Skip to main content

Mwangi Leads Season-Opening Kanaguri Memorial Meet

by Brett Larner
videos by Ekiden News and tuyoshi55244



Japan's outdoor track season got underway on Saturday with the rainy 23rd edition of Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet.  Teammates James Mwangi and Edward Waweru of the NTN corporate team got the season off to a good start with a 1-2 finish in Heat 4 of the men's 5000 m, Mwangi leading the way with a 13:25.56 a full ten seconds ahead of Waweru.  Japan-based Kenyans and Ethiopians took 11 of the top 13 places, with the only Japanese runners to get into the middle of things both running PBs to get there.  Second-year Keisuke Nakatani of three-time defending National University Ekiden champion Komazawa University ran a sizable best of 13:48.99 for 8th, a time that ranks him 2nd on the Komazawa squad behind only World Half Marathon Championships team member Kenta Murayama.  Sub-28 and sub-1:02 as a collegiate, Yuta Shitara made a good debut in the Honda uniform by knocking 2 seconds off his best for 9th in 13:49.98.



Two-time world junior 3000 mSC champion Jonathan Ndiku (Team Hitachi Butsuryu) led the otherwise all-Japanese Heat 5 in 13:47.55, with Yuki Yagi (Team Asahi Kasei) alternating the lead with him and get just under Nakatani's time for 2nd in 13:48.12.  Past national champions Kensuke Takezawa (Team Sumitomo Denko) and Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) were close behind.



Yagi's teammate Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Team Asahi Kasei) was 5th in 13:54.71 two hours after running a 3:46.84 PB for 2nd in the men's 1500 m.

Heat 2 of the men's 5000 m saw a rare happening as Josai University second-year Kazuki Takahashi was disqualified after false starting twice.  Why or how remains a mystery.



Susan Wairimu (Team Denso) and Pauline Kamulu (Team Toto) completed a Kenyan sweep of the main distance events in Heat 2 of the women's 5000 m, Wairimu winning in 15:50.72 by a comfortable margin.  Miho Shimizu (Team Hokuren) raced Kamulu to the line but lost out by a lean, 3rd in 15:54.47.



Nana Kuraoka (Kagoshima Joshi H.S.) took the all-high school women's 3000 m in 9:23.58.



2012 and 2013 national 1500 m champion Ayako Jinnouchi (Team Kyudenko) opened her season with a 4:20.30 win in Heat 2 of the women's 1500 m.

23rd Kanaguri Memorial Meet
Kumamoto, 4/5/14
click here for complete results

Men's 5000 m Heat 4
1. James Mwangi (Kenya/Team NTN) - 13:25.56
2. Edward Waweru (Kenya/Team NTN) - 13:35.63
3. Macharia Ndirangu (Kenya/Team Aichi Seiko) - 13:36.79
4. Daniel Gitau (Kenya/Team Fujitsu) - 13:40.81
5. Ayele Abayneh (Ethiopia/Team Mazda) - 13:40.93
6. Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) - 13:44.52
7. Patrick Mwaka (Kenya/Team Aisan Kogyo) - 13:48.92
8. Keisuke Nakatani (Komazawa Univ.) - 13:48.99 - PB
9. Yuta Shitara (Team Honda) - 13:49.98 - PB
10. Abera Melaku (Ethiopia/Team Kurosak Harima) - 13:52.90

Men's 5000 m Heat 5
1. Jonathan Ndiku (Kenya/Team Hitachi Butsuryu) - 13:47.55
2. Yuki Yagi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 13:48.12
3. Kensuke Takezawa (Team Sumitomo Denko) - 13:51.03
4. Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:53.63
5. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Team Asahi Kasei) - 13:54.71

Women's 5000 m Heat 2
1. Susan Wairimu (Kenya/Team Denso) - 15:50.72
2. Pauline Kamulu (Kenay/Team Toto) - 15:54.28
3. Miho Shimizu (Team Hokuren) - 15:54.47
4. Yuka Miyazaki (Team Kyudenko) - 16:03.66
5. Saori Noda (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 16:05.71

Women's 3000 m Heat 3
1. Nana Kuraoka (Kagoshima Joshi H.S.) - 9:23.58
2. Maako Konishi (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 9:25.02
3. Haruka Tobimatsu (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 9:25.88
4. Rui Maenohara (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 9:26.51
5. Yuri Nozoe (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 9:26.85

Men's 1500 m Heat 2
1. Ronald Kwemoi (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) - 3:42.45 - PB
2. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Team Asahi Kasei) - 3:46.84 - PB
3. Yasunari Kusu (Team Komori Corp.) - 3:49.13
4. Yusuke Hiratsuka (Josai Univ.) - 3:50.43
5. Shogo Hata (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 3:51.20

Women's 1500 m Heat 2
1. Ayako Jinnouchi (Team Kyudenko) - 4:20.30
2. Mika Nakagawa (Team Hokuren) - 4:22.86
3. Ayano Ikemitsu (Team Kagoshima Ginko) - 4:24.56
4. Misaki Hayashida (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:26.42
5. Haruka Mochizuki (Team Yutaka Giken) - 4:26.79

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
3 comments
Read more