norihisa Imai (Toyo Univ.) - 48:27
8. Naoto Yoshimura (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 48:27
9. Hiromasa Kumahashi (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 48:30
10. Kazuki Muramoto (Hyogo Prefectural Univ.) - 48:34

Women's 5 km
1. Tomoka Iwai (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 16:24
2. Tomoka Katada (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 16:28
3. Mami Onuki (Hyogo Univ.) - 16:44

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...
Post a Comment
Read more

3 Athletes Provisionally Suspended After Positive Drug Tests at Asian Games (updated)

The International Testing Agency announced on Oct. 2 that provisional suspensions have been imposed on two athletes, Kazakhstan's Aiana Bolatbekkyzy in track and field, and Tajikistan's Issamjon Sharifov in tennis, after they tested positive for prohibited substances at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Aichi. Bolatbekkyzy, 19, tested positive for the steroid drostanolone in a sample collected during an in-competition test at the Games. A diuretic drug was found in the sample collected from Sharifov, 23. Update:  On Oct. 3 a third athlete, kurash wrestler Yash Kumar Chauhan  of India, was provisionally suspended after an in-competition test detected the steroid metandienone, the metabolic modulator GW1516, and the stimulant mephentermine in his system. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/article/20261002-X4FJLT5MMZKFND6WXPOESAKETQ/ translated by Brett Larner
Post a Comment
Read more