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Tanui and Suzuki Win Corporate 10000 m Titles

by Brett Larner
click here for Day Two results and report

The last major track meet of the year on the Japanese calendar, the National Corporate Track and Field Championships kicked off in near-secrecy on Sept. 25 at Gifu's Nagaragawa Field with the men's and women's 10000 m races.  Organizers hit back at the increasing number of fans turning up at their meets and sharing pictures and videos on social media with a ban on use of all cameras including phones unless owners registered with them in advance and paid a fee.  Most fans gave the meet a miss as a result, with relatively empty stands and lack of online chatter seeming to indicate success in organizers' attempts to prevent their work from becoming popular among the general public.

Beijing World Championships 10000 m bronze medalist Paul Tanui (Team Kyudenko) outran a solid field of Japan-resident Africans to win the men's A-heat in 27:37.13 six seconds ahead of runner-up James Mwangi (Team NTN).  Bernard Kimanyi (Team Yakult) rounded out the podium in 27:54.30.  Former 1500 m and 5000 m national champion Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA RC) was the top Japanese man at 7th in 28:12.95, his best time this year.

In just the third 10000 m of her career a few weeks after a frontrunning 5000 m PB in the Beijing World Championships final, 2013 World University Games 10000 m gold medalist Ayuko Suzuki (Team Japan Post Group) took more than a minute off her best to win the A-heat in 31:48.18, over fifteen seconds ahead of 2014 World Half Marathon Championships bronze medalist Sally Chepyego (Team Kyudenko) and easily clearing the Rio de Janeiro Olympics standard.  Shiho Takechi (Team Yamada Denki) was far back in 3rd, running 32:26.38.

The National Corporate Track and Field Championships continue throughout the weekend.

63rd National Corporate Track and Field Championships Day One
Nagaragawa Field, Gifu, 9/25/15
click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m Heat 3
1. Paul Tanui (Kyudenko) - 27:37.13
2. James Mwangi (NTN) - 27:43.25
3. Bernard Kimanyi (Yakult) - 27:54.30
4. Melaku Abera (Kurosaki Harima) - 27:55.19
5. Charles Ndungu (Komori Corp.) - 28:1014
6. Patrick Muwaka (Aisan Kogyo) - 28:11.39
7. Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA) - 28:12.95
8. Joseph Kamathi (Toyota) - 28:20.85
9. Johana Maina (Fujitsu) - 28:22.61
10. Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei) - 28:26.72

Women's 10000 m Heat 2
1. Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post Group) - 31:48.18
2. Sally Chepyego (Kyudenko) - 32:03.96
3. Shiho Takechi (Yamada Denki) - 32:26.38
4. Hanae Tanaka (Daiichi Seimei) - 32:28.29
5. Reia Iwade (Noritz) - 32:28.76
6. Michi Numata (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:28.91
7. Rina Yamazaki (Panasonic) - 32:34.25
8. Misaki Kato (Kyudenko) - 32:35.04
9. Sayaka Kuwahara (Sekisui Kagaku) - 32:37.09
10. Yukari Ishizawa (Edion) - 32:57.39

Men's 10000 m Heat 2
1. Mitsunori Asaoka (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 28:51.59
2. Takuya Noguchi (Konica Minolta) - 28:53.05
3. Chiharu Nakagawa (Toenec) - 28:53.30
4. Shota Kai (Yachiyo Kogyo) - 28:54.08
5. Shinji Yoshimoto (Kurosaki Harima) - 28:54.88

Women's 10000 m Heat 1
1. Rika Toguchi (Route Inn Hotels) - 33:02.37
2. Ai Utsunomiya (Miyazaki Ginko) - 33:13.31
3. Hiroko Miyauchi (Hokuren) - 33:25.25
4. Manami Kamitanida (Hitachi) - 33:31.41
5. Yurie Doi (Starts) - 33:31.42

Men's 10000 m Heat 1
1. Daiki Taguchi (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 28:51.82
2. Hayato Sonoda (Kurosaki Harima) - 29:00.11
3. Masatoshi Kikuchi (Fujitsu) - 29:00.72

(c) 2015 Brett Larner
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