Endo Runs JPN #2 5000 m Time, Sato Hits U20 NR in Nobeoka

The Golden Games in Nobeoka meet lived up to hopes, with indoor 5000 m NR holder Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko) kicking for the win in the toughest 5000 m heat of the day. Conservative early on, Endo moved up mid-race past U20 1500 m and 3000 m NR holder Keita Sato (Komazawa Univ.) and U20 5000 m NR holder Yamato Yoshii (Chuo Univ.) to position himself in a lead group that included Richard Kimunyan (Hitachi Butsuryu), Benard Koech (Kyudenko), Evans Keitany (Toyota Boshoku) and other top Japan-based Kenyans.

With one lap to go Endo kicked hard enough to bring Suguru Osako's NR into range, and improbably he held off Keitany and the rest of the competition over the last 200 m to win in a meet record 13:10.69. That was enough to move him up to all-time #2 on the Japanese charts, just 2.59 seconds off Osako's record and well inside the qualifying time for this summer's Oregon World Championships. And that was enough to bring him to instant tears in his post-race interview after having missed the Olympic team last year.

Keitany and 3rd-placer Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) were both under the MR too, and behind them the hits kept coming. In 15th, Sato clipped almost 3 seconds off Yoshii's U20 record in 13:22.91 to add another line to his resume of records. Yoshii was 18th in 13:29.35, the 2nd-best time of his career. And in the other heats too. In the final heat, Emmanuel Kipchirchir (Kurashiki H.S.) won in 13:27.89. Taishi Ito (Waseda Univ.) ran an U20 #9 13:35.70. In the C-heat Sonata Nagashima (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) ran an all-time Japanese high schooler #5 13:37.46 for 2nd behind Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei).

The women's 5000 m A-heat didn't make it under 15 minutes, but it did have an even better last lap than Endo's. Kipchirchir's teammate Janet Nyiva (Kurashiki H.S.) tried to make a break for it, but right there with her was Judy Jepngetich (Shiseido). It was close enough that neither was 100% sure who got it, but when the board came up Jepngetich had the win by a tiny margin, 15:03.23 to 15:03.34. The top 6, all Kenyan, were under the Oregon standard, with the top Japanese spot going to Yuma Yamamoto (Meijo Univ.) in 15:23.30.

All around it was a stellar return for one of Japan's most classic meets, and with the 10000 m National Championships and Golden Grand Prix meet happening Saturday and Sunday in Tokyo there's a lot more to come.

33rd Golden Games in Nobeoka

Nobeoka, Miyazaki, 4 April, 2022

complete results

Men's 5000 m B-heat

1. Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko) - 13:10.69 - MR

2. Evans Keitany (Toyota Boshoku) - 13:11.25 (MR)

3. Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) - 13:11.73 (MR)

4. Benard Koech (Kyudenko) - 13:13.38

5. Joseph Karanja (Aichi Seiko) - 13:14.20

6. Benson Kiplangat (Subaru) - 13:14.85

7. Justus Soget (Honda) - 13:15.33

8. Gideon Ronoh (GMO) - 13:16.51

9. Jackson Kavesa (Honda) - 13:16.81

10. Richard Kimunyan (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 13:19.44

-----

15. Keita Sato (Komazawa Univ.) - 13:22.91 - U20 NR

18. Yamato Yoshii (Chuo Univ.) - 13:29.35

Women's 5000 m A-heat

1. Judy Jepngetich (Shiseido) - 15:03.23

2. Janet Nyiva (Kurashiki H.S.) - 15:03.34

3. Agnes Mwikali (Kyocera) - 15:04.26

4. Karoline Wanjiku Karaba (Kamimura Gakuen H.S.) - 15:05.66

5. Joan Kipkemoi (Kyudenko) - 15:07.49

6. Naomi Muthoni Kariuki (Univ. Ent.) - 15:08.81

7. Yuma Yamamoto (Meijo Univ.) - 15:23.30

8. Cynthia Mbaire (Hitachi) - 15:40.95

9. Yuki Nakamura (Panasonic) - 15:41.42

10. Kazuna Kanetomo (Kyocera) - 15:47.24

Men's 5000 m A-heat

1. Emmanuel Kipchirchir (Kurashiki H.S.) - 13:27.89

2. Takato Suzuki (SG Holdings) - 13:29.80

3. Ken Yokote (Fujitsu) - 13:31.59

4. Allan Biwott (Mazda) - 13:32.80

5. Hiroki Abe (Sumitomo Denko) - 13:33.74

6. Emmanuel Maru (Toyota Boshoku) - 13:34.21

7. Kotaro Shinohara (Komazawa Univ.) - 13:34.28

8. Taishi Ito (Waseda Univ.) - 13:35.70

9. Daiki Ando (Asahi Kasei) - 13:36.70

10. James Muoki (Konica Minolta) - 13:39.66

-----

12. Shunsuke Yoshii (Chuo Univ.) - 13:43.22

Men's 5000 m C-heat

1. Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 13:36.84

2. Sonata Nagashima (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 13:37.46

3. Tomoya Nakamura (Osaka Gas) - 13:38.66

4. Jonson Mugeni (Yugakkan H.S.) - 13:39.78

5. Hiroshi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 13:41.38

6. Yuya Ueda (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 13:43.14

7. Kento Nishi (Osaka Gas) - 13:43.66

8. Akito Terui (Subaru) - 13:44.04

9. Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) - 13:46.49

10. Masaki Kodama (Meiji Univ.) - 13:47.10

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."

Past Champs Win Again in Fukuoka and Hofu, Yang Breaks Chinese Men's NR, Tsutsui Break Hofu Women's CR

photo by Eldoreso , used with permission Japan's last two big marathons of the year both happened Sunday at the Fukuoka International Marathon and Hofu Yomiuri Marathon . Both came down to sprint finishes between a lead pack of four, and both saw past championships back on the top spot on the podium. Fukuoka only lasted through 15 km on the target pace for Japanese favorite Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima) to hit the 2:05:50 he needed to replace Suguru Osako (GMO) on the Paris Olympic team. Past 15 it slowed, with a halfway split of 1:03:00 that the lead group held until 30 km. At that point it was a lead group of six, with Hosoya, 2021 Fukuoka winner Michael Githae (Suzuki), 2017 Fukuoka winner Sondre Nordstad Moen (Norway), Chinese duo Shaohui Yang and Peiyou Feng , and two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist Abel Kirui (Kenya). The pace slowed between 30 and 35 km once the pacers stopped, but even so Feng and Kirui lost contact, leaving the other four on track

10000 m National Championships Preview

Given all the breakthrough runs over 10000 m in Japan the last few weeks, enough to take Japan to 30 men sub-28 for the distance this year, it seems a bit odd to have the 10000 m National Championships happening this Sunday in Tokyo's National Stadium. But relative to the timing of ekiden season, the rest of the National Championships in the late spring, and next summer's Paris Olympics, it makes sense. NHKBS is broadcasting it live, with the men's race starting at 16:03 and the women's at 16:43. The 27:00.00 would be a stretch at this point for any of the Japanese men in the race, but one woman, former 5000 m NR holder Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) has actually cleared the 30:40.00 standard before with a 30:39.71 at the 2022 Oregon World Championships. But that was before the qualifying window opened, so she'll have to try to continue to build back from the injuries she suffered last winter if she wants to hit the standard here. Her best this year is 31:35.12 at

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