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Benard Koech Clears Budapest 10000 m Standard Again - Weekend Track Roundup


The Night of the 10000 m PBs meet in the U.K. got most of the hype for good reason, but winner Paul Chelimo's 27:12.73 wasn't the fastest time run worldwide this weekend. That belonged to fastest-ever 10-mile man Benard Koech (Kyudenko). who won the Kyushu Region Corporate Championships 10000 m in 27:07.71. Koech had already cleared the Budapest World Championships qualifying standard with a 26:55.04 PB last October at Nittai University, but his season best run in Kyushu was enough to rank him 4th globally this season.

Between Kyushu, the Chugoku Region Corporate Championships and East Japan Region Corporate Championships, a total of six Japan-based Kenyans went sub-28. Ren Tazawa (Toyota) was the only Japanese man to do it, running a 27:40.40 for 5th at the Night of the 10000 m PBs that would have beaten everyone back home but Koech by 10 seconds or more.

Corporate Half champ Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (U.S.E.) had the fastest women's 10000 m between the three meets at 31:45.49 for the win in East Japan. Eva Cherono (Toto) took the Kyushu win in 31:57.62, with marathoner Mizuki Tanimoto (Tenmaya) beating the only other woman in the Chugoku Region race by 3 minutes to win in 33:09.99.

Amos Kurgat (Chudenko) and Hillary Mosop (Mazda) were the only men to go under 13:30 for 5000 m, both of them breaking the Chugoku Region meet record in 13:25.05 and 13:26.18. Most of the top Japanese men's 5000 m talent opted for the Golden Grand Prix 3000 m in Yokohama instead of the regional corporate meets, where indoor 5000 m NR holder Hyuga Endo (Sumitomo Denko) won with the 4th-fastest time ever by a Japanese man, a 7:45.08 MR. The top 5 were all under 7:50, with 2:06 marathoner Yohei Ikeda (Kao) running an impressive 7:50.39 for 6th. 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura returned to his main event at the GGP meet, winning 8:19.07 by almost 2 seconds.

Esther Muthoni (Nitori) led the top three women under 15:30 in the East Japan meet 5000 m, getting the win in 15:22.51 by less than a second over Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo). Joan Kipkemoi (Kyudenko) took the Kyushu title in 15:35.95, beating a doubling Cherono by only 0.20. Rebecca Mwangi (Daiso) had the fastest 3000 m time in the corporate regional meets with an 8:53.16 to win the Chugoku title, but her teammate Teresiah Muthoni (Daiso) went one better with an 8:43.81 MR to win the Gold Grand Prix. 2nd-placer Rose Davies (Australia) and 3rd-placer Margaret Aikidor (Comodi Iida) ran 8:44.07 and 8:46.77, all three making the world top five so far this year.

© 2023 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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