Skip to main content

2018 Asian Games Marathon Silver Medalist Nogami to Retire in January

On Dec. 15 the management of the Juhachi Shinwa Ginko women's corporate team announced that 2018 Asian Games marathon silver medalist Keiko Nogami, 35, will retire next month. Her final race will be the Jan. 24 Kitakyushu Women's Invitational Ekiden. After retiring she plans to return to her family home in Hyogo. Her plans beyond that have not yet been settled.

Nogami struggled with injuries ever since her time at Hyogo's Suma Gakuen H.S. Suma Gakuen won the National High School Ekiden her senior year, but she was only an alternate and did not run. After graduating she joined the Sanix corporate team, which disbanded a short time later. She ran her debut marathon at age 29, set her PBs of 15:24.70 for 5000 m, 32:07.70 for 10000 m and 2:26:33 for the marathon in 2018 at age 32, and her half marathon PB of 1:09:27 in 2019 at age 33.

Nogami had an injury to her left shin about three months before the MGC Race Olympic marathon trials in September, 2019. Although she fell behind in the early stages of the race, she pushed on to take 5th, just missing out on a place on the Tokyo Olympic team as alternate. Finding it increasingly difficult to compete at the international level, this fall Nogami made the decision to retire, sending her hopes on to the next generation for their success. 

"I had a lot of injury problems, especially when I was young, and it was a long and painful road," Nogami commented. "But I was able to make it this far thanks to the support of all those around me. All of it has helped me grow as a person. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years. Please keep up your support of the Juhachi Shinwa Ginko team."

source article:
translated and edited by Brett Larner

photo © 2015 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

3 Athletes Provisionally Suspended After Positive Drug Tests at Asian Games (updated)

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. Update:  On Oct. 3 a third athlete, kurash wrestler Yash Kumar Chauhan  of India, was provisionally suspended after an in-competition test detected the steroid metandienone, the metabolic modulator GW1516, and the stimulant mephentermine in his system. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/article/20261002-X4FJLT5MMZKFND6WXPOESAKETQ/ translated by Brett Larner
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