Mwikali Breaks Own CR at Sanyo Ladies Road Race, Tesfaye Takes Kanto 10-Miler

Japan's last big non-ekiden road race of the year happened Sunday in Okayama at the Sanyo Ladies Road Race 10 km and half marathon. In the 10 km, CR holder Agnes Mwikali (Kyocera) soloed a 31:09 CR for the win. 2 seconds up on rival Janet Nyiva (Panasonic) at 5 km in 15:34, Mwikali held steady over the second half to cut 2 seconds off her old CR of 31:11 from 2021. Nyiva faded to 31:57 but held on to 2nd, with Kaede Kawamura (Iwatani Sangyo) passing Eva Cherono (Toto) for 3rd in 32:22.

In the half marathon, a lead group of four stayed together through 15 km before 2022 winner Margaret Akidor (Comodi Iida) surged over the last 5 km. Taking almost 2 minutes off her PB, Akidor took the top spot in 1:09:29, beating #1-ranked Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (U.S.E.) by 18 seconds. Joanne Kipkemoi (Kyudenko) was 3rd in 1:10:01, with Yuri Karasawa (Kyudenko) scoring the top Japanese spot at 5th in 1:10:48.

Also Sunday in Chiba was the 137th running of the Kanto 10-Miler. After a DNF at last month's Hachioji Long Distance meet, Eritrean Tesfaye Biniam Zeratsion (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) took the win in 47:56, narrowly out kicking marathoner Kensuke Horio (Kyudenko) by 4 seconds. Chuo University athletes took the next three spots, with two runners from Juntendo University close behind. Chuo and Juntendo meet next Jan. 2 on day one of the 100th Hakone Ekiden.

42nd Sanyo Ladies Road Race

Okayama, 17 Dec. 2023

complete results

10 km

1. Agnes Mwikali (Kyocera) - 31:09 - CR

2. Janet Nyiva (Panasonic) - 31:57

3. Kaede Kawamura (Iwatani Sangyo) - 32:22

4. Eva Cherono (Toto) - 32:38

5. Mitsu Ozaki (Sysmex) - 33:01

6. Misaki Hayashida (Kyudenko) - 33:01

7. Shiori Yoshizono (Tenmaya) - 33:04

8. Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) - 33:09

9. Yuri Tasaki (Sysmex) - 33:19

10. Ayaka Kato (Uniqlo) - 33:30

Half Marathon

1. Margaret Akidor (Comodi Iida) - 1:09:29 - PB

2. Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (U.S.E.) - 1:09:47

3. Joanne Kipkemoi (Kyudenko) - 1:10:01

4. Desta Burka (Denso) - 1:10:16

5. Yuri Karasawa (Kyudenko) - 1:10:48

6. Ayano Ikemitsu (Kagoshima Ginko) - 1:10:57

7. Madoka Nakano (Iwatani Sangyo) - 1:11:22

8. Honoka Tanaike (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:11:24

9. Hibiki Sakuragawa (Daiichi Seimei) - 1:11:28

10. Mizuki Tanimoto (Tenmaya) - 1:11:29

11. Chinatsu Takeda (Daihatsu) - 1:13:17

12. Nanami Aoki (Iwatani Sangyo) - 1:13:18

13. Saya Nishitani (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:13:18

14. Yuko Kikuchi (Shimamura) - 1:13:19

15. Ayami Hirano (Noritz) - 1:13:22

137th Kanto 10-Miler

Narita, Chiba, 17 Dec. 2023

complete results

1. Tesfaye Biniam Zeratsion (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) - 47:56

2. Kensuke Horio (Kyudenko) - 48:00

3. Hinata Shirakawa (Chuo Univ.) - 48:12

4. Kanta Kotagiri (Chuo Univ.) - 48:16

5. Yuto Urata (Chuo Univ.) - 48:16

6. Yuki Murao (Juntendo Univ.) - 48:29

7. Kyota Iwashima (Juntendo Univ.) - 48:36

8. Yosuke Nagashima (Chuo Univ.) - 48:45

9. Shoto Horikoshi (Juntendo Univ.) - 48:49

10. Kotaro Suzuki (Chuo Univ.) - 48:53

Japan Announces Complete London Olympics Athletics Team

by Brett Larner Click here for JRN's complete video coverage of the 2012 Japanese Olympic Trials, 27 videos making up nearly three hours of footage. The Japanese Federation and Olympic Committee announced the complete lineup of Japan's team of 48 athletes for this summer's London Olympics track and field events at a press conference on June 11. The team features 11 national record holders and 18 current national champions and is young overall, with a heavy preponderance of first-time Olympians including a World Junior gold medalist, 13 collegiates and one high schooler. The Fujitsu corporate team is overwhelmingly the best-represented, boasting 8 Olympic team members, while Chukyo University tops the collegiate list with 3 athletes on the team. Suzuki, whose Suzuki Hamamatsu AC club team exists outside the corporate league, also has 3 Olympians. No Olympic team selection process is free of controversial decisions, and the omission of women's 10000 m Jr. NR hold

Yamagata-Based Alexander Mutiso Aims to Be #1 in Paris Olympics Marathon

Having been named to the Kenyan men's team for this summer's Paris Olympics, Alexander Mutiso , 27, of the Nanyo, Yamagata-based ND Software corporate team, told the Yamagata Newspaper on May 13 that his goal for the Olympic marathon is "to be #1." Having lived in Yamagata for 10 years, Mutiso has strong attachment to the area and credits its environment for helping him develop, saying, "Ever since I came to Yamagata I've been running well." He left for Kenya on May 14 to join the Kenyan national team training camp, aiming to be in perfect condition when he arrives in Paris for the main event. Mutiso came to Japan in 2015, joining the ND Software team and taking up residence in Nanyo. "I don't like the cold winters in Yamagata so much, but the other seasons are nice." From that base he has grown into the athlete he is now, competing in races across Japan and around the world. Compared to the track, his strengths lie more in long road races

Weekend Track Update

The biggest domestic meet of the weekend was the four-day Kanto Region Track and Field Championships , but there were other good meets happening across the country. At the Kinami Memorial Meet in Osaka, Kazuto Iizawa (Sumitomo Denko) had a near-miss on the Japanese NR, running a meet record 3:35.77 for the win to come in at all-time JPN #2. 2nd through 4th-placers Abraham Guem (South Sudan), Felix Muthiani (Kenya) and Dezhu Liu (China) were all under the old MR and under 3:38, and the top 10 all went under 3:40. All told it was one of the best non-international championship men's 1500 m ever on Japanese soil. The women's 3000 mSC also saw a new MR from Shuangshuang Xu (China) in 9:47.45, with 2nd through 4th-placers Miu Saito (Nittai Univ.), Georgia Winkcup (Australia) and Manami Nishiyama (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) all breaking 10 minutes. At part one of the Chugoku Corporate Championships in Hiroshima, Rebecca Mwangi (Daiso) had an easy win in the women's 5000 m

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