World Leads at Hyogo Relay Carnival and Nittai Time Trials

World Leads at Hyogo Relay Carnival and Nittai Time Trials - Day One Report

by Brett Larner

Two big two-day meets got started Saturday, turning out two world-leading times. At the Hyogo Relay Carnival the Asics Challenge events serve as the B-heats ahead of Sunday's Olympic selection Grand Prix races, but there was nothing second-tier in the men's 10000 m as James Mwangi (Team NTN) ran a world-leading 27:23.04 to lead six men, all Kenya, under 28 minutes. Mwangi's time took more than 9 seconds off the meet record set in way back in 2005 by the late great Samuel Wanjiru. Fabiano Sulle (Tanzania) was the top non-Kenyan at 7th in 28:01.76.

Second-year Dominic Nyairo (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) led the collegiate results in 3rd in 27:56.47. Tokai University dominated Heat Two of the 10000 m with three runners, two of them first-years, going sub-29 led by first-year Hayato Seki with the win in 28:48.63. Toyo University first-year Sota Watanabe also cleared 29, just, running 28:59.77 for 10th. Many more university men broke 29 at the Nittai Time Trials meet, led by Stanley Siteki (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) in 28:39.29, pointing to an exciting hear ahead on the university ekiden circuit.

The other world-leading run came at Nittai as Kenyan Helen Ekarare (Sendai Ikuei H.S.) ran 8:56.92 to win the women's 3000 m A-heat, followed closely by rival Monica Margaret (Aomori Yamada H.S.) in 8:58.93. Natsumi Yoshida (Route Inn Hotels) topped the Nittai women's 5000 m A-heat in 15:51.55, but back in Hyogo Hisami Ishii (Yamada Denki) turned in a bigger run, delivering the fastest Japanese women's 5000 m so far this year with a 15:39.92 in the Asics Challenge Women's 5000 m, the only runner there to break 16. Both Hyogo and Nittai continue tomorrow.

64th Hyogo Relay Carnival - Day One Highlights
Universiade Memorial Stadium, Kobe, Hyogo, 4/23/16
click here for complete results

Asics Challenge Men's 10000 m Heat One
1. James Mwangi (Kenya/NTN) - 27:23.04 - WL, MR
2. Alexander Mutiso (Kenya/ND Software) - 27:47.20
3. Dominic Nyairo (Kenya/Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 27:56.47
4. Patrick Muendo Muwaka (Kenya/Aisan Kogyo) - 27:56.97
5. Charles Ndungu (Kenya/Komori Corp.) - 27:57.36
6. Macharia Ndirangu (Kenya/Aichi Seiko) - 27:57.57
7. Fabiano Sulle (Tanzania) - 28:01.53
8. Silas Kingori (Kenya/SGH Group) - 28:01.76
9. Hiram Ngatia (Kenya/Toyota) - 28:05.56
10. Alex Mwangi (Kenya/YKK) - 28:26.11

Asics Challenge Men's 10000 m Heat 2
1. Hayato Seki (Tokai Univ.) - 28:48.63
2. Hiroyuki Ishikawa (Aisan Kogyo) - 28:49.11
3. Junji Katakawa (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 28:52.21
4. Kento Otsu (Toyota Kyushu) - 28:53.66
5. Ryutaro Ichitani (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 28:55.14
6. Kazuto Kawabata (Tokai Univ.) - 28:55.26
7. Shota Onizuka (Tokai Univ.) - 28:55.26
8. Kazuki Muramoto (Sumitomo Denko) - 28:55.45
9. Daisuke Koyama (Chudenko) - 28:56.71
10. Sota Watanabe (Toyo Univ.) - 28:59.77

Asics Challenge Women's 5000 m
1. Hisami Ishii (Yamada Denki) - 15:39.92
2. Sakie Arai (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 16:00.59
3. Kasumi Nishihara (Yamada Denki) - 16:00.66
4. Nami Hashimoto (Denso) - 16:02.63
5. Ayano Ikemitsu (Kagoshima Ginko) - 16:04.29

249th Nittai University Time Trials - Day One Highlights
Nittai University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 4/23/16
click here for complete results

Women's 3000 m Heat 5
1. Helen Ekarare (Kenya/Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 8:56.92 - WL
2. Monica Margaret (Kenya/Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 8:58.93
3. Tomoka Kimura (Universal Entertainment) - 9:10.12
4. Wakana Kabasawa (Tokiwa H.S.) - 9:11.32
5. Yumika Nagahama (Miura Gakuen H.S.) - 9:22.23

Women's 5000 m Heat 4
1. Natsumi Yoshida (Route Inn Hotels) - 15:51.55
2. Yuma Adachi (Kyocera) - 15:51.56
3. Satomi Ueta (Kyocera) - 15:52.08
4. Yuri Nozoe (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 15:59.69
5. Harumi Okamoto (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 16:01.57

Men's 10000 m Heat 8
1. John Maina (Kenya/Fujitsu) - 27:43.70
2. Daniel Muiva Kitonyi (Kenya/Kanebo) - 28:04.22
3. Johana Maina (Kenya/Fujitsu) - 28:18.45
4. Yuta Shitara (Honda) - 28:19.43
5. Stanley Siteki (Kenya/Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) - 28:39.29
6. Titus Mogusu (Kenya/Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) - 28:39.68
7. Naoki Kudo (Komazawa Univ.) - 28:40.31
8. Simon Kariuki (Kenya/Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 28:40.86
9. Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) - 28:44.44
10. Yuki Matsumura (Honda) - 28:44.83

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview and Streaming (updated)

Japan's winter marathon season of 6 major races in 7-straight weekends wraps up Sunday with the world's largest women-only marathon, the Nagoya Women's Marathon . The weather is looking pretty good, 6˚ at the start rising to 10˚ by the finish and sunny skies, but a moderate 7 m/s NW wind means a headwind finish that might impact the potential for some fast times. Official streaming kicks off at 9:00 a.m. local time. Live results will be here . Sheila Chepkirui won last year in 2:20:40, breaking away from Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba at 30 km and hanging on for the win. Sato negative split a 2:20:59 PB for 2nd, Chumba fading to 3rd in 2:21:36. All 3 are back this time, but they have pretty serious competition from Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Selly Chepyego Kaptich , 2:20:03 in Barcelona 2023. And of course, Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda . Maeda ran 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024 to make the Paris Oly...

16 Women and 26 Men on the Current Olympic Trials Qualifier List

Last weekend's Nagoya Women's Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon the weekend before brought the main part of the first year of qualification for the Marathon Grand Championship Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials to be held in Nagoya in October, 2027, to an end. There are still a few races like the Nagano Marathon and overseas World Athletics platinum label races this season where people might qualify, but for the most part we're not likely to see many new additions until August's Hokkaido Marathon, where the qualifying period opened last year. As of right now 16 women and 26 men have qualified, although the first woman to make the cut, Ai Hosoda , announced that she was retiring after Tokyo earlier this month. Out of the 16 women to have qualified so far, Mikuni Yada is the fastest with her 2:19:57 debut at Osaka Women's in January. Including Hosoda that makes 2 qualifiers for the Edion corporate team, but Daihatsu has the biggest share of the field so ...

japan running news

Search This Blog