Shinno Makes Top 8, Matsuda Solos Marathon for 9th - Oregon 22 Day 4 Japanese Results

With both teammates out with COVID it was down to Mizuki Matsuda to represent Japan in the women's marathon at the Oregon 22 World Championships. As the front group went out at World Championships record pace Matsuda let go of both them and a chase group centered around Great Britain's Jess Piasecki and Americans Sara Hall and Emma Bates, all alone by 3 km and running that way the rest of the race. As far back as 17th at one point, by the end of the first 14 km lap she was in 16th, 24 seconds behind the chase group which now included U.S. record holder Keira D'Amato.

As the leading trio went through halfway in 1:09:01 and the chase quartet in 1:10:17 Matsuda was up to 13th in 1:10:38. From there until 40 km it was a steady advance up through the field in pursuit of a top 8 finish, Matsuda closing to within 2 seconds of D'Amato in 8th. But D'Amato had superior closing speed, and held her off 2:23:34 to 2:23:49.

Up front Ethiopian Gotytom Gebreslase, 3rd-placer at this year's Tokyo Marathon in 2:18:18, dropped Kenyan Judith Jeptum Korir to set a stellar new Championships record of 2:18:11. Korir was 9 seconds back for silver, Kenyan-born Israeli Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, 2nd in Nagoya this spring in 2:18:45, taking bronze in 2:20:18. Led by Hall's 2:22:10 for 5th, all three Americans made the top 8, something Japan hasn't pulled off at the World Championships since Paris 2003.

How would things have played out if women-only NR holder Mao Ichiyama and half marathon NR holder Hitomi Niiya had made it to the starting line? It's not likely either of them would have been in the race for a medal, but the team duel with the Americans would have been a hell of a race. Hard not to wonder too what would have happened if Matsuda had worked together with the U.S. group and Piasecki instead of running the last 40 km on her own. In 7 marathon starts to date this was only her second time not going under 2:23. Could she have followed Hall to do it again? We'll never know.

Already the first Japanese man to make a World Championships high jump final, Tomohiro Shinno scored a top 8 placing, clearing 2.27 m on his first attempt but unable to make it over 2.30 m. The legend Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar won with a world-leading 2.37 m, his Tokyo Olympics co-gold medalist Gianmarco Tamberi 4th at 2.33 m on his second attempt behind a NR 2.35 m jump from South Korea's Sanghyeok Woo and Ukrainian Andriy Protsenko, who cleared 2.33 m on his first attempt for bronze.

With three marathoners and at least five coaches and two team officials out with positive COVID tests so far, the latest casualty on the Japanese team was sprinter Yuki Koike, whose positive result was announced 45 minutes before his 200 m heat. His teammates both advanced, Koki Ueyama turning in a 20.26 PB for 2nd in Heat 1 and veteran Shota Iizuka miraculously making it through with a 20.72 for 3rd in Heat 2, the slowest qualifying time to make the semifinals.

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...

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...

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...

japan running news

Search This Blog