Skip to main content

JAAF Announces Marathon Teams for London World Championships

by Brett Larner

In a livestreamed press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 17 the JAAF announced the women's and men's marathon teams for this summer's London World Championships.  With four selection races each for the three spots on the women's and men's teams the JAAF went with the best balance they could have achieved between quality and fairness.

Making the grade on the women's team were Nagoya Women's Marathon 2nd and 3rd-placers Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and Mao Kiyota (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya), all three with PBs under 2:24.  Osaka runner-up Misato Horie (Team Noritz) was named alternate.

On the men's side, the team consists of Fukuoka International Marathon 3rd-placer Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't), Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon winner Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) and Tokyo Marathon 8th-placer Hiroto Inoue (Team MHPS).  All three have broken 2:09.  10th in Tokyo, Hiroyuki Yamamoto (Team Konica Minolta) was chosen as alternate.

Detailed profiles of all eight athletes:

Women

Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC)
Age: 23
PB: 2:21:36 (2nd, 2017 Nagoya Women's Marathon)

Career Highlights:
  • 2nd, 2017 Nagoya Women's Marathon, 2:21:36
  • 4th, 2016 Hokuren Distance Challenge Abashiri 10000 m, 31:58.71
  • 10th, 2016 Cardiff World Half Marathon Championships, 1:10:34
  • 1st, 2016 National Women's Ekiden 1st Stage (6.0 km), 19:19
  • 4th, 2015 Sanyo Ladies Half Marathon, 1:09:51


Risa Shigetomo (Tenmaya)
Age: 29
PB: 2:23:23 (1st, 2012 Osaka International Women's Marathon)
Qualifying Time: 2:24:22 (1st, 2017 Osaka International Women's Marathon)

Career Highlights:
  • 1st, 2017 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 2:24:22
  • 14th, 2015 Beijing World Championships Marathon, 2:32:37
  • 2nd, 2015 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 2:26:39
  • 76th, 2012 London Olympics Marathon, 2:40:06
  • 1st, 2012 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 2:23:23


Mao Kiyota (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC)
Age: 23
PB: 2:23:47 (3rd, 2017 Nagoya Women's Marathon)

Career Highlights:
  • 3rd, 2017 Nagoya Women's Marathon, 2:23:47
  • 5th, 2016 Valencia Half Marathon, 1:11:07
  • 4th, 2016 Nagoya Women's Marathon, 2:24:32
  • 8th, 2015 Valencia Half Marathon, 1:10:31
  • 2nd, 2015 Marugame International Half Marathon, 1:10:59


Alternate: Misato Horie (Noritz)
Age: 30
PB: 2:25:44 (2nd, 2017 Osaka International Women's Marathon)

Career Highlights:
  • 2nd, 2017 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 2:25:44
  • 11th, 2016 Usti nad Labem Half Marathon, 1:14:05
  • 1st, 2016 Gold Coast Airport Marathon, 2:26:40 - CR
  • 2nd, 2016 Osaka International Women's Marathon, 2:28:20
  • 1st, 2014 Shibetsu Half Marathon, 1:14:37


Men

Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't)
Age: 30
PB: 2:08:14 (4th, 2013 Seoul International Marathon)
Qualifying Time: 2:09:11 (3rd, 2016 Fukuoka International Marathon)

Career Highlights:
  • 1st, 2017 Ehime Marathon, 2:09:54 - CR
  • 3rd, 2016 Fukuoka International Marathon, 2:09:11
  • 2nd, 2016 Gold Coast Airport Marathon, 2:09:01
  • 1st, 2016 Okinoshima Ultra 50 km, 2:44:07 - NR
  • 1st, 2016 Zurich Marathon, 2:12:04


Hiroto Inoue (MHPS)
Age: 24
PB: 2:08:22 (8th, 2017 Tokyo Marathon)

Career Highlights:
  • 8th, 2017 Tokyo Marathon, 2:08:22
  • 9th, 2016 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 2:12:56
  • 1st, 2014 Kanto Region University Half Marathon Championships, 1:04:07
  • 36th, 2014 Copenhagen World Half Marathon Championships, 1:02:25
  • 3rd, 2014 Marugame International Half Marathon, 1:01:39


Kentaro Nakamoto (Yasukawa Denki)
Age: 34
PB: 2:08:35 (2nd, 2013 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon)
Qualifying Time: 2:09:32 (1st, 2017 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon)

Career Highlights:
  • 1st, 2017 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, 2:09:32
  • 5th, 2013 Moscow World Championships Marathon, 2:10:50
  • 2nd, 2013 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, 2:08:35
  • 6th, 2012 London Olympics Marathon, 2:11:16
  • 4th, 2012 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, 2:08:53


Alternate: Hiroyuki Yamamoto (Konica Minolta)
Age: 31
PB: 2:09:12 (10th, 2017 Tokyo Marathon)

Career Highlights:
  • 10th, 2017 Tokyo Marathon, 2:09:12
  • 4th, 2016 New York City Marathon, 2:11:49
  • 1st 2016 New Year Ekiden 5th Stage (15.8 km), 46:58
  • 3rd, 2014 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, 2:11:48
  • 28th, 2013 Marugame International Half Marathon, 1:02:43

© 2017 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Kakaroto said…
I like Yuta Shitara, young promise future in marathon!!!!

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...

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