Furukawa Wins Katsuta Marathon by 1 Second

Japan's other big marathon this weekend, the Katsuta Marathon saw a tough four-way race in the men's marathon that came down to a sprint finish in the home straight. Tokyo University graduate student Hiroaki Furukawa, who last year launched action against the Hakone Ekiden organizers for not including a select team in the field for Hakone's 100th edition, passed Sota Yamamoto in the final meters to take 1st in 2:17:28 to Yamamoto's 2:17:29. 3rd and 4th-place Tatsuya Inagaki and Yudai Hiruta weren't far behind, Inagaki finishing in 2:17:41 and Hiruta in 2:17:56.

The women's race wasn't as close, but the top three were still only a little more than a minute apart. Kana Numata scored the top spot in 2:44:34, with Natsuki Tomii 2nd in 2:45:33 and Natsumi Kuroda 3rd in 2:45:56. Furukawa and Numata both scored invitations to April's Boston Marathon for their wins, the only Japanese athletes currently in the elite field.

In the 10 km race, high schooler Jecinta Nyokabi rocked a 32:08 to win the women's race by over 2 minutes. Paralympian Yuki Iwata won the men's race by 17 seconds in 30:38.

72nd Katsuta Marathon and 10 km

Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, 26 Jan. 2025

complete results

Women's Marathon

1. Kana Numata (Saysky) - 2:44:34

2. Natsuki Tomii (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) - 2:45:33

3. Natsumi Kuroda (GRlab) - 2:45:56

4. Ai Ishikawa (unattached) - 2:54:32

5. Harue Kikuchi (unattached) - 2:57:22

6. Sonoko Koyama (unattached) - 2:59:20

Men's Marathon

1. Hiroaki Furukawa (Tokyo Univ. Grad School) - 2:17:28

2. Sota Yamamoto (Hanni T&F Assoc.) - 2:17:29

3. Tatsuya Inagaki (Mishima RC) - 2:17:41

4. Yudai Hiruta (K-project) - 2:17:56

5. Yoshiki Murase (Takada SDF Base) - 2:18:54

6. Hyuma Abe (Team Nitro) - 2:19:17

Women's 10 km

1. Jecinta Nyokabi (Hakuho Joshi H.S.) - 32:08

2. Haruka Suguro (Hakuho Joshi H.S.) - 34:20

3. Toshika Tamura (Hitachi) - 35:07

4. Kukuri Murai (Hakuho Joshi H.S.) - 35:25

5. Karen Suzuki (Hitachi) - 35:32

6. Mina Numata (Hakuho Joshi H.S.) - 35:58

Men's 10 km

1. Yuki Iwata (one's Para AC) - 30:38

2. Ryota Kikuchi (Suijo H.S.) - 30:55

3. Kaname Suzuki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 31:20

4. Yusuke Fujimoto (Toyo Univ.) - 31:33

5. Naoki Saito (Hitachi Iryo) - 31:35

6. Taisei Kano (one's Para AC) - 31:36

Japan's First Goldless Day - Asian Athletics Championships Day Four Highlights

Day 4 of the Bangkok Asian Athletics Championships was the first without a single gold medal going to Japan, but there were still enough silvers and bronzes to go around. Robyn Lauren Brown of the Philippines outclassed the rest of the women's 400 mH final field, taking gold in 57.50. Eri Utsunomiya and Ami Yamamoto made it a Japanese 2-3, Utsunomiya running 57.73 for silver and Yamamoto 57.80 for bronze. Yusaku Kodama also scored silver in the men's 400 mH, running 48.96 behind Qatari winner Bassem Hemeida 's 48.64. Yuki Yamasaki won bronze in the heptathlon with 5696 points, Uzbekistan's Ekaterina Voronina taking gold in 6098 and Swapna Barman silver in 5840. Teammate Karin Odama was 4th in 5487. Another bronze came in the mixed 4x400 m relay, with Japan running 3:15.71 behind India's 3:14.70 and Sri Lanka's 3:15.41. Naoto Hasegawa and Ryoichi Akamatsu both cleared 2.23 m in the men's high jump, Hasegawa finishing 4th overall and Akamatsu 5th. ...

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