Michishita and Suzuki Take Paris Bronze, Muenster and Great North Run

Michishita and Suzuki Take Paris Bronze, Muenster and Great North Run - Weekend Results

The Paris Paralympics wrapped up with another trio of bronze medals by Japanese athletes. In Friday's T52 men's 100 m final, Tomoki Sato held off Canada's Anthony Bouchard and Mexico's Salvador Hernandez Mondragon by 0.11 for bronze in 17.44 (+1.6). Tomoya Ito and Tatsuya Ito were 7th and 8th in 17.67 and 17.91, with Belgian Maxime Carabin winning gold in 16.70.

In Sunday's marathons, Tomoki Suzuki lost out to China's Hua Jin in the race for T54 men's silver, Jin getting there first in 1:31:19 and Suzuki 4 seconds back in 1:31:23 for bronze. But both were far behind gold medalist Marcel Hug of Switzerland, who had a dominant run in 1:27:39 for the win. Ryota Yoshida clocked 1:37:15 for 8th. Wakako Tsuchida and Tsubasa Kina were off their best in the T54 women's race, Tsuchida 6th in 1:52:39 and Kina 12th in 2:04:53.

In the T12 women's marathon, Paralympic and world record holder Misato Michishita lost both records to Moroccans Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi and Meryem En-Nourhi. Both broke Michishita's 3:00:50 Paralympic record, with El Idrissi scoring an impressive gold in 2:48:36 to cut almost 6 minutes off Michishita's WR. Initially finishing 4th in 3:04:23, Michishita was elevated to bronze after Spain's Elena Congost was disqualified. Congost finished 3rd in 3:00:48, 2 seconds under Michishita's Paralympic record, but just steps before the finish line violated the rules by letting go of her guide runner's rope. Tadashi Horikoshi was the top Japanese man in the T12 race at 7th in 2:28:03, with Shinya Wada 9th in a PB 2:29:59 and Yutaka Kumagai 10th in 2:32:26.

At Sunday's Volksbank Muenster Marathon in Germany, 2:08:55 man Akira Tomiyasu was one of only two sub-2:10 runners in the field and the favorite to win. But although he ran comfortable through the first 15 km, near halfway Tomiyasu lost touch with the lead group and ultimately finished 5th in 2:22:55. "The turns and cobblestones in the first 10 km took more out of me than I thought they would," he told JRN post-race. Kenyans won both the men's and women's races, Collins Kemboi Kipsang taking the men's title in 2:10:52 and Rebecah Jeruto Cherop the women's in 2:32:25.

A large group of corporate leaguers was at the Great North Run in the U.K. but didn't make much of a dent on either race. 2:05 marathoner Kenya Sonota was the top Japanese man at 7th in 1:03:00, just over 3 minutes behind winner Abel Kipchumba's 59:52. 2:07 marathoner Shin Kimura was 22nd in 1:06:07, in sight of women's top 3 Mary Ngugi-Cooper, 1:07:40, Senbere Teferi, 1:07:41, and Alemu Megertu, 1:07:42. Mizuki Nishimura was the first Japanese woman across the line in 1:11:57, with Yuna Takahashi 10th in 1:12:13, Yuri Tasaki 12th in 1:13:20, and Mio Kuroda 15th in 1:14:50.

Murayama and Sasaki Making U.S. Debut at New York Mini 10 km

Every year since 2012 that there's been a United Airlines NYC Half , JRN has partnered with the NYRR and November's Ageo City Half Marathon to bring two top-tier collegiate Japanese men to the NYC Half for what's usually been their international debuts. For years we've wanted to extend that program to include top collegiate women, but that has always faced 2 problems. For one, while the half marathon distance is the main focus for Japanese collegiate men due to the stage lengths at the Hakone Ekiden, few collegiate women run it. Those that do run the National University Women's Half Marathon in Matsue, held the same day as the NYC Half. This year, though, we're finally making it happen in a slightly different way. Amisa Murayama and Nazuki Sasaki of 2025 Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden national collegiate championship runner-up Tohoku Fukushi University are joining the field for the NYRR's Mastercard New York Mini 10 km on June 6. After running an 18:14 CR ...

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."...

Some Reflections on the Ekiden

by Brett Larner This ekiden season I've had a few thoughts kicking around, and watching this week's Hakone Ekiden a few of them became clearer. These are still in progress, but at the moment this is what I'm thinking in terms of running as a spectator sport and about the quality of Japanese men's distance running right now. Quality: Japanese men's running is coming up very, very quickly. I was in the lead car at November's Ageo City Half Marathon , where 18 men, 17 of them university runners, broke 63 minutes. As it was going on we all thought it was a slow race because there were so many people running that pace all the way, no separation at all in the mass of the pack. See the JRN header photo above, taken just past halfway. That's pretty unusual in Japan, especially at the university level; generally you'll get a handful of guys who run an aggressive pace and a mass running dead on a safe pace, 3:00/km in a half marathon, for example. Th...

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