Weekend Overseas Japanese Results

Three major road races around the world had Japanese athletes in their fields this weekend. Kensuke Horio (Kyudenko) was first up at the 20th anniversary Sydney Marathon in Australia. With a 2:08:25 in Tokyo this spring still wearing the Toyota uniform Horio needed to run 2:11:35 or better to qualify for next September's MGC Race Olympic marathon trials, a tougher task than it sounds on Sydney's technical course. After starting off at 2:06:10 pace Horio ran every 5 km slower than the one before except for the section from 25 to 30 km. He ultimately ended up 9th in 2:20:07, missing both the time and his pre-race goal of a top 6 finish. Moses Kibet won in 2:07:03, he and the next three runners all breaking Yuta Shitara's 2:07:50 Australian all-comers record. Tigist Girma Getachew won the women's race in 2:25:10.

At the Copenhagen Half Marathon in Denmark, 1:00:38 man Yusuke Tamura (Kurosaki Harima) lasted through 10 km on NR pace before slowing, splitting 28:12/30:11 through 20 km and finishing 24th in 1:01:44. Kohei Mukai (Mazda) tried to go with Tamura but wasn't up to the challenge, going 14:24 through 5 km but ending up only 56th in 1:05:30. Taiki Suzuki (Eldoreso) ran the most evenly, 15:04 at 5 km and 1:05:17 for 50th, but like Tamura and Mukai every 5 km split was still slower than the one before. Milkesa Mengesha won in 58:58, with a record 15 men going under one hour. Tadu Teshome came from behind late in the race to overtake breakaway women's leader Tsigie Gebreselama, who at one point had passed Suzuki. Teshome took 1st in 1:06:13, opening 22 seconds on Gebreselama.

2019 Hokkaido Marathon winner Mirai Waku (Universal Entertainment) was in the U.S.A. at the Philadelphia Distance Run half marathon. Waku spent most of the race on her own, finishing 7th in a season best 1:12:23 three minutes behind winner Monicah Ngige. That was two and a half minutes off her PB, but it was the second-fastest she has run since setting her best back in 2015 and a good step toward her next marathon. James Ngandu won the men's race in 1:02:01.

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