Morishita-Coached Karemi Wins Kumamoto Kosa 10-Miler in 45:51 As Competitive Field Breaks World Records for Depth

by Brett Larner

Coached by Koichi Morishita, the Barcelona Olympics marathon silver medalist who turned Samuel Wanjiru into a world-beater, Jeremiah Thuku Karemi (Kenya/Team Toyota Kyushu) had a solid debut over ten miles as he won the 39th Kumamoto Kosa 10-Miler in 45:51, one of the fastest times in the world this year. Karemi beat a massive chase pack containing many of Japan's best current track runners and marathoners by more than 40 seconds, setting both himself and Morishita's Toyota Kyushu corporate team up for a big day at next month's New Year Ekiden national championships.

In the chase pack, rookie pro Natsuki Terada (Team JR Higashi Nihon), famous for taking a wrong turn in the last 200 m of the Hakone Ekiden anchor stage as a first-year at Koku Gakuin University, showed the strength of the kick that got him back into position at Hakone by winning an at least nine-way sprint finish for 2nd in 46:33. Yuya Konishi led three other Toyota Kyushu runners into the top ten, taking 3rd in 46:35 with 2:09:30 marathoner teammate Masato Imai 5th in 46:37 and Yuki Oshikawa 10th in 46:40.

2:08 marathoners Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) and Kohei Matsumura (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) were 13th and 15th in 46:44 and 46:47, while their fellow National Team member Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) was 28th in 47:18. Another 2:08 National Team member, Koji Kobayashi (Team Subaru) was 52nd in 48:04.

Altogether the field set new world records for depth, with the top 22 men breaking 47 minutes to obliterate the 15-year-old record of 13 men sub-47 set in Kosa in 1999. 51 men broke 48 minutes, likewise erasing the old record of 45 set in Kosa in 2007.

In the women's 5 km, high schooler Mao Ichiyama (Izumi Chuo H.S.) took down members of the Miyazaki Ginko corporate women's team, winning a photo finish against Miyakazi Ginko's Yuki Nakamura with both clocking 16:26. Shoma Murakami (Kaishin H.S.) won the high school boys' 10 km by two seconds in 30:17.

39th Kumamoto Kosa 10-Mile Road Race
Kosa, Kumamoto, 12/7/14
click here for complete results

Men's 10 Miles
1. Jeremiah Thuku Karemi (Kenya/Team Toyota Kyushu) - 45:51
2. Natsuki Terada (Team JR Higashi Nihon) - 46:33
3. Yuya Konishi (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 46:35
4. Aritaka Kajiwara (Team Press Kogyo) - 46:36
5. Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 46:37
6. Kensuke Takezawa (Team Sumitomo Denko) - 46:37
7. Shintaro Miwa (Team NTN) - 46:37
8. Yo Yazawa (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 46:38
9. Akinobu Murasawa (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 46:40
10. Yuki Oshikawa (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 46:40

High School Boys' 10 km
1. Shoma Murakami (Kaishin H.S.) - 30:17
2. Yuma Yoshitake (Tosu H.S.) - 30:19
3. Takumi Saito (Miyazaki Nihon Prep H.S.) - 30:19

Women's 5 km
1. Mao Ichiyama (Izumi Chuo H.S.) - 16:26
2. Yuki Nakamura (Team Miyazaki Ginko) - 16:26
3. Kaede Shinchi (Team Miyazaki Ginko) - 16:52

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

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...

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 ...

Nomura and Odagiri Go 3-4 at Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km

2010 Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km Nijmegen, Netherlands, 11/21/10 Women click here for complete women's results 1. Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia) - 47:53 2. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 48:07 3. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.) - 49:43 4. Aki Odagiri (Meijo Univ.) - 51:37 5. Benita Willis (Australia) - 51:51 Men click here for complete men's results 1. Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) - 41:13 - WR 2. Abera Kuma (Ethiopia) - 42:01 3. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopia) - 42:01 4. Abraham Kiplimo (Uganda) - 43:03 5. Berhanu Delale (Ethiopia) - 43:08 ----- 14. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 45:31

japan running news

Search This Blog