Karoki Under 27:10 Again - Weekend Track Roundup

A typhoon passing to the south brought rain and wind to most of the country throughout the weekend, but with what's left of ekiden season getting off the ground next weekend there were a million high-level meets across the country.

None higher-level than Friday's Chubu Corporate Track and Field Championships, where Bedan Karoki (Toyota) turned in his second sub-27:10 clocking in the last three weeks, winning the men's 10000 m A-heat in 27:08.91. 19-year-old Philemon Kiplagat (Aisan Kogyo) was 2nd in 27:46.67, the first sub-28 by a junior this year. Five other men were under 28 in the same heat, including first-timers Yusuke Nishiyama (Toyota) and Daiji Kawai (Toenec). A total of 44 men were under 29 minutes between all three heats.

Victor Korir Kipkirui (GMO) took the top spot in the men's 10000 m A-heat at Saturday's Track Games in Tokorozawa, a quad meet between Waseda University, Meiji University, Toyo University and Soka University with some GMO corporate interlopers. Kipkirui ran 28:09.07 to beat teammate Yuya Yoshida by exactly 10 seconds, with Waseda's Yuhi Nakaya 3rd in 28:19.27. Hideto Konde (Meiji Univ.) led the men's 5000 m A-heat in a PB 13:46.56.

Out in the wildlands of Chiba Sunday, Keita Shitara (Hitachi Butsuryu), twin brother of iconoclastic former half marathon and marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara had a solid win in the Juntendo University Time Trials men's 10000 m, taking the top spot by over 10 seconds in 28:28.04.

Sunday's Nagasaki Nighter Time Trials meet saw some fast times in the women's 10000 m, with Rika Kaseda (Meijo Univ.) running 32:04.99 for the win over Ethiopian Husan Zeyituna (Denso) and teammate Mikuni Yada (Denso), who clocked 32:07.79 and 32:09.12. Sad to say, every runner in the race except last-place finisher Yuri Nozoe (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was wearing non-regulation shoes. The call of the shoes was strong in the women's 5000 m A-heat too, with Kenyans Cynthia Baire (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) and Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) in an extra-cushioned photo finish, 15:11.29 to 15:11.30 for Bairu. 3rd placer Yuna Wada (Meijo Univ.) was the top runner in legal shoes at 15:40.93. Baire's teammate Miyu Kubo was legit in the 3000 m with a 9:06.22 for the win over Kenyan Marta Mokaya (Canon), 2nd in 9:07.44, and teammate Runa Nakasu, 3rd in 9:08.61 and all in clean shoes.

Nagasaki men's 10000 m A-heat winner Benard Koech (Kyudenko) dropped a solid 27:31.13 to beat Cleophas Kandie (Mitsubishi Juko) by over 35 seconds. 2:06 marathoner Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) was the top Japanese man at 4th in 28:28.41. Silas Kingori (Hiramatsu Byoin) took the 5000 m A-heat in 13:43.43, where the biggest news was a 13:48.59 for 3rd by Kagoshima Jitsugyo H.S. senior Kanta Tokumaru.

Against the backdrop of all this distance action happening across the country, the sprints, hurdles, middle distances, jumps and throws component of the Kanto Region University Championships also happened Friday through Sunday at Kanagawa's Sagamihara Gion Stadium. Rescheduled from the spring, coming right after the rescheduled National Championships and hit by the edge of the typhoon, performances suffered a bit. There wasn't a single meet record across D1 and D2 men's and women's events, or even anything close. Well, the women's sprints were close, but only with massive tailwinds of +3.7 in the 100 m and +4.8 in the 200 m.

Hibiki Obara (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) did pull on a mini-coup in the D2 3000 mSC when he was almost 10 seconds faster than D1 winner Shunya Morishita (Juntendo Univ.) in 8:56.48. The highlight of the meet, at least from an entertainment standpoint, though, was the D2 men's high jump. With the tough conditions hitting a peak only one competitor, Shobi Gakuen Univ. 1st-year Yasunobu Shimomura, made it over any height. Shimomura cleared the opening height of 1.95 m on his third attempt, with all ten of his competitors failing to get over. Post-race Shimomura tweeted, "I've never seen results like these before!"

Long distance events for the Kanto Regionals meet happen later this month in Tokyo.

World Marathon Majors Japanese Entries

We're back from a short summer break. A week and a half out from the first race of the season's four World Marathon Majors races, here's a look at Japanese athletes scheduled to run. Everything right now is about qualifying for the MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to be held in the fall of 2027 in Nagoya. The JAAF makes no mistake about wanting to keep its top people racing domestically where it can get a share of revenue from the TV broadcast and race operations, so anyone who decides to race overseas has to do it in a WA platinum label race and hit either 2:06:30 or 2:23:30, regardless of place, course or weather if they want to make the trials. At the same time concessions are make for domestic races, like for example the late-August Hokkaido Marathon where up to 3 men and 3 women can qualify if they go 2:12:00 or 2:32:00. As a result, you get things like last year where amateur runner Yudai Fukuda made the trials by finishing 3rd Jap...

Nakajima Breaks 100 mH NR Twice, Kitaguchi Returns - August Track Roundup

Catching up on what's been happening in track and field this month during our summer break: Men's 3000 m NR holder Nagiya Mori was just off his 5000 m PB at the IFAM Oordegem meet in Belgium on Aug. 1, taking 16th in 13:15.01. Shota Nakano was 26th of 28 in 13:35.02. This year's national champion Ryoma Aoki ran the 3000 mSC but didn't finish. Naoto Hasegawa was the only Japanese athlete at Mutaz Essa Barshim 's What Gravity Tour stop at the Monaco Athletics Festival meet on Aug. 5. Having cleared 2.30 m for the first time earlier this year Hasegawa only managed 2.18 m in Monaco, taking 7th of 10. There were a lot of good performances at the Fuji Hokuriku World Trial meet in Fujiyoshida on Aug. 9, but the one that got the headlines was a 12.62 (-0.2) NR in the women's 100 mH by Hitomi Nakajima . Nakajima actually did it twice, running 12.62 (+2.0) in the heats before repeating in the final. Masumi Aoki also ran big in the heats, with a 12.68 (+2.0) for al...

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...

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