Mariko Yugeta Returns, Tamana Half at 75, and More

Mariko Yugeta Returns, Tamana Half at 75, and More - Weekend Update

The Tokyo Marathon dominated the landscape this weekend, from the fastest-ever runs on Japanese soil by winners Sutume Asefa Kebede and Benson Kipruto to Yusuke Nishiyama's heartbreaking reaction to missing the Paris Olympics team despite an excellent 2:06:31 after falling to Khishigsaikhan Galbadrakh's 2:26:32 Mongolian NR that qualified for the Paris Olympics. There were dozens of other stories in the race, like Joan Benoit Samuelson completing her World Marathon Majors six star, and her longtime fan Mariko Yugeta running 3:01:28 at age 65. Including the 19 seconds it took her to get to the start line Yugeta went through halfway in 1:29:05 and was still on track for sub-3 at 35 km, but over the last 7.195 km it slipped away. Still, though, it was a single-age world record, that age graded to a 2:10:54 marathon.

At the Kagoshima Marathon, locally-based Eritrean Dejen Tesfalem Weldu who graduated from Seisa University last year won his debut in 2:14:50, almost two minutes ahead of local hero Yusuke Tobimatsu. Rio Olympics 5000 m finalist Miyuki Uehara took the women's race by 5 minutes in a low-key 2:39:17. In a tempo run effort for April's Boston Marathon, Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Soft) set a new course record at the Tamba Sasayama ABC Marathon, with a 2:14:37 for the win. Club runner Ayumi Yokota won the women's race in 2:41:15.

In Kumamoto, the Kanaguri Hai Tamana Half Marathon celebrated its 75th edition with a close race in the men's race that saw Ryoma Inoue (Chudenko) win a four-way sprint finish in 1:03:11 a second ahead of Kaito Suetsugu (Teikyo Univ.), Ryuto Uehara (Koku Gakuin Univ.) and Masanori Sumida (Aichi Seiko). Ibusuki Nanohana Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi (ADHS) continued a downward spiral since getting injured in January, running 1:13:35 after starting on track to break 1:10. Miyaka Sugata (Japan Post) ran a very decent 32:51 to win the women's 10 km, with Koshiro Tanimoto (Omuta H.S.) taking the high school boys' 10 km in 29:35.

Overseas, indoor 3000 m Asian record holder Nozomi Tanaka Bubkaed her way to another AR with an 8:36.03 for 8th at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. Shuhei Tada ran a 6.52 NR in the heats of the men's 60 m, then 6.56 in the semifinals. But in the final he felt a twinge in one leg and limped in 2nd-to-last in 6.70. Post-race he reported no serious damage. Teammate Akihiro Higashida made the semifinals with a first-round 6.62 but didn't make the next cut after running 6.67. Ryoichi Akamatsu was 9th of 12 in the men's high jump after clearing only 2.15 m. Sumire Hata equalled that with a 9th in the women's long jump at 6.43 m. Masumi Aoki didn't make it out of her 60 m heat, running 8.13 for 5th in Heat 1. Mariko Morimoto had no mark in the women's triple jump.

A large number of Japanese athletes were also at Australia's Canberra Track Classic. Top performers there included Ryohei Arai taking the men's javelin throw at 77.22 m, Yuki Yamashita winning the men's triple jump in 15.88 m -2.2 m/s, Maoko Takashima taking 2nd in the women's triple jump at 13.67 m +1.6 m/s, Tetsuro Nishi 2nd in the men's 110 mH in 13.84 -0.7 m/s, Yutaro Niinae 4th in the men's 3000 mSC in 8:42.49, Tomoka Kimura with a 4:16.69 for 4th in the women's 1500 m, and Yusuke Takahashi running 3:43.40 for 6th in the men's 1500 m.

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."

Fukube Breaks 100 mH NR at All-Star Night Games - Japan's Olympians Make Final Tune-Ups

Getting stuck in the shinkansen cancelation headaches yesterday means we're a day late getting to the weekend's track roundup, but better late than never. At the top of the list, women's 100 mH national record holder Mako Fukube (NKK) took 0.04 off her own record to win in 12.69 (+1.2) at the All-Star Night Games in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa in her last race before the Paris Olympics. Other Paris team members won their races too: 4x400 m squad member Takuho Yoshizu (GK Line) took the win in the men's 400 m in 45.89. Men's 400 m hurdler Daiki Ogawa (Toyo Univ.) set a meet record 49.09 for the win. Sumire Hata (Sumitomo Denko) set a women's long jump MR of 6.61 m (+0.8). Marina Saito (Suzuki) and Momone Ueda (Zenrin) both threw over the old MR held by world champion and Paris teammate Haruka Kitaguchi , Saito getting the win with a final attempt of 58.45 m, Ueda next at 57.93 m and 3rd-placer Yuki Yamamoto (Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ.) also going over the old MR at 57

Police Arrest 20-Year-Old Man Charged With Assaulting Female Runner at Popular Tokyo Running Spot

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a female runner along the banks of the Tama River in Ota Ward, Tokyo. "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go for a walk and move my body a bit," the man told police. Local resident Hirai Muroyama , 20, of no known occupation, was arrested on charges of sexual assault. He is accused of acts including grabbing the breasts of a woman in her 20s at around 10 p.m. on May 31 along the banks of the Tama River. According to police, the woman was taking a break in her run when Muroyama approached her silently from behind and grabbed her breasts before running away. Under police interrogation Muroyama told investigators, "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go out for a walk and move my body. I'd had a few drinks and was feeling pretty hype. She was totally my type." source article: https://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newsey

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