Skip to main content

Outdoor Track Season Kicks Off at Kanaguri Memorial

by Brett Larner

With the start of the fiscal and academic year on April 1 Japan's outdoor track season wasted no time getting started at Saturday's Kanaguri Memorial Meet in Kumamoto.  With five heats of senior men's 5000 m on the menu 1500 m junior world record holder Ronald Kwemoi (Team Komori Corp.) led the way, winning the A-heat in 13:24.42.  Newcomer Abayneh Degu (Team Yasukawa Denki) wasn't far off that in the B-heat, running a 30-second PB of 13:25.55 for the win.

Hiroki Matsueda (Team Fujitsu) led the Japanese results, clearing 13:30 for the first time with a 13:28.61 for 3rd in the Kwemoi-led A-heat.  Just 34 days after his 1:01:55-first-half 2:09:27 marathon debut, Yuta Shitara (Team Honda) was only 0.12 seconds off his PB in 13:34.80 for 8th in the same heat. In the B-heat, Matsueda's teammate Ken Yokote (Team Fujitsu) ran a 10-second PB of 13:31.35 for top Japanese honors at 5th overall.  Behind him, Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.), a Rio Olympian in the 3000 m steeplechase, took 22 seconds off his best, running 13:33.14 for 7th.  The three slower heats all featured Japanese winners, all three breaking 14:00.

Kenyans delivered solid times to win both of the main women's races.  In the 5000 m A-heat, Rosemary Wanjiru (Team Starts) ran a 2-second PB of 15:13.39 to win by almost 25 seconds over Mariam Waithera (Team Kyudenko).  Ann Karindi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) took the 1500 m A-heat in 4:12.39 by 7 seconds over Tomoka Kimura (Team Universal Entertainment.  Yumika Katayama (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) won the high school girls' 3000 m A-heat in 9:20.42.

2017 Kanaguri Memorial Meet
Kumamoto Sports Park Field, Kumamoto, 4/1/17
click here for complete results

Men's 5000 m Heat 5
1. Ronald Kwemoi (Kenya/Komori Corp.) - 13:24.42
2. Alexander Mutiso (Kenya/ND Software) - 13:28.59
3. Hiroki Matsueda (Fujitsu) - 13:28.61 - PB
4. John Maina (Kenya/Fujitsu) - 13:30.99
5. Rodgers Chumo Kwemoi (Kenya/Aisan Kogyo) - 13:32.01
6. Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei) - 13:32.56
7. Cyrus Kingori (Kenya/SGH Group) - 13:32.64 - PB
8. Yuta Shitara (Honda) - 13:34.80
9. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 13:38.72
10. Mamiyo Nigusse (Ethiopia/Yasukawa Denki) - 13:43.98

Men's 5000 m Heat 4
1. Abayneh Degu (Ethiopia/Yasukawa Denki) - 13:25.55 - PB
2. Daniel Kipkemoi (Kenya/Nishitetsu) - 13:26.38 - PB
3. Joel Mwaura (Kenya/Kurosaki Harima) - 13:27.52 - PB
4. Edward Waweru (Kenya/NTN) - 13:31.30
5. Ken Yokote (Fujitsu) - 13:31.35 - PB
6. John Kariuki (Kenya/Sekino Kosan) - 13:32.87 - PB
7. Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.) - 13:33.14 - PB
8. Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/JFE Steel) - 13:33.85
9. Patrick Muendo Mwaka (Kenya/Aisan Kogyo) - 13:43.48
10. Samuel Mwangi (Kenya/Konica Minolta) - 13:43.49

Men's 5000 m Heat 3
1. Yuma Higashi (Kyudenko) - 13:54.90
2. Ryunosuke Omori (Toyo Univ.) - 13:59.28
3. Daichi Takeuchi (Chuo Univ.) - 14:01.10

Men's 5000 m Heat 2
1. Noriyasu Ikeda (Press Kogyo) - 13:59.34 - PB
2. Shohei Morikawa (Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 14:01.10
3. Shinji Yoshimoto (Kurosaki Harima) - 14:01.66

Men's 5000 m Heat 1
1. Taisei Hashizume (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:58.00 - PB
2. Yohei Koyama (NTN) - 13:59.37
3. Naoya Takahashi (Yasukawa Denki) - 14:00.29

