Skip to main content

Kusu Breaks 2000 mSC NR - Weekend Track Roundup


Saturday's Spring Nobeoka Time Trials meet was a tuneup for Kyushu-area men's teams for next month's Golden Games in Nobeoka, notable mostly for 2:06~2:08 marathoners Toshiki Sadakata (Mitsubishi Juko), Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei), Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) and Ichitaka Yamashita (Mitsubishi Juko) returning to action after marathons in February and March. Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) took the top spot in the men's 5000 m in 13:30.54, with Daiki Ando (Asahi Kasei) the fastest Japanese man at 6th in 13:41.76.


At the Nittai University Time Trials meet, Saturday's main action was the women's 3000 m, where Esther Muthoni (Nitori) beat Cynthia Mbaire (Hitachi) 8:59.74 to 9:01.66. Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) ran a PB 9:14.99 for 3rd, heading straight from there to Gifu for a sub-70 half marathon PB the next morning. 24 men ran sub-29 for 10000 m, led by Ayumu Kobayashi in 28:18.87. On Sunday, 22 heats of men's 5000 m, a total of 44 men went sub-14 across the 4 fastest heats. Antipas Kibet (SG Holdings) was the fastest at 13:25.80 to win the A-heat, Yushin Nakajima (Hitachi Butsuryu) the fastest Japanese man at 13:37.63.


Only 2 men went sub-14 at the Hyogo Relay Carnival, but both were local high schoolers, Sonota Nagashima (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) winning in 13:55.00 over Kazuma Maeda (Hotoku H.S.), 13:56.65. In 3rd was Reo Niizuma (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) in 14:11.98, whose twin brothers Koki and Haruki Niizuma (Hiraoka J.H.S.) both broke the J.H.S. meet record, Koki winning in 8:34.42 and Haruki 2nd in 8:36.84. Across 3 heats of men's 10000 m 26 went sub-29, Richard Kimunyan (Hitachi Butsuryu) leading four Kenyans under 28 in 27:39.79 and sub-61 half marathoner Masashi Nonaka (Osaka Gas) dropping the fastest Japanese time of the weekend, 28:17.25. Yasunari Kusu (Ami AC) broke the men's 2000 mSC NR in 5:29.11, with Nanami Arai (Honda) taking the men's 1500 m in 3:41.08.


Helen Ekarare (Toyota Jidoshokki) won the women's 10000 m in 31:22.89 in her first serious race at the distance. Nozomi Tanaka (Toyota Jidoshokki) was 2nd in 32:39.29, just holding off amateur club runner Shiho Kaneshige (GRLab) by 2 seconds after doubling in the 1500 m. Margaret Akidor (Comodi Iida) took over 33 seconds off the women's 5000 m meet record, winning in 15:06.00 by almost 44 seconds over Kaede Kawamura (Iwatani Sangyo). Tokyo Olympian Yuno Yamanaka (Ehime Ginko) missed her own 2000 mSC NR by less than a second, winning in 6:20.21 in a sprint finish against Yukari Ishizawa (Hitachi) and Yuzu Nishide (Daihatsu). Fuka Otagaki (Yoka H.S.) was only slightly faster in the high school girls' 2000 m, winning in 6:18.38.

© 2022 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
3 comments
Read more

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shikama and Njeri Win Sendai International Half Marathon

Shunsuke Shikama (Logisteed) and Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) won the Sendai International Half Marathon Sunday in Sendai, Shikama in 1:01:31 and Njeri in 1:09:20. Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) was the top Japanese woman at 2nd overall. The men's race went through 5 km in 14:34 and 10 km in 29:22. Shikama ran alongside top competition including Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.), who has been running well in half marathons this season, and Tokyo World Championships marathon team member Naoki Koyama (Honda). On a course with many small ups and downs, Shikama attacked on a downhill just after 15 km, quickly breaking free of the lead group of 7. 13 seconds up by 20 km, Shikama covered the last 1.0975 km in 3:06 to seal his first Sendai title. A graduate of Juntendo University , Shikama is in his 4th season with Logisteed. At the 2024 National Corporate Half Marathon he ran 1:00:41, and at last year's East Japan Corporate Ekiden he won the Third Stage. In his marathon d...
Post a Comment
Read more