Retirement Season

Paris Olympics marathon team alternate Ai Hosoda and Tokyo Olympics marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura both announced their retirements recently, but with the fiscal year ending in March there have been a raft of other retirements hitting the Japanese news in the last couple of weeks. Some of them:

Former women-only marathon NR holder Mao Ichiyama, 28, announced that she is retiring and leaving the Shiseido corporate team after a couple of dull seasons following her making the Paris Olympics team. Ichiyama's husband Kengo Suzuki, the former men's marathon NR holder, left the Fujitsu corporate team last fall to go it solo.
Kento Otsu, 34, announced he is quitting the Chuo Hatsujo team to retire and take a position on the Rikkyo University coaching staff after next month's Tokyo Marathon. Otsu helped Toyo University take the overall win at the 2012 and 2014 Hakone Ekidens, winning his stages in both races and named MVP of the 2014 Hakone for his role in helping Toyo take the overall title.
Kenta Murayama, 32, retired after last weekend's Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon. The U18 10000 m NR holder and until last month the fastest-ever Japanese half marathoner on U.S. soil, Murayama ran the 2013 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon while at Komazawa University along with Otsu.
Takuya Fujikawa, 33, retired from Chugoku Denryoku and the sport after the Marugame Half Marathon 2 weeks ago. A member of Sera H.S.' winning team at the 2009 National High School Ekiden, Fujikawa was captain at Aoyama Gakuin University when it won its first Hakone Ekiden title his senior year.
Kenji Yamamoto, 36, made a post-facto announcement that he was leaving Mazda and the sport after having run last weekend's National Corporate Half Marathon. Yamamoto was another member of Toyo University's 2012 Hakone Ekiden champion team and competed in both the Tokyo Olympics and Paris Olympics marathon trials races.
Ryo Kuchimachi, 31, will retire from competition and Subaru after Sunday's Ome 30 km Road Race. Kuchimachi won his stages at both the Izumo and National University ekidens in 2015, named MVP at Nationals for helping Toyo University claim its first national title.
Kazuma Taira, 31, is retiring from the Kao team and competition after the Tokyo Marathon. A stage winner at the National High School Ekiden, Taira was teammates with marathon NR holder Suguru Osako at Waseda University, his biggest achievement there being a 2nd-place finish on the Third Stage at the 2017 Hakone Ekiden.
Fuminori Shimo, 29, is leaving the sport and Toyota Boshoku after this weekend's Umashikuni Mie Ekiden. His 2nd year at Iga Hakuho H.S. Shimo won the Sixth Stage at the National High School Ekiden, coming back the next year to win the 10.0 km First Stage. Shimo went on to success at Komazawa University and Fujitsu before relocating to Toyota Boshoku in 2022.
4 members of the Nishitetsu corporate team will leave at the end of March, the most prominent among them being yet another member of Toyo University's 2012 and 2014 Hakone champ teams, Keita Shitara, 34, twin brother of former marathon and half marathon NR holder Yuta Shitara who also runs for Nishitetsu. Keita's plans after leaving the team are unclear.

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

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