Skip to main content

10000 m Medalists Hagiwara and Numata Retire


In a statement on their corporate team's website, Ayumi Hagiwara and Michi Numata announced that they are retiring from competition at the end of this month. 

Hagiwara, 29, is a native of Shizuoka. At Tokoha Kikugawa H.S. she ran in the National High School Ekiden, handling the First Stage. After graduating she joined the Uniqlo corporate team, then transferred to the Toyota Jidoshokki team in 2017. A track specialist with bests of 15:24.56 for 5000 m and 31:36.04 for 10000 m, in both 2013 and 2014 Hagiwara was 3rd in the National Championships 10000 m. In 2013 she won the bronze medal at that distance at the Asian Championships, and again in 2014 at the Asian Games. On Jan. 30 this year she was 15th at the Osaka International Women's Marathon, finishing in 2:34:14. 

In her statement Hagiwara wrote, "Even when I was injured and couldn't run the way I wanted, I always got support and encouragement from teammates and fans. You all really helped me keep going." On her Twitter account she added, "I've been an athlete for 18 years now. I love running and want to stay to involved with it in a different way."

Born in Saitama, Numata, 32, went to Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. and on to Ritsumeikan University before joining Toyota Jidoshokki in 2012. She was active in the major ekidens at all three levels winning the bronze in the 10000 m at the 2015 Asian Championships. She also ran Osaka in January, placing 13th in 2:31:52. In her statement she wrote, "While I was on this team I was able to find goals that I didn't have when I joined it. I was blessed to have the people around me that I did, and to be able to have a long career."

source article:
translated and edited by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Japan's Olympic Marathon Team Meets the Press

With renewed confidence, Japan's Olympic marathon team will face the total 438 m elevation difference hills of Paris this summer. The members of the women's and men's marathon teams for August's Paris Olympics appeared at a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 25 in conjunction with the Japan Marathon Championship Series III (JMC) awards gala. Women's Olympic trials winner Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) said she was riding a wave of motivation in the wake of the new women's national record. When she watched Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) set the record at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon on TV, Suzuki said she was, "absolutely stunned." Her coach Sachiko Yamashita told her afterward, "When someone breaks the NR, things change," and Suzuki found herself saying, "I want to take my shot." After training for a great run in Paris, she said, "I definitely want to break the NR in one of my marathons after that." Mao

Weekend Racing Roundup

  China saw a new men's national record of 2:06:57 from  Jie He  at the Wuxi Marathon Sunday, but in Japan it was a relatively quiet weekend with mostly cold and rainy amateur-level marathons across the country. At the Tokushima Marathon , club runner Yuhi Yamashita  won the men's race by almost 4 1/2 minutes in 2:17:02, the fastest Japanese men's time of the weekend, but oddly took 22 seconds to get across the starting line. The women's race saw a close finish between the top two, with Shiho Iwane  winning in 2:49:33 over Ayaka Furukawa , 2nd in 2:49:46.  At the 41st edition of the Sakura Marathon in Chiba, Yukie Matsumura  (Comodi Iida) ran the fastest Japanese women's time of the weekend, 2:42:45, to take the win. Club runner Yuki Kuroda  won the men's race in 2:20:08.  Chika Yokota  won the Saga Sakura Marathon women's race in 2:49:33.  Yuki Yamada  won the men's race in 2:21:47 after taking the lead in the final 2 km.  Naoki Inoue  won the 16th r

Takeuchi Wins Niigata Half in Boston Tune-Up

Running in cold, windy and rainy conditions, Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) warmed up for April's Boston Marathon with a win at Wednesday's Niigata Half Marathon . Takeuchi sat behind Nittai University duo Susumu Yamazaki and Ryuga Ishikawa in the early stages, then made a series of pushes to pick up the pace. Each time he tucked in behind whoever went to the front, while behind them others dropped off. Before 15 km only Yamazaki and Riki Koike of Soka University were left, and when Takeuchi went to the front the last time after 15 km only Koike followed. By 16 he was gone too, leaving Takeuchi to solo it in to the win in 1:03:13 with a 17-second negative split. "This was my last fitness check before the Boston Marathon next month, and my time was right on-target," he said post-race. "Everything went as planned. I'm looking forward to racing some of the world's best in Boston, and my goal there is to place in the single digits." Just back from tr