Ashi and Ito Win, Hsieh Breaks Taiwanese National Record at Osaka Half

Held alongside the Osaka International Women's Marathon, the Osaka Half Marathon has continued to grow at the elite level into one of the post-ekiden season's top-tier Japanese half marathons. On the women's side, Maki Ashi (Kyudenko) was just off her best as she won in 1:11:26, opening a lead of over 20 seconds in the first 5 km and going the rest of the way alone. Ayaka Yokose (Yamada Denki) was the only other woman to crack 1:12, 2nd in 1:11:58. Taiwanese national record holder Chien-ho Hsieh spent most of the race in 3rd, but despite getting caught by Madoka Nakano (Noritz) with just over 5 km to go Hsieh pushed on to take almost three minutes off her own national record, landing 4th in 1:12:19.

The men's race saw a deep pack go through halfway on sub-1:02 pace, things slowing slightly before 15 km but no real carnage happening until the final stages. With seven still in contention with just over a kilometer to go it came down to a sprint finish on the track, the group boiling down rapidly over the last lap to a duel between Kazuma Ito (Sumitomo Denki) and Kentaro Nakamoto (Yasukawa Denki). Ito got the win in 1:02:10, lopping 55 seconds off the Osaka course record set just last year and 24 seconds off his own best.

The 35-year-old Nakamoto, Japan's best championship marathoner with three top ten finishes at the World Championships and one at the Olympics, was right behind him in 1:02:12, taking 17 seconds off his PB set way back in 2009. Due for a duel with longtime rival Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) at April's Boston Marathon, Nakamoto was also 6 seconds under Kawauchi's best for the half marathon. In 6th, Tsuyoshi Bando (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) ran an excellent 1:02:25, a rare sub-1:03 clocking by a non-Hakone Ekiden university from outside the Kanto Region. The top ten all broke the old course record of 1:03:05, a big jump in depth and quality that lands Osaka just behind next weekend's Marugame Half on Japan's list of key winter races.

Osaka Half Marathon

Osaka, 1/28/18
click here for women's results
click here for men's results

Women
1. Maki Ashi (Kyudenko) - 1:11:26
2. Ayaka Yokose (Yamada Denki) - 1:11:58
3. Madoka Nakano (Noritz) - 1:12:12
4. Chien-Ho Hsieh (Taiwan) - 1:12:19 - NR
5. Nanayo Okamoto (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 1:12:31
6. Ayano Tanaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 1:13:20
7. Rui Nishida (Sysmex) - 1:13:34
8. Asuka Yamamoto (Osaka Geijutsu Univ.) - 1:13:37
9. Mami Onuki (Sysmex) - 1:14:03
10. Yuki Kanehira (Sysmex) - 1:14:19

Men
1. Kazuma Ito (Sumitomo Denko) - 1:02:10 - CR
2. Kentaro Nakamoto (Yasukawa Denki) - 1:02:12
3. Ryusei Takahashi (Aichi Seiko) - 1:02:14
4. Koki Tanaka (Kanebo) - 1:02:15
5. Masato Terauchi (Aichi Seiko) - 1:02:23
6. Tsuyoshi Bando (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:25
7. Takuya Fukatsu (Asahi Kasei) - 1:02:29
8. Kazuki Muramoto (Sumitomo Denko) - 1:02:35
9. Masamichi Yasuda (Aichi Seiko) - 1:02:39
10. Yuichiro Nishikawa (Tokai Univ.) - 1:02:42

© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Entry Roster Sizes Increased from 14 to 16

Hakone Ekiden organizers KGRR have announced details for the qualifying half marathon for next year's 103rd Hakone Ekiden. The Yosenkai qualifying race will be held Oct. 17 in Tachikawa, Tokyo. The combined times of the 10 fastest finishers from each participating team will be used for team scoring, with the 10 fastest teams going on the the main event next January and top-placing individuals from teams that do not qualify being names to the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team. One change from previous years is that the number of runners each school can enter has been increased from 14 to 16. Teams will still only be allowed to have from 10 to 12 athletes on the starting line, but the move gives coaches greater flexibility in making the final decision on their starting rosters. No changes have been made to the qualifying times of 34:00 for 10000 m or 1:13:00 for the half marathon, and the new earlier starting time of 8:30 a.m. introduced last year in an effort to mitigate ...

Nomura and Odagiri Go 3-4 at Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km

2010 Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km Nijmegen, Netherlands, 11/21/10 Women click here for complete women's results 1. Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia) - 47:53 2. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 48:07 3. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.) - 49:43 4. Aki Odagiri (Meijo Univ.) - 51:37 5. Benita Willis (Australia) - 51:51 Men click here for complete men's results 1. Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) - 41:13 - WR 2. Abera Kuma (Ethiopia) - 42:01 3. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopia) - 42:01 4. Abraham Kiplimo (Uganda) - 43:03 5. Berhanu Delale (Ethiopia) - 43:08 ----- 14. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 45:31

japan running news

Search This Blog