Kamulu Runs 10000 m World Lead, Ahn Breaks Korean National Record, Tamura Clears 28 Minutes, Niiya Back on Track in Fukagawa

National records fell for the third meet in a row in the four-part Hokuren Distance Challenge series Wednesday in Fukagawa, Hokkaido. Longtime Japan resident Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) had a shockingly good run in the women's 10000 m A-heat, following up her 1:06:56 bronze medal run at the Valencia World Half Marathon Championships by lopping over a minute off her 10000 m best and 9 seconds off the Japanese all-comers record with a 2018 world-leading time of 30:41.85.

Kamulu lapped the entire field, her nearest competitor Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) returning from a 2:23:46 marathon PB in Osaka in January to take 30 seconds off her own best in 32:13.87. Further back, Seul Ki Ahn broke the South Korean national record set 13 years ago in Fukagawa with a new mark of 32:33.61. Ahn's NR followed the 2:25:41 NR set by Do Yeon Kim at the Seoul International Marathon in March, a miniature renaissance in South Korea women's distance running.

The men's 10000 m A-heat was also decently fast, Andrew Lorot (Subaru) leading four men under 28 minutes with a 27:52.39 for the win. The fourth of them, Aoyama Gakuin University grad Kazuki Tamura (Sumitomo Denko), was the first Japanese man to clear 28 minutes in what has been something of a dry year for the distance to date, running a PB of 27:58.35. Popular former Komazawa University captain Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Konica Minolta) had his best result after years of injury setbacks, taking 6th in 28:17.63 as the next Japanese man behind Tamura.

Japan-based Kenyan Grace Kimanzi (Starts) easily won the women's 5000 m A-heat in 15:20.95, but the bigger story in that race was 2nd-placer Hitomi Niiya (Nike Tokyo TC). After memorably heartbreaking races on the track at the London Olympics and Moscow World Championships Niiya abruptly retired. This spring she quietly made a comeback after almost 5 years with a low-key track time trial to get a qualifying mark for Hokuren. At Fukagawa, just her second race since 2013, she ran 15:35.19, a long way from her best but what has to be a big confidence booster as she tries to suss out how realistic a comeback would be by 2020.

Dominic Langat (Konica Minolta) won a relatively uneventful men's 5000 A-heat in 13:29.53 by 0.19 over Kiprono Sitonik (Kenya). The more interesting race was the men's 3000 m, a tuneup for fast times in the 5000 m Saturday at the series' final meet. Bernard Koech (Kyudenko) won the 3000 m in 7:54.39, with Hideyuki Tanaka (Toyota) leading four Japanese men under 8 minutes in 7:55.45.

Hokuren Distance Challenge Fukagawa Meet

Fukagawa, Hokkaido, 7/11/18
complete results

Men's 10000 m A-Heat
1. Andrew Lorot (Subaru) - 27:52.39
2. Ledama Kisaisa (Obirin Univ.) - 27:52.74
3. Nicholas Kosimbei (Toyota) - 27:56.81
4. Kazuki Tamura (Sumitomo Denko) - 27:58.35
5. Simon Kariuki (Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 28:08.01
6. Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Konica Minolta) - 28:17.63
7. Charles Ndungu (Komori Corp.) - 28:18.22
8. Hiroyuki Yamamoto (Konica Minolta) - 28:18.39
9. Takumi Komatsu (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 28:24.39
10. Shuhei Yamamoto (Toyota) - 28:27.10

Women's 10000 m A-Heat
1. Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) - 30:41.85 - WL
2. Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) - 32:13.87
3. Ayumi Hagiwara (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:17.54
4. Natsuki Omori (Daihatsu) - 32:24.27
5. Misaki Hayashida (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:29.11
6. Seul Ki Ahn (South Korea) - 32:33.61 - NR
7. Mizuki Tanimoto (Tenmaya) - 32:33.76
8. Yuki Munehisa (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 32:34.37
9. Ayano Ikemitsu (Kagoshima Ginko) - 32:51.09
10. Hiroko Miyauchi (Hokuren) - 32:51.71

Men's 5000 m A-Heat
1. Dominic Langat (Konica Minolta) - 13:29.53
2. Kiprono Sitonik (Kenya) - 13:29.72
3. Wesley Ledama (Subaru) - 13:34.64
4. Daiji Kawai (Toenec) - 13:45.91
5. Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 13:50.92
6. Makoto Mitsunobu (Kyudenko) - 13:52.62
7. Masaki Toda (Nissin) - 13:53.31
8. Junnosuke Matsuo (Tokai Univ.) - 13:54.65
9. Noritoshi Hara (Honda) - 13:57.79
10. Yudai Okamoto (JFE Steel) - 13:59.54

Women's 5000 m A-Heat
1. Grace Kimanzi (Starts) - 15:20.95
2. Hitomi Niiya (Nike Tokyo TC) - 15:35.19
3. Akane Yabushita (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 15:58.10
4. Tomoka Kimura (Universal Entertainment) - 15:59.44
5. Eri Utsunomiya (Japan Post) - 16:00.70

Men's 3000 m A-Heat
1. Bernard Koech (Kyudenko) - 7:54.39
2. Robert Kipchirchir Mwei (Asahi Kasei) - 7:55.40
3. Hideyuki Tanaka (Toyota) - 7:55.45
4. Nanami Arai (Honda) - 7:56.35
5. Daichi Takeuchi (Toenec) - 7:57.42
6. Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) - 7:59.30

© 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...

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