Skip to main content

Muthini Breaks Hakodate Half Course Record


Soka University's Stephen Muthini broke the course record at the Hakodate Half Marathon Sunday to win in a PB 1:01:08. Muthini led from the early going, dragging a lead group of 10 behind him. Past 10 km he picked up the pace, cutting the lead group down to 6, including 2025 Tokyo World Championships marathon team member Yuya Yoshida (GMO). Near 15 km Takuma Yamakawa of Komazawa University went to the front, but Muthini was quick to retake the lead and gradually pulled away from Yamakawa and Yoshida. Yoshida ended up 2nd behind Muthini in a PB of 1:01:23, with Yamakawa 3rd also in a new PB of 1:01:25. Times were fast across the board, with 8 of the top 10 men running lifetime PBs.

Yoshida, a 2-time winner of the Fukuoka International Marathon including a 2:05:16 CR last December, is Japan's leading hope of ending its dry spell of World Championships marathon medals, the last being Tsuyoshi Ogata's bronze at the 2025 Helsinki World Championships. His Tokyo Worlds teammates Ryota Kondo (Mitsubishi Juko) and Naoki Koyama (Honda) struggled, Kondo 19th in 1:03:25 and Koyama 62nd in 1:06:16.

In the women's race, Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) won in 1:09:48, splitting 16:21, 32:44, 49:26 and 1:06:08 en route. Tenmaya's Shiori Yoshizono and Mizuki Nishimura were 2nd and 3rd just over 1:10, with Tokyo Worlds women's team member Kana Kobayashi (Otsuka Seiyaku) 5th in 1:11:37. Marathon national record holder Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) was 6th in 1:11:54 in a tuneup for September's Berlin Marathon.

In the marathon, Minoru Kameda took the men's race in a PB of 2:19:46, the only runner under 2:20. Kasumi Takahama was the women's winner in 2:55:01.

Hakodate Half Marathon and Marathon

Hakodate, Hokkaido, 29 June, 2025

Men's Half Marathon
1. Stephen Muthini (Soka Univ.) - 1:01:08 - CR, PB
2. Yuya Yoshida (GMO) - 1:01:23 - PB
3. Takuma Yamakawa (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:01:32 - PB
4. Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.) - 1:01:32 - PB
5. Kanta Shimizu (Subaru) - 1:01:41 - PB
6. Koki Kamata (Yakult) - 1:01:55
7. Ichitaka Yamashita (Mitsubishi Juko) - 1:02:07 - PB
8. Yuito Yamamoto (Subaru) - 1:02:26
9. Solomon Mutuku (Soka Univ.) - 1:02:28 - PB
10. Makoto Takewari (Tokai Univ.) - 1:02:54 - PB
-----
19. Ryota Kondo (Mitsubishi Juko) - 1:03:25
62. Naoki Koyama (Honda) - 1:06:16

Women's Half Marathon
1. Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu) - 1:09:48
2. Shiori Yoshizono (Tenmaya) - 1:10:17
3. Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) - 1:10:26
4. Sakiho Tsutsui (Univ. Ent.) - 1:10:56
5. Kana Kobayashi (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:11:37
6. Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) - 1:11:54
7. Hikaru Kitagawa (Univ. Ent.) - 1:12:06
8. Rie Kawauchi (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:13:14
9. Miku Hirashima (Tenmaya) - 1:14:32
10. Mao Kiyota (Suzuki) - 1:17:26

Men's Marathon
1. Minoru Kameda - 2:19:46 - PB

Women's Marathon
1. Kasumi Takahama - 2:55:01



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

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...
1 comment
Read more

Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon

On Apr. 9 the Kinki Region Bureau of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Division arrested Matthew Inglis Fox , 38, an Australian business owner of no known fixed address, on charges of violating the importation regulations of the Narcotics Control Act by smuggling tablets containing marijuana elements from the United States. The suspect had entered Japan in February to run in the Osaka Marathon . The suspect was arrested on suspicion of smuggling approximately 12 pills containing marijuana by sending them from a U.S. airport to Osaka's Kansai Airport using an international courier service on Feb. 19. The Osaka branch of the Customs Service discovered the tablets in arriving cargo and suspected them to be narcotics. Customs contacted the Narcotics Control Division, which then began its investigation of the case. According to the Narcotics Control Division, the suspect denies the charges.  Translator's note: Fox, who received a lifetime ban from the Ageo City Half Mara...
41 comments
Read more

Chisato Fukushima Selected as First Women`s 100 m Olympian in 56 Years

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080706-00000027-yom-spo http://www.47news.jp/CN/200807/CN2008070601000467.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On July 6 Rikuren announced that it has added women`s 100 m runner Chisato Fukushima (20, Hokkaido HiTec AC) to the Beijing Olympic team. Fukushima will become the first Japanese woman to compete in the Olympic 100 m since Ayako Yoshikawa ran in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Fukushima broke the Olympic B-standard of 11.42 with her national record-tying 11.36 mark at April`s Oda Memorial Meet. Although she won June`s National Track and Field Championships, Fukushima was not initially selected for the team as she did not meet the Olympic A-standard. In light of her victory at today`s Nambu Memorial Meet in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Rikuren reversed its decision and added her to the Olympic team lineup. Fukushima reacted to the news of her Beijing ticket by saying, "It hasn`t really hit me that it`s real yet. I would be honored to be the tri...
Post a Comment
Read more