Weekend Track Roundup

The two-day Hyogo Relay Carnival was the biggest meet of the weekend on the Japanese calendar. Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) kicked off her 2nd academic year with a 31:48.11 win in the GP women's 10000 m, beating Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) by 4 seconds. Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) had a tighter win in the GP men's 10000 m, 27:58.01 to 27:58.35 over Jonson Mugeni (Asia Univ.). Kenyans also dominated the men's B and C-heats, Nelson Mandela (Obirin Univ.) taking the B-heat by 0.06 over Stephen Muthini (Soka Univ.) in 28:05.37 and Patrick Wambui (NTT Nishi Nihon) the C-heat in 28:14.83. Top Japanese marks across the four races were 32:24.50 by Sora Shinozakura (Panasonic), 28:11.30 by Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon), 28:41.68 by Masashi Nonaka (Toyota), and 28:42.38 by former Rikkyo University head coach Yuichiro Ueno (Hiramatsu Byoin).

The GP women's 3000 mSC might have been the best race of the meet, both Miu Saito (Nittai Univ.) and Manami Nishiyama (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) going under the old meet record in 9:47.76 and 9:49.77, and previous MR holder Reimi Yoshimura (Cramer Japan TC) also getting under 10 minutes in 9:59.14 for 3rd. Four of the top five men in the GP 3000 mSC ran PBs, World XC relay team member Yutaro Niinae (Aisan Kogyo) winning in 8:33.43, Shintaro Nakazono (SID Group) 2nd in 8:34.76, and Asahi Kuroda (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) 3rd in 8:35.10.

NR holder Nozomi Tanaka (New Balance) duly set a MR 4:07.79 to win the GP women's 1500 m by over 3 seconds. The GP men's 800 m was unremarkable, Kaishi Kitamura taking the win in 1:48.29. Mitsu Ozaki (Sysmex) won the non-GP women's 5000 m in 15:59.91 in a photo finish with Rina Shimizu (North), who clocked in at 15:59.92. Only a high school boys' 5000 m was on the menu for men, with local Koki Niizuma (Nishiwaki Kogyo) 1st in 14:25.87.

The Tokai University Time Trials meet also had some quality marks, led by Hibiki Yoshida (Soka Univ.) with a 28:12.82 PB for the win in the men's 10000 m A-heat. A trio of men from Toyo University took the next three spots, Mashu Nishimura 2nd in 28:45.98, Ryota Kobayashi 3rd in 28:49.53, and former H.S. 5000 m NR setter Kosuke Ishida continuing his comeback with a 28:49.61 for 4th. Patrick Kamau (Jobu Univ.) took the B-heat in 29:51.22. Hayato Sano (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) ran a decent 3:48.95 to win the men's 1500 m A-heat.

The Kokushikan University Time Trials meet had a good men's 10000 m, where Koei Yahara (Hosei Univ.) got the win in 29:00.29 over Goki Higashihara (Meiji Univ.), 2nd in 29:00.94.

Overseas, four Japanese athletes were in action at the Xiamen Diamond League meet. Shunsuke Izumiya was 3rd in the men's 110 mH with a 13.17 -0.3 m/s SB Tomohiro Shinno was 4th in the men's high jump, clearing 2.24 m on his 2nd attempt but missing 2.27 m. Ryo Wada was 5th in the men's 100 m in 10.31 -0.6 m/s, former NR holder Yoshihide Kiryu 7th in 10.38.

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Entry Roster Sizes Increased from 14 to 16

Hakone Ekiden organizers KGRR have announced details for the qualifying half marathon for next year's 103rd Hakone Ekiden. The Yosenkai qualifying race will be held Oct. 17 in Tachikawa, Tokyo. The combined times of the 10 fastest finishers from each participating team will be used for team scoring, with the 10 fastest teams going on the the main event next January and top-placing individuals from teams that do not qualify being names to the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team. One change from previous years is that the number of runners each school can enter has been increased from 14 to 16. Teams will still only be allowed to have from 10 to 12 athletes on the starting line, but the move gives coaches greater flexibility in making the final decision on their starting rosters. No changes have been made to the qualifying times of 34:00 for 10000 m or 1:13:00 for the half marathon, and the new earlier starting time of 8:30 a.m. introduced last year in an effort to mitigate ...

Nomura and Odagiri Go 3-4 at Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km

2010 Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km Nijmegen, Netherlands, 11/21/10 Women click here for complete women's results 1. Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia) - 47:53 2. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 48:07 3. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.) - 49:43 4. Aki Odagiri (Meijo Univ.) - 51:37 5. Benita Willis (Australia) - 51:51 Men click here for complete men's results 1. Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) - 41:13 - WR 2. Abera Kuma (Ethiopia) - 42:01 3. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopia) - 42:01 4. Abraham Kiplimo (Uganda) - 43:03 5. Berhanu Delale (Ethiopia) - 43:08 ----- 14. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 45:31

japan running news

Search This Blog