Skip to main content

Kipkemoi and Nyaga Win Inaugural Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon


Tokyo's newest elite-level road race happened Sunday on the course used for Japan's 2020 Olympic marathon trials and the 2020 Paralympic Games marathon, with the first edition of the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon bringing 15,000 to the streets.

Kenyan Vincent Kipkemoi outran Japan-based world all-time #4 Alexander Mutiso for the win 1:00:10 to 1:00:29, with 3rd and 4th-placers Benard Kimeli and Vincent Raimoi also getting under 61 minutes despite the tough uphill finish. With prize money running 8 deep Kenyans took the top 8 spots. Winning a three-way sprint finish on the track for 9th and top Japanese honors was Kenta Murayama, outkicking marathoners Daisuke Uekado and Yusuke Nishiyama by 1 second in 1:02:14.

In the women's race, unknown Caroline Nyaga outran 2022 National Corporate Half Marathon champ Dolphine Omare Nyaboke for the win, breaking her PB by over a minute and a half in 1:08:23. Nyaboke was 2nd in 1:09:46. On the climb back up to the stadium 2022 Hokkaido Marathon winner Haruka Yamaguchi broke away from American Betsy Saina to take 3rd in 1:10:35. Saina faded badly in the last 2 km but held off marathoner Mao Kiyota by 5 seconds for 4th in 1:11:13.

Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon

Tokyo, 16 Oct. 2022

Men
1. Vincent Kipkemoi (Kenya) - 1:00:10
2. Alexander Mutiso (ND Software) - 1:00:29
3. Benard Kimeli (Fujitsu) - 1:00:36
4. Vincent Raimoi (Suzuki) - 1:00:56
5. Macharia Ndirangu (Aichi Seiko) - 1:01:11
6. Joseph Karanja (Aichi Seiko) - 1:01:32
7. Joel Mwaura (Kurosaki Harima) - 1:02:04
8. Benson Tunyo (Kenya) - 1:02:07
9. Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 1:02:14
10. Daisuke Uekado (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:02:15
11. Yusuke Nishiyama (Toyota) - 1:02:15

Women
1. Caroline Nyaga (Kenya) - 1:08:23
2. Dolphine Omare Nyaboke (U.S.E.) - 1:09:46
3. Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) - 1:10:35
4. Betsy Saina (U.S.A.) - 1:11:13
5. Mao Kiyota (Suzuki) - 1:11:18
6. Natsuki Omori (Daihatsu) - 1:11:46
7. Kotona Ota (Japan Post) - 1:11:54
8. Beatrice Cheburet (Kenya) - 1:12:33
9. Ikumi Fukura (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:13:33
10. Rie Kawauchi (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:14:47
11. Kotomi Tsubokura (Wacoal) - 1:14:51
12. Ai Ikemoto (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) - 1:15:32

photo © 2022 Mika Tokairin, all rights reserved
text © 2022 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Arao Becomes 1st Man in 40 Years to Score Back-to-Back Ome Road Race Wins

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...
3 comments
Read more

Osaka Marathon Preview

The Osaka Marathon is Sunday, one of Japan's biggest mass-participation races and the next stop on the calendar for its elite marathoners hoping to qualify for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials in the fall of 2027. Last year it snowed mid-race, but this year is looking warmer than ideal given the season, with sunny skies, almost no wind, and temps forecast to be 11˚ at the start and rising to 19˚ by the time the winners are finishing. NHK is broadcasting Osaka with a heavy emphasis on the men's race, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it from overseas. There's also official streaming on Youtube starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, although it doesn't look like it's the same as what NHK will be showing. Given Osaka's history at the elite level as the continuation of the men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the women's field is small relative to the men's, just enough to tick World Athletics' label requirements and with almost no do...
1 comment
Read more

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

Last year's top 3 Sheila Chepkirui , Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba are back for this year's Nagoya Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, but things are being set up more for it to be a race between Chepkirui, 2:17:49 in Berlin 2023, Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda , 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024. Aynalem has the freshest sub-2:20 of the 3, with neither Chepkirui nor Maeda having done it in 2 years. Maeda's only recent result is a 1:10:07 from Houston last month, but when she ran her NR she didn't have any kind of tuneup race to indicate her fitness so it's probably best not to read too much into that. If it goes out as a 2:18 race those are the only 3 who can probably hang with it. If it turns out to be more of a 2:20 race like when Chepkirui won in 2:20:40 last year then there's a group of 7 at the 2:20-2:22 level who will be in the picture, including Chumba, Selly Chep...
Post a Comment
Read more