Skip to main content

Kajitani Wins National University Men's Half Marathon, Mwaka Takes Tamana

Sunday morning featured two big half marathons in Tokyo and Kyushu, both impacted by an unseasonal heat wave that swept the country over the weekend. At the National University Men's Half Marathon in Tokyo's Showa Kinen Park, Ryuya Kajitani (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) timed a break perfectly to win his first national title in 1:03:20. Hanging back in a secondary pack as rivals Takeshi Nishida (Tokai Univ.) and Shogo Ise (Komazawa Univ.) duked it out up front through most of the race, Kajitani went to the front with 5 km to go. Ise tried to match him but fell behind and ended up 2nd in 1:03:31, Nishida another 5 seconds back in 1:03:36 for 3rd. Four-time Hakone champ Aoyama Gakuin placed three runners in the top ten without running any of its A-list men, a sign that depth was down overall from some of the record-breaking mass finishes in recent years.


Far to the south, Japan-based Kenyan Patrick Muendo Mwaka (Aisan Kogyo) soloed a 1:02:52 win at the Kanaguri Hai Tamana Half Marathon near Kumamoto. Out alone from the early phase, Mwaka's main competition came from Toyo University grad Yuma Hattori (Toyota) who closed late in the race but couldn't catch Mwaka up. Hattori took 2nd in 1:03:06, nearly caught in a sprint finish by Shin Kimura (Honda), a training partner of new marathon NR holder Yuta Shitara. Marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) struggled in the heat and finished 12th in 1:04:49.


National University Men's Half Marathon

Showa Kinen Park, Tachikawa, Tokyo, 3/4/18
click here for complete results

1. Ryuya Kajitani (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:20
2. Shogo Ise (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:31
3. Takeshi Nishida (Tokai Univ.) - 1:03:36
4. Kazuki Noda (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:03:43
5. Kosuke Yamada (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:45
6. Yusuke Baba (Takushoku Univ.) - 1:03:45
7. Ryuichi Hashimoto (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:03:46
8. Atsuto Shimanuki (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:03:53
9. Yohei Komatsu (Tokai Univ.) - 1:04:05
10. Yuya Yoshida (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 1:04:09

Kanaguri Hai Tamana Half Marathon

Tamana, Kumamoto, 3/4/18
click here for complete results

1. Patrick Muendo Mwaka (Kenya/Aisan Kogyo) - 1:02:52
2. Yuma Hattori (Toyota) - 1:03:06
3. Shin Kimura (Honda) - 1:03:07
4. Yuki Oshikawa (Toyota Kyushu) - 1:03:19
5. Kento Otsu (Toyota Kyushu) - 1:03:20
6. Hiroshi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 1:03:21
7. Ryo Saito (Asahi Kasei0 - 1:04:07
8. Hayato Sonoda (Kurosaki Harima) - 1:04:08
9. Daiki Kubota (Yasukawa Denki) - 1:04:39
10. Takayuki Hamaguchi (Kyudenko) - 1:04:42
11. Ryosuke Maki (Subaru) - 1:04:45
12. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 1:04:49

text, photo and video © 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Asian Games Preview - Entries, Timetable and Live Results

Back in Japan for the first time in 32 years and representing 60% of the world's population, with more athletes competing across all sports than at the Olympics, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are already underway. Athletics competition starts tomorrow and runs through Tuesday the 29th. Some of the biggest names on the entry list include: Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (SRI) - men's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships gold and 2026 Diamond League champion Haruka Kitaguchi (JPN) - women's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships and 2024 Paris Olympics gold Birhanu Balew (BRN) - men's 5000 m/10000 m - 2026 Diamond League 5000 m champion Sanghyeok Woo (KOR) - men's high jump - 2025 Tokyo World Championships silver Hayato Katsuki (JPN) - men's marathon race walk - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Abderrahman Samba (QAT) - men's 400 mH - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Jiale Zhang (CHN) - women's hammer throw - 2025 Tokyo W...
Post a Comment
Read more

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

2 Athletes Provisionally Suspended After Positive Drug Tests at Asian Games

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. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/article/20261002-X4FJLT5MMZKFND6WXPOESAKETQ/ translated by Brett Larner
Post a Comment
Read more