Skip to main content

Kiprotich and Barsosio Break Sydney Marathon Course Records, Sasaki and Yamaguchi 3rd and 4th

Despite warm and windy conditions the Blackmores Sydney Marathon saw new course records in both its men's and women's races. Felix Kiprotich (Kenya) led the way in the men's race with the first-ever sub-2:10 clocking on Sydney's challengingly hilly and twisting course, breaking away from a group including Michael Kunyuga (Kenya) and Satoru Sasaki (Asahi Kasei) for the win in 2:09:49.

The top three all broke the course record. Sasaki, a Rio Olympian in the marathon who failed to qualify for today's MGC Race 2020 Olympic trials, could take extra satisfaction from having been 26 seconds faster than MGC winner Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) on a far tougher course. "I was aiming to win," Sasaki told JRN post-race, "but the course was really twisty and it was hard to run. It would have been nice to be a bit faster, but given my current situation and the problems I've had since Lake Biwa last year I think this put me back on my feet and will help me in my next race. Thanks for cheering for me. It was fun."

In the women's race a lead quartet of Africans took it out on track to go five minutes under the course record, almost fast enough to challenge Naoko Takahashi's 2:23:14 Australian all-comers record from the 2000 Sydney Marathon. The pace burned the group down, leaving only Kenyan Stellah Barsosio out front with a male pacer. Barsosio slowed slightly on the infinite twists and turns of the course's last 10 km but was still strong enough to take almost four minute off the course record in 2:24:33. Barsosio's time was so good that runner-up Josephine Chepkoech (Kenya) was almost two minutes under the course record despite being over two minutes behind. Ethiopian-born 3rd-placer Tejitu Chalshissa (Bahrain) just missed the record with a 2:28:22.

Three weeks after likewise just missing the course record at the New Caledonia Marathon, amateur runner Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) was in Sydney in pursuit of her first sub-2:30 clocking with support from JRN. Moving up from 7th to 5th and spending most of the race there on her own, Yamaguchi went through halfway in 1:13:52. Over the second half she moved up to 4th, but the endless sharp turns in the last 10 km wore her down and she faded to a 2:33:09. That was still a PB by over 30 seconds, but it left Yamaguchi disappointed. "I made it to the end safely" she said post-race. "It was a PB but not the kind of time I was shooting for. I have to try again."

Blackmores Sydney Marathon

Sydney, Australia, 9/15/19
complete results

Men
1. Felix Kiprotich (Kenya) - 2:09:49 - CR
2. Michael Kunyuga (Kenya) - 2:10:05 (CR)
3. Satoru Sasaki (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 2:11:02 (CR)
4. Elijah Kemboi (Kenya) - 2:12:55
5. Silas Too (Kenya) - 2:13:49

Women
1. Stellah Barsosio (Kenya) - 2:24:33 - CR
2. Josephine Chepkoech (Kenya) - 2:26:43 (CR)
3. Tejitu Chalchissa (Bahrain) - 2:28:22
4. Haruka Yamaguchi (Japan/AC Kita) - 2:33:09 - PB
5. Alice Mason (New Zealand) - 2:38:35

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

  Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...
1 comment
Read more

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...
Post a Comment
Read more