Men's 1500 m Heat 2
1. Masaki Toda (Nissin Shokuhin) - 3:46.69
2. Ryoji Tatezawa (Tokai Univ.) - 3:47.49
3. Mitsutaka Tomita (Nishitetsu) - 3:47.89

Women's 5000 m Heat 2
1. Rosemary Wanjiru (Kenya/Starts) - 15:13.39 - PB
2. Mariam Waithera (Kenya/Kyudenko) - 15:37.66
3. Yuka Miyazaki (Kyudenko) - 15:50.22
4. Ryo Koido (Hitachi) - 15:52.73
5. Susan Wairimu (Denso) - 15:55.76

High School Girls 3000 m Heat 4
1. Yumika Katayama (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 9:20.42
2. Mai Misaki (Chikushi Joshi Gakuen H.S.) - 9:22.56
3. Misaki Hayashida (Kitakyushu Municipal H.S.) - 9:22.65
4. Matsuri Harada (Shonan H.S.) - 9:26.40
5. Shiori Yoshizono (Kobayashi H.S.) - 9:28.15

Women's 1500 m Heat 2
1. Ann Karindi (Kenya/Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:12.36
2. Tomoka Kimura (Universal Entertainment) - 4:19.53
3. Maya Iino (Daiichi Seimei) - 4:20.55

© 2017 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Keita Sato Joins Swoosh TC

After appearing at a Nike event on Apr. 3, U20 1500 m NR and indoor 3000 m and 5000 m NR holder Keita Sato , 22, updated his Instagram profile to announce that he is joining Nike's Swoosh TC . At the Nike event Sato said that he plans to run the 1500 m at the Apr. 11 Kanaguri Memorial Meet, then will move to the U.S. "To be successful at the global level I need to train and grow alongside world-class athletes," he said. "I have to take every day seriously in order to achieve that dream of being internationally competitive." Swoosh TC was founded last year. Its coach Mike Smith has guided many athletes to international championships, including prior to Swoosh TC's launch, with some earning medals and podium finishes under his leadership. photo © 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved source article: https://www.rikujyokyogi.co.jp/archives/204241/2 translated by Brett Larner
Post a Comment
Read more

Updates on Transfers

April 1 is the start of Japan's new academic and fiscal year, and there's always a wave of transfer announcements to go with it. Some notable ones yesterday: 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo skipped university to go straight to 2023 Queens Ekiden national champion Sekisui Kagaku after her graduation from Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. Multiple NR holder Nozomi Tanaka rejoined the Toyota Jidoshokki women's team after having left it to pursue a solo pro career as a New Balance athlete. Already on the team for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games in the 10000 m, Ririka Hironaka announced a switch from her longtime home at Japan Post to the Uniqlo women's team. Collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda joined the 2026 national champion GMO corporate team after graduating from 2026 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University last week. Hakone Ekdien First Stage CR holder Rui Aoki joins the Sumitomo Denko corporate team after running his final race for 2025 Izumo Ekiden w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Weekend Track Roundup

There were 2 decently competitive meets in the Tokyo area this weekend. Saturday saw the new year's first edition of the Setagaya Time Trials meet. Takuma Akiyoshi took the men's 3000 m A-heat over his MABP Maverick teammate Festus Kiprono Cheruiyot with a 7:58.32 PB. Cheruiyot just held off 3rd-placer Nao Kurihara 7:59.92 to 8:00.02, with MABP runners taking the top 5 spots. The top 7 in the men's 5000 m A-heat all cleared 14 minutes. Still a 6-way race with 400 m to go, Tatsuya Maruyama of Komori Corp. came out on top in 13:48.49, with 5th-placer Kazuki Ishii of Yakult just over a second behind in 13:49.63. Lacking the gear to stay with them, new American marathon sensation Ethan Shuley fell back to 6th in 13:57.12 in his first-ever track 5000 m, holding off 7th-placer Daiki Nomimura of NTT Nishi Nihon who came up from behind to finish in 13:58.30. Sunday was the 59th edition of the Tokyo Big 6 meet between Waseda University , Meiji University , Hosei Univers...
Post a Comment
Read more