japan running news

by Brett Larner For the first time since 1997 no Japanese men made the top 10 in a World Championships marathon.  With the withdrawal of Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu), the favorite to clear the JAAF's top 8 requirement for a place on the Rio de Janeiro Olympic team, and no alternate in place to take his spot, Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) and Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), both 34 and with sub-2:09 bests, had a chance of making it on paper, but neither proved up to the task.  Looking heavy in stride, Maeda was out of the lead pack early in the race.  Fujiwara looked more comfortable and lasted longer but likewise could not cope when the race really began.  Fujiwara ultimately finished 21st in 2:21:06, just ahead of the only Kenyan athlete to finish the race, with Maeda 40th out of 42 finishers in 2:32:49, seconds behind Mongolia's Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Team NTN).  Chol Pak (North Korea), who had an unfortunate fall late in the race at last year's Asian G...

by Brett Larner In his marathon debut, Kenyan-born Ali Hassan Mahboob (Bahrain) completed a total and 100% sweep of the 2014 Asian Games long distance gold medals by African-born athletes running for Bahrain, Qatar and the U.A.E., outkicking Japan's Kohei Matsumura and Yuki Kawauchi on the last lap of the track to win in 2:12:38. As a multiple Asian Games gold medalist with a 27:21.40 best for 10000 m Mahboob was a clear danger despite it being his debut, and the danger built steadily as he kept himself at the very rear of the lead pack of ten through the slow first 25 km.  With only a 2:15:09 best South Korea's Si-Hwan Noh took it upon himself to lead at mid-2:13 pace from the start, followed closely by Kenyan Bahraini Aadam Ismaeel Khamis , a 2:07:59 runner who had managed only 2:15:37 in the last two years.  The popular favorite Kawauchi was obviously keying off Khamis, staying right behind him whenever Khamis moved forward or backward.  Kawauchi's friend and...