Skip to main content

Mibu Town Government Hires Kenyan Runner Ngandu As Civic Running Coach



Video: Benjamin Ngandu passing 12 people to win the 2013 Hakone Ekiden Second Stage for Nihon University.

 Placing a high importance on promoting a healthy lifestyle among its citizens through sports, the town government of Mibu, Tochigi has hired a Kenyan amateur runner who was once a star on the university ekiden and corporate marathon circuits to serve as running coach for local residents. The new civic employee is Benjamin Ngandu, 29.

On Aug. 3 at Mibu Town Hall Ngandu received an official letter of appointment from mayor Kazuya Kosuge. Competing against other top Kanto Region universities, Ngandu was a stage winner at the prestigious Hakone Ekiden, and as a corporate league runner he had success as a marathoner including a win at the 2016 Osaka Marathon. Three years ago he retired, taking a job at a company in Aichi and continuing to run as an amateur.

Ngandu will coach local residents in preparation for January's municipal ekiden, focusing on work with junior high school students and promotion of civic health through exercise. Mayor Kosuge commented, "I'm looking forward to seeing our next generation of athletes take shape through the eyes of a pro. I want our children to experience the importance of learning running form." Ngandu said, "As a coach I want to help them develop both stamina and speed. I hope that together the people of Mibu and I can work together to better ourselves. Thank you for this chance."

Translator's note: In the summer of 2015 Ngandu tested positive for norandrosterone at a race in Europe and was provisionally suspended. Almost two years later he was given a backdated 20-month sentence by Kenyan authorities. During that period he continued to compete in Japan, including the 2016 and 2017 Tokyo Marathons and his win at the 2016 Osaka Marathon, results which were later annuled. The IAAF appealed to the CAS and won its case, getting a four-year suspension for Ngandu that began with the date of the CAS ruling instead of being backdated to his initial suspension start date. That suspension is set to expire in November, 2021. Mayor Kosuge and Ngandu are both graduates of Nihon University.

source articles:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/utsunomiya/20200803/1090007431.html
https://www.lawinsport.com/topics/item/iaaf-successful-in-cas-appeal-against-the-anti-doping-agency-of-kenya-athletics-kenya-benjamin-ngandu-ndegwa
https://apnews.com/1ae6b31d90e448de82b22c1139e2f858
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thanks for the backstory aspect. Shame NHK readers won't see it.
August 4, 2020 at 1:47 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Arao Becomes 1st Man in 40 Years to Score Back-to-Back Ome Road Race Wins

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...
3 comments
Read more

Osaka Marathon Preview

The Osaka Marathon is Sunday, one of Japan's biggest mass-participation races and the next stop on the calendar for its elite marathoners hoping to qualify for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials in the fall of 2027. Last year it snowed mid-race, but this year is looking warmer than ideal given the season, with sunny skies, almost no wind, and temps forecast to be 11˚ at the start and rising to 19˚ by the time the winners are finishing. NHK is broadcasting Osaka with a heavy emphasis on the men's race, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it from overseas. There's also official streaming on Youtube starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, although it doesn't look like it's the same as what NHK will be showing. Given Osaka's history at the elite level as the continuation of the men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the women's field is small relative to the men's, just enough to tick World Athletics' label requirements and with almost no do...
1 comment
Read more

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

Last year's top 3 Sheila Chepkirui , Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba are back for this year's Nagoya Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, but things are being set up more for it to be a race between Chepkirui, 2:17:49 in Berlin 2023, Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda , 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024. Aynalem has the freshest sub-2:20 of the 3, with neither Chepkirui nor Maeda having done it in 2 years. Maeda's only recent result is a 1:10:07 from Houston last month, but when she ran her NR she didn't have any kind of tuneup race to indicate her fitness so it's probably best not to read too much into that. If it goes out as a 2:18 race those are the only 3 who can probably hang with it. If it turns out to be more of a 2:20 race like when Chepkirui won in 2:20:40 last year then there's a group of 7 at the 2:20-2:22 level who will be in the picture, including Chumba, Selly Chep...
Post a Comment
Read more