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Showing posts with the label Maria Konovalova

'Provisional Suspension Against Bahraini Long-Distance Runner Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa'

https://www.athleticsintegrity.org/disciplinary-process/provisional-suspensions-in-force

The AIU announced today that Kenyan-born Bahraini Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa has been provisionally suspended for a positive test for EPO. Prior to disappearing at the end of 2017 after winning the Macao International Marathon Kirwa was a familiar face in Japan, winning all seven of her races there between 2015 and 2017, taking 2nd in another in 2013, and medaling at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, 2015 Beijing World Championships and 2016 Rio Olympics.
It was notable that despite her string of international medals Kirwa never ran the big European and American races after hitting that level, her only appearance in the World Marathon Majors a DNF at the 2014 Boston Marathon and her only times running the biggest European marathons coming in 2012 and 2013 in Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt, all in the 2:21-2:23 range and making the top three twice.
Details of Kirwa's case are still forthcoming, but belo…
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An Update on Eastern European Women in Japan

by Brett Larner

Yesterday it was announced that Russian Albina Mayorova has received a four-year suspension after testing positive for elevated testosterone. Mayorova was a four-time winner of Japan's major women's marathons and a regular at the Tokyo Marathon. Her suspension follows that of a number of other Eastern European women to have won Japanese marathons in the last ten years, including Inga Abitova, Tatiana Aryasova, Mariya Konovalova, and Tetiana Gamera-Shmyrko, all five represented by Russian agent Andrey Baranov and his Spartanik agency. What impact have these and other women from former Soviet nations had on the domestic Japanese women's marathon circuit?

Below is a list of every time one has finished in the top three in one of Japan's five main women's marathons in the last 20 years plus other results by those who later tested positive. During this period, women from former Soviet nations have won Japanese marathons 21 times. Of those, thirteen were …
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An Update on Eastern European Women in Japan

by Brett Larner

The 4th-place finish by Volha Mazuronak of Belarus at last weekend's London Marathon turned heads around the world.  Her time of 2:23:54 may become a national record pending the annulment of times run by Belarussian Alexsandra Duliba following January's announcement of Duliba's suspension on biological passport violations.  New York Road Runners professional athlete consultant David Monti was quick to point out Mazuronak's splits, a 1:13:19 first half, 1:10:35 second half and 7:08 for the final 2.195 km split from 40 km to the finish, the fastest closing split in the London women's field and on a par with or better than the 6th through 10th-place men there.  Mara Yamauchi, the second-fastest British woman ever in the marathon, wrote an analysis noting the similarity between Mazuronak's splits and those in a 2012 JRN analysis of performances by Eastern European women represented by Russian Andrey Baranov and his Spartanik agency.

Baranov also rep…
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Kirwa Wins Nagoya in 2:22:08 CR, Konovalova Gets 40+ WR, Maeda Hits All-Time Japanese #8 After Fall

by Brett Larner
photos by @rikujolove

Despite the late withdrawal of domestic favorite Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu), the Nagoya Women's Marathon delivered on the promise of its interesting young domestic field and accompanying seasoned internationals, answering Japan's hunger for a new women's star to pick up the legacy of days gone by with one of the best women's marathons in years.

Kenyan-born 2014 Asian Games gold medalist Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain) and 40-year-old defending champion Mariya Konovalova (Russia) pushed the Kenyan pacer from the start, the first km going by in 3:17, well ahead of the planned 3:22-3:24 pace.  Things settled to the front end of that range by 5 km with a 16:50 split, 2:22:04 pace, by the lead group including Kirwa, Konovalova, Aheza Kiros (Ethiopia), Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku), Eri Hayakawa (Team Toto), collegiate NR holder Sairi Maeda (Team Daihatsu), under-20 NR holder Reia Iwade (Team Noritz), first-timers Rei Ohara (Team Tenmaya), Risa …
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Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview (updated)

by Brett Larner

Update: Kizaki has withdrawn.

The Nagoya Women's Marathon is one of the Japanese races taking steps to adapt to the mass-participation boom, changing from an elite-only format but still keeping its identity by incorporating a mass field that makes it the largest women-only marathon in the world.  At the front end, like last week's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon for the men Nagoya is the last chance for Japanese women to qualify for the 2015 Beijing World Championships marathon team.  While Japanese men's marathoning has grown over the last five years, women's marathoning has been hit by an absence of new top level-names, today's top women running 2:23-2:25 where they would have been 4 minutes faster 10-15 years ago.

