Skip to main content

Flanagan Breaks Gold Coast Marathon CR, Fukuda Takes Men's Race




As Australia's Village Roadshow Theme Parks Gold Coast Marathon returned for the first time since 2019, Lindsay Flanagan became its first American winner female or male, taking 6 seconds off the course record and over 2 minutes off her PB to take 1st in 2:24:43. Accompanied by dedicated male pacers and a large group of men in a race that never saw a lead women's group congeal, Flanagan went through halfway in 1:11:59 and then sped up even further, clocking her two fastest 5 km splits of the race, 16:52 and 16:47, from 20 to 25 km and 25 to 30 km. The effects of that came down on her after 30 km as she slowed beyond 3:30/km, but with a rally over the last km she held on to crack Ruth Chebitok's 2018 CR of 2:24:49.

Post-race Flanagan and her coach, Australian NR and Oceania AR holder Benita Johnson, were elated, having just met each other in person a few days before the race after a year of online coaching.

Like Flanagan, 2nd-placer and local favorite Lisa Weightman, the CR holder in Gold Coast's 10 km and half marathon divisions, ran the entire way with only male accompaniment, splitting halfway in 1:12:36 and coming home in 2:25:55, the best-ever by an Australian woman at Gold Coast and the 2nd-best time of her career. 3rd-placer Shiho Kaneshige started more conservatively with a 1:14:00 first half, passing American Stephanie Bruce just before 20 km and staying on track to break her 2:28:51 PB until late in the race when she faded to 2:29:12, also a career 2nd-best and her first time sub-2:30 outside Japan.




While the top women all ran separately, a lead group of 4 men shook out by 5 km, with Australian Liam Adams pacing Japan's Jo Fukuda and Akihiro Kaneko, Belgian Amaury Paquet and fellow Aussie Samuel Gebremichael on track to just break 2:10. When Adams dropped off before 20 km Fukuda took over, he and Kaneko quickly dropping the other two and pulling away. Fukuda, whose 2:09:52 best was set on the Gold Coast in 2018, disposed of Kaneko just past 25 km and ran the rest of the way alone, making good on his race logo-themed hair dye job with his first-ever marathon win in 2:10:55. In contrast to the fast women's race, it was the slowest men's winning time since 2010. Kaneko was 2nd in 2:14:25, Paquet taking 3rd in 2:15:45.

Tokyo Paralympics gold medalist Madison de Rozario fought off Paralympic teammate Christie Dawes to win the women's wheelchair division, her time of 1:46:58 good enough for 3rd overall. The only men to beat her were Jake Lappin, 1st by a wide margin in 1:37:32 and Luke Bailey, just hanging on to 2nd overall in 1:46:01.

A complete replay of all four races in the marathon:


In Saturday's Asics Half Marathon, Eloise Wellings outran 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games marathon teammate Jessica Stenson 1:10:53 to 1:11:35 for the win in wetter conditions that what the marathoners faced 24 hours later. Both Wellings and Stenson headed straight overseas post-race for altitude training in preparation for Birmingham. National and Oceania record holder Brett Robinson had a relatively conservative win in the men's race, outkicking Ed Goddard by 5 seconds for the win in 1:03:14. The likewise Birmingham-bound Liam Adams was 5th in 1:05:32 before taking on lead men's pacing duties the next day. Chuo University's Haruto Wakabayashi cracked the top 10 with an 8th-place finish in a PB 1:04:29. A complete replay of the half marathon:


In Sunday's Southern Cross University 10 km, Leanne Pompeani led an all-Aussie top 3 under 33 minutes, winning in 32:21. Isaac Heyne took another win for Australia in 29:03, but behind him Wan Chun Wong took over a minute off his own Hong Kong NR for 2nd in 29:27. 4th-placer Jordan Gusman ran 29:39, almost a minute and a half under the official Maltese NR but exactly a minute slower than his unratified best.

Village Road Show Theme Parks Gold Coast Marathon

Gold Coast, Australia, 3 July 2022

Women's Marathon
1. Lindsay Flanagan (U.S.A.) - 2:24:43 - CR, PB
2. Lisa Weightman (Australia) - 2:25:55
3. Shiho Kaneshige (Japan) - 2:29:12
4. Stephanie Bruce (U.S.A.) - 2:32:22
5. Haruka Yamaguchi (Japan) - 2:34:49
6. Nera Jareb (Australia) - 2:35:00
7. Anna Kelly (Australia) - 2:36:44
8. Rachel McGuinness (Great Britain) - 2:36:55
9. Beth McKenzie (Australia) - 2:38:19
10. Tennille Ellis (Australia) - 2:39:08

Men's Marathon
1. Jo Fukuda (Japan) - 2:10:55
2. Akihiro Kaneko (Japan) - 2:14:25
3. Amaury Paquet (Belgium) - 2:15:45
4. Louis McAfee (Australia) - 2:17:50
5. Samuel Gebremichael (Australia) - 2:18:00
6. Jacob Cocks (Australia) - 2:19:03
7. Aidan Hobbs (Australia) - 2:20:08
8. Patrick Stow (Australia) - 2:20:20
9. Nick Earl (Australia) - 2:20:28
10. Ben Kelly (Australia) - 2:21:49

Women's Wheelchair Marathon
1. Madison de Rozario (Australia) - 1:46:58
2. Christie Dawes (Australia) - 1:47:27
3. Jacqueline Godfrey (Australia) - 1:59:24

Men's Wheelchair Marathon
1. Jake Lappin (Australia) - 1:37:32
2. Luke Bailey (Australia) - 1:46:01
3. Richard Colman (Australia) - 1:58:21

Women's Half Marathon
1. Eloise Wellings (Australia) - 1:10:53
2. Jessica Stenson (Australia) - 1:11:35
3. Laura Nagel (New Zealand) - 1:15:50
4. Regina Jensen (Australia) - 1:16:19
5. Hannah Miller (New Zealand) - 1:16:57

Men's Half Marathon
1. Brett Robinson (Australia) - 1:03:14
2. Ed Goddard (Australia) - 1:03:19
3. Tim Vincent (Australia) - 1:03:31
4. Liam Boudin (Australia) - 1:03:38
5. Liam Adams (Australia) - 1:03:52
-----
8. Haruto Wakabayashi (Japan/Chuo Univ.) - 1:04:29 - PB
18. Yudai Nakazawa (Japan/Chuo Univ.) - 1:06:53

Women's 10 km
1. Leanne Pompeani (Australia) - 32:21
2. Paige Campbell (Australia) - 32:35
3. Sarah Kleine (Australia) - 32:52
4. Caitlin Adams (Australia) - 33:03
5. Cara Woolnough (Australia) - 33:16

Men's 10 km
1. Isaac Heyne (Australia) - 29:03
2. Wan Chun Wong (Hong Kong) - 29:27 - NR
3. Arron Spiessberger-Parker (Australia) - 29:33
4. Jordan Gusman (Malta) - 29:39 - NR
5. Jack Bruce (Australia) - 29:51

photos and text © 2022 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

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...
Post a Comment
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

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