CR Holder Teruki Shimada Returns to Launceston Half

CR Holder Teruki Shimada Returns to Launceston Half - Preview and Streaming

Last year's McGrath Launceston Running Festival Peppers Silo Half Marathon in Tasmania, Australia shaped out into a great Australia vs. Japan dual meet, with Jessica Stenson outrunning Yumi Yoshikawa to take the women's title in a 1:09:51 CR, and Teikyo University school record holder Teruki Shimada executing a tactically brilliant race to drop Isaac Heyne, then-NR holder Brett Robinson, and Teikyo teammate Jinya Ozaki for the win in 1:01:12, just a second off the Australian all-comers record.

Marathon NR holder Andy Buchanan took that record down to 1:01:08 at the Gold Coast Half a month later, but its chances of surviving this weekend aren't looking good. Shimada leads last year's top 4 back to Launceston this year, and there's a lot of tough new competition. 2025 National Corporate Half winner Tsubasa Ichiyama, Australia's Haftu Strintzos, new Teikyo record holder Yuta Asakawa and American Ethan Shuley have all run faster that Buchanan's record, and all but Shuley have gone under 61 minutes. With good weather forecast for Sunday it'd be surprising not to see the first sub-61 on Australian soil happen.

Yoshikawa is back in the women's race too fresh off a 1:09:14 PB in Osaka in January, but she's got a tough one in front of her. Australian NR holder Isobel Batt-Doyle leads the field with a 1:07:17 best, not quite enough to challenge the 1:06:39 all-comers record but fast enough to make Stenson's 1:09:51 CR look easy. New Zealand's Georgie Grgec is 1 second faster than Yoshikawa, meaning Yoshikawa is going to have to work to equal her 2nd-place finish last year. Ayaka Shimoyamada and Kaho Onishi are in the race too, making their international debuts like Asakawa and Shuley in the men's race.

Live streaming of the race starts at 7:45 a.m. local time on Youtube. JRN will be on-site working as the elite field coordinator and covering the action live.

McGrath Launceston Running Festival
Peppers Silo Half Marathon Elite Field

Launceston, Australia, 31 May 2026

times listed are athletes' best within last 3 years except where noted

Men

Tsubasa Ichiyama (Japan/Sunbelx) - 1:00:22 (2025 Nat'l Corp. Half)

Haftu Strintzos (Australia) - 1:00:36 (2025 Marugame Half)

Yuta Asakawa (Japan/Teikyo Univ.) - 1:00:54 (2026 Marugame Half)

Teruki Shimada (Japan/Logisteed) - 1:00:56 (2025 Marugame Half)

Ethan Shuley (U.S.A.) - 1:01:02 (2026 Osaka Half)

Isaac Heyne (Australia) - 1:01:13 (2025 Launceston Half)

Brett Robinson (Australia) - 1:01:20 (2025 Launceston Half)

Jinya Ozaki (Japan/NTT) - 1:01:24 (2025 Launceston Half)

Liam Boudin (Australia) - 1:01:26 (2026 Marugame Half)

Ryuichi Yoshioka (Japan/Honda Tochigi) - 1:01:38 (2025 Marugame Half)

Ed Goddard (Australia) - 1:02:01 (2024 Ageo City Half)

Ryan Gregson (Australia) - 1:03:00 (2025 Launceston Half)

Jake Barraclough (Great Britain) - 1:03:42 (2025 Marugame Half)

Women

Isobel Batt-Doyle (Australia) - 1:07:17 (2025 Marugame Half)

Georgie Grgec (New Zealand) - 1:09:13 (2025 Berlin Half)

Yumi Yoshikawa (Japan/Canon) - 1:09:14 (2026 Osaka Half)

Ayaka Shimoyamada (Japan/TT Runners)- 1:10:41 (2026 Osaka Half)

Genevieve Gregson (Australia) - 1:10:49 (2026 Ballarat Half)

Tara Palm (Australia) - 1:10:55 (2025 Osaka Half)

Sinead Diver (Australia) - 1:10:56 (2025 Melbourne Half)

Kaho Onishi (Japan/Route Inn Hotels) - 1:11:38 (2026 Marugame Half)

Vanessa Wilson (Australia) - 1:12:59 (2024 Gold Coast Half)

Sarah Klein (Australia) - 1:13:19 (2025 Launceston Half)

Danette Sheehan (Canada) - 1:14:03 (2026 Ballarat Half)

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."...

Akasaki 2nd, Maeda 9th - Berlin Marathon Japanese Results

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/PhotoRun Even with a few withdrawals there was a massive group of Japanese athletes at the Berlin Marathon this year, most of the group that typically goes to the Chicago Marathon seeming to opt for Berlin instead. With men's winner Sebastian Sawe taking a shot at the world record, Akira Akasaki , Yuhei Urano and NR holder Kengo Suzuki sat back in a 3rd group targeting the JAAF's 2:06:30 standard for 2028 Olympic marathon trials qualification. The group held steady on that pace, quickly passing and leaving behind Hakone fan favorite Aoi Ota , who went out with a 14:26 opening 5 km only to finish in 2:14:02. Suzuki dropped off, but Akasaki and Urano were together through 30 km until Urano did the same. The top Japanese finisher in the Paris Olympics last year, from there Akasaki had what had to have been an incredibly fun last 12 km, picking faster people off one by one as he rolled on. Ultimately he made it all the way up to 2nd in a 2:06:15 PB. ...

Watching Japanese Race Broadcasts Online

One option for watching Japanese races online from overseas is Keyhole TV . The quality and reliability of the streaming varies, but it is usually at least watchable. A paid premium key usually results in significantly better quality. Go here or here to get the Keyhole TV player, or just Google it to find up-to-date sites offering it. If you have downloaded Keyhole before, make sure you have the most recent version of the player for optimal performance. Another option that looks promising is http://www.jpplayer.com/ This also looks good but takes time to set up so might be a better long-term option: http://www.nihonnamaterebi.com/ A list of these and other options: http://www.d-addicts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=73546 This site sometimes has some channels not available elsewhere. JRN also offers live English race commentary for some races via Twitter @JRNLive . To use Keyhole, once you have downloaded, installed and o...

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