But Nagoya has done a great job of pulling together most of the best current women and future hopefuls for some kind of return to past success.  In the house are the fastest Japanese woman of 2013-14, Asian Games silver medalist Ryoko Kizak…
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Collegiate Marathon Record Holder Sairi Maeda and Mother Junko to Reunite at Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2015/02/20/kiji/K20150220009838930.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Twenty Japanese and international elite athletes are scheduled to run Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon, the final selection race for the 2015 Beijing World Championships marathon team.  Among them is 23-year-old Sairi Maeda (Team Daihatsu), who in her debut marathon at last year's Osaka International Women's Marathon as a senior at Bukkyo University finished 4th overall in 2:26:46 to better the national university record by 4 minutes.  Running in the same race in the general division, her mother Junko Maeda ran 2:55:24 for a combined time of 5:22:10, a new mother-daughter world record by more than 8 minutes.  Now 52, Junko will again line up behind her daughter in the general division in Nagoya looking for another fast family outing.

Also in the field are 2014 Asian Games silver medalist Ryoko Kizaki (29, Team Daihatsu), under-20 national record holder Rei…
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Kirwa Vs. Kizaki Rematch at Nagoya Women's Marathon

by Brett Larner

The Nagoya Women's Marathon, the world's largest women-only marathon, features a good matchup for this year's race on Mar. 8, bringing back together 2014 Asian Games marathon gold medalist Eunice Kirwa (Bahrain, nominally) and silver medalist Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu).  The pair's battle was one of the highlights of the Asian Games, and with any luck Nagoya will get a replay.  Their main competition is 40-year-old Mariya Konovalova, with a 2:22:46 PB at age 39 one of the seemingly few elite Russians to have escaped current doping revelations so far.

One of the notable things about the field for is its evenness, with a steady progression of PBs all the way from Kirwa's 2:21:41 to the 2:31 level.  Aheza Kiros (Ethiopia), Anna Incerti (Italy), Olena Burkovska (Ukraine) and others fill out the international component, but evenly mixed in with them is the best Japanese women's field in any of the three Beijing World Championships races and certain…
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Konovalova Wins Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:23:43, Westcott Over Kawauchi in Half

by Brett Larner

In a familiar sight on the Japanese women's marathon circuit, a late-30's Eastern European woman negative-splitted her way to the win of the world's largest women-only marathon, the Nagoya Women's Marathon.  39-year-old Russian Mariya Konovalova led virtually start to finish, more than often than not ahead of the lone Kenyan pacer as she progressively ground down the competition.  A lead pack of 21 at 10 km was down to 14 by halfway, which Konovalova crossed in 1:12:34.  Most of the burnoff happened between there and 25 km, with only defending champion and Moscow World Championships marathon 4th-placer Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu), 2005 Osaka International Women's Marathon winner Jelena Prokopcuka (Lativa), debuting National Corporate Half Marathon champion Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei), the idiosyncratic Eri Hayakawa (Team Toto), Ethiopian Ashete Dido and the pacer able to match Konovalova's pace.

Kenyan Agnes Kiprop managed to regain con…
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'Can Kizaki Retain Her Nagoya Women's Marathon Title?'

http://www.iaaf.org/news/preview/ryoko-kizaki-2014-nagoya-womens-marathon-iaaf

The last of Japan's major winter/early spring marathons, the Nagoya Women's Marathon kicks off at 9:00 a.m. Japan time on Sunday, Mar. 9.  JRN will cover the race live on Twitter @JRNLive.  Overseas viewers should be able to watch Fuji TV's live broadcast via Keyhole TV, for which a premium key is recommended for reliable quality.  Unofficial live streaming may be available on any of a number of overseas streaming sites.

Also newsworthy is Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) in the mass-participation Nagoya Half Marathon that accompanies the women-only marathon.  Kawauchi entered the half through the regular online lottery and was among those who won places in the field.

