Wanjiru Runs World-Leading Time to Break Oda Memorial 5000 m Meet Record

by Brett Larner

Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru (Team Starts) bettered her own world leading marks to break the Oda Memorial Meet women's 5000 m meet record Saturday in Hiroshima. With an early lead from Ethiopian Shuru Bulo (Team Toto), Wanjiru took over in the second half of the race to win in 15:11.48, two seconds under both the old meet record and her previous world leading mark from the Kanaguri Memorial Meet earlier this month. Bulo also cleared the old meet record, 2nd in 15:12.13. Tomoka Kimura (Team Universal Entertainment) was 3rd in 15:27.68, coming up short of the London World Championships qualifying standard. Already the fifth-fastest Japanese high school ever, Shuri Ogasawara (Yamanashi Gakuin Prep H.S.) confirmed that position was a 15:31.46 to beat top university placer Natsuki Sekiya (Daito Bunka Univ.) by almost 10 seconds. Sekiya led the qualifiers for the Japanese team for August's Taipei World University Games.

In the men's 5000 m, Rio Olympics 10000 m silver medalist Paul Tanui (Team Kyudenko) led almost the entire race, holding off a challenge from John Maina (Team Fujitsu) around 4000 m to win in 13:30.79. Continuing his comeback from a long injury, all-time Japanese #2 over both 5000 m and 10000 m Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Team Asahi Kasei) was 2nd in 13:32.16, outkicking both Maina and fellow Sera H.S. alumnus Charles Ndirangu (Team JFE Steel). Shota Onizuka (Tokai Univ.) led the World University Games qualifiers in 13:52.44 for 7th.

U-18 5000 m national record holder Mikuni Yada (Luther Gakuin H.S.) outran Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu (Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) for the win in the junior women's 3000 m 9:19.44 to 9:20.45. Kenyan David Gure (Sera H.S.) won the 5000 m B-heat in 13:48.43 just ahead of Taisei Hashizume (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.).

Ahead of next weekend's Golden Games in Nobeoka, corporate men also lined up for 5000 m at the Nobeoka Spring Time Trials Meet in Miyazaki. Like his teammate Yoroizaka, sub-61 half marathoner Keijiro Mogi (Team Asahi Kasei) continued a long comeback from injury, winning in 13:52.80. London World Championships men's marathon team members Hiroto Inoue (Team MHPS) and Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) returned to competition in their first races since making the London team. Inoue, who ran a 2:08:22 at February's Tokyo Marathon, was 2nd in 13:52.85, while Nakamoto, who won February's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon in 2:09:32, was 15th in 14:08.00, less than 4 seconds off his PB.

51st Oda Memorial Meet
Edion Stadium, Hiroshima, 4/29/17
click here for complete results

Women's Grand Prix 5000 m
1. Rosemary Wanjiru (Starts) - 15:11.48 - MR, WL
2. Shuru Bulo (Toto) - 15:12.13 (MR)
3. Tomoka Kimura (Univ. Ent.) - 15:27.68
4. Grace Kimanzi (Starts) - 15:30.92
5. Shuri Ogasawara (Yamanashi Gakuin Prep H.S.) - 15:31.46
6. Mariam Waithera (Kyudenko) - 15:33.16
7. Ryo Koido (Hitachi) - 15:33.61
8. Azusa Sumi (Univ. Ent.) - 15:40.26
9. Natsuki Sekiya (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 15:40.42
10. Moeno Nakamura (Univ. Ent.) - 15:46.12

Junior Women's 3000 m
1. Mikuni Yada (Luther Gakuin H.S.) - 9:19.44
2. Tomomi Musembi Takamatsu (Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 9:20.45
3. Natsu Nishinaga (Saikyo H.S.) - 9:23.49
4. Haruka Takada (Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 9:24.47
5. Miyaka Sugata (Tokai Prep Fukuoka H.S.) - 9:26.57

Men's Grand Prix 5000 m
1. Paul Tanui (Kyudenko) - 13:30.79
2. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 13:32.16
3. Hiroki Matsueda (Fujitsu) - 13:33.62
4. Charles Ndirangu (JFE Steel) - 13:34.80
5. John Maina (Fujitsu) - 13:36.20
6. Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA) - 13:36.52
7. Shota Onizuka (Tokai Univ.) - 13:52.44
8. Takanori Ichikawa (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 13:53.81
9. Yuji Onoda (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:54.36
10. Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 14:00.35
DNF - Hazuma Hattori (Toenec)

Men's Non-Grand Prix 5000 m
1. David Gure (Sera H.S.) - 13:48.43
2. Taisei Hashizume (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:49.47
3. Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku) - 13:49.96
4. Takuya Fujikawa (Chugoku Denryoku) - 13:58.19
5. Yudai Okamoto (JFE Steel) - 13:58.59

Nobeoka Spring Time Trials
Nobeoka, Miyazaki, 4/29/17

Men's 5000 m
1. Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei) - 13:52.80
2. Hiroto Inoue (MHPS) - 13:52.85
3. Jeremiah Thuku Karemi (Toyota Kyushu) - 13:53.68
4. Hiroshi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 13:53.75
5. Geoffrey Gichia (Daichi Kogyo Univ.) - 13:55.31
-----
15. Kentaro Nakamoto (Yasukawa Denki) - 14:08.00

© 2017 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

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