Skip to main content

Shitara Planning Another Marathon Before End of Year

Having improved his PB to 2:09:03 while finishing 6th at the Sept. 24 Berln Marathon, Rio 10000 m Olympian Yuta Shitara (25, Honda) returned to Narita Airport on Sept. 26 from his trip to Europe.

Shortly before Berlin, Shitara set a new national record 1:00:17 at a half marathon in the Czech Republic on Sept. 16. Despite this challenging schedule which was only decided in August, Shitara told reporters, "I didn't feel particularly tired [in Berlin]. There wasn't much lingering damage and I was able to meet the marathon's demands and hang on better in the second half." The difference in his splits between his debut in Tokyo in February and his second marathon in Berlin, a minute slower over the first half in Berlin and a minute and a half faster over the second half, was evidence of his growth since Tokyo.

Shitara is already planning his third marathon and could run it before the end of the year. "I'm the kind of guy who likes to race a lot. I get kind of lazy if there's too much space on my calendar. I want to take my PB even further and take the top Japanese spot," he said. His twin brother Keita Shitara joined the Hitachi Butsuryu corporate team on Sept. 20 and plans to make his marathon debut in Fukuoka in December. "We're on different teams, but my dream is for us to go head-to-head in a hard marathon and make it a Japanese one-two finish," he said, welcoming his brother's decision.

source articles:
https://www.daily.co.jp/general/2017/09/27/0010590814.shtml
http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20170926-OHT1T50270.html
translated and edited by Brett Larner

 photo  © 2017 Horst Milde, all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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
Post a Comment
Read more