2014 Nagoya Women's Marathon Nagoya, 3/9/14 click here for detailed field listing
1. Mariya Konovalova (Russia) - 2:22:46 (Chicago 2013) 2. Jelena Prokopcuka (Latvia) - 2:22:56 (Osaka Women's 2005) 11. Ryoko Kizaki (Team …
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Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

by Brett Larner

The Nagoya Women's Marathon continues on in its new format as the world's largest women-only marathon, having added a mass-participation field to its longstanding small elite race to stay relevant in the booming Japanese amateur marathon market.  This year sports one of the better elite fields in Nagoya history, with five sub-2:24 women, a solid sub-2:30 second pack, and a small group of noteworthy first-timers.

The #1 seed is Russian Mariya Konovalova with a best of 2:22:46 Chicago 2013, and it looks pretty clear that she and Kenyan trio Helena Kirop, Agnes Kiprop and Agnes Barsosio are there to pull Moscow World Championships 4th-placer Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) along to something better than her 2:23:34 winning time from last year. There's a gap back to the next group at the 2:25-2:27 level, where Jelena Prokopcuka (Latvia), the eyebrow-raising Zivile Balciunaite (Lithuania), Miranda Boonstra (Netherlands) and Ashete Dido (Ethiopia) are ideally posit…
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Osaka International Women's Marathon Preview

by Brett Larner

Update: Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) and Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) have all withdrawn.

The first major Japanese marathon of the year takes place this Sunday with the Osaka International Women's Marathon.  A small, elite-only event with an accompanying mass-participation half marathon, Osaka Women's is the second of three chances for Japanese women to make the 2013 World Championships team on home ground.  The race will be broadcast live by Fuji TV starting at noon and should be available to international viewers by using Keyhole TV.  JRN will also once again cover the race live on Twitter.

Last year the Japanese federation declared ambitious standards for the World Championships team, sub-2:08 for men and sub-2:24 for women.  Last year's Osaka Women's winner Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) did it, but only fourteen Japanese women have ever cleared that standard and only two in the last five years.  Amid a distinct sense…
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Mottram, Kiprop, Konovalova, Curtis, Moran, Sato, Nishihara Headline International Chiba Ekiden

by Brett Larner

On Nov. 12 the organizers of the 2010 International Chiba Ekiden announced the entry lists for this year's edition, scheduled as always for Nov. 23. The last of the great international ekidens, Chiba has in recent years scaled down to an interesting format of mixed-gender teams, with top men and women from 12 teams worldwide alternating stages on a six-leg, 42.195 course.

Notable names on the list this year include:

Bobby Curtis (U.S.A.) - 2008 NCAA 5000 m champion
Atsushi Fujita (Chiba Pref.) - former marathon nat'l record holder
Wilson Kiprop (Kenya) - 2010 African 10000 m champion
Yuriko Kobayashi (Japan) - 1500 m nat'l record holder
Maria Konovalova (Russia) - 3rd, 2010 Chicago Marathon
Hiroki Mitsuoka (Japan Univ.) - 2010 nat'l univ 5000 m champion
Ed Moran (U.S.A.) - 2010 U.S.A. road 10 km champion
Craig Mottram (Australia) - 2005 WC 5000 m bronze medalist
Kasumi Nishihara (Japan Univ.) - 2010 nat'l univ 5000 m champion
Yuki Sato (Japan) - Japanese men…
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Teenaged Ethiopian Squad Breaks International Chiba Ekiden Course Record

by Brett Larner

An Ethiopian team comprised mostly of teenagers outside their home country for the first time defeated defending champion Japan to win the 2008 International Chiba Ekiden in the event's second year featuring mixed-gender teams. The Ethiopian team covered the six stage, 42.195 km course in a record time of 2:05:27, taking four of the six stage best titles and setting two individual stage records. Japan was 2nd in 2:06:39.


Just past 1 km into the 1st stage.

Forecast rain began just moments before the start of the ekiden, with conditions deteriorating to a steady downpour and gusting wind by race's end. Ethiopia's Ali Abdosh ran 13:34 to open a 7-second gap on Japan's Yusei Nakao over the 5 km 1st stage, but Japanese women's 1500 m record holder Yuriko Kobayashi, running the last race of her teens, made up the difference on the 5 km 2nd stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Ethiopia's Sule Utura and clocking 15:08 to break 5000 m national record holder …
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