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Showing posts with the label Marisa Barros

Cheromei Sets 2:23:07 CR at Yokohama International Women's Marathon

by Brett Larner

Top-seeded Lydia Cheromei (Kenya) braved windy seaside conditions to solo a course record 2:23:07 at the 4th Yokohama International Women's Marathon after breaking from the pack at only 15 km.  As predicted, 2009 Tokyo Marathon winner Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Univ. Ent.) took top Japanese honors, 2nd overall in 2:26:42 after an exciting four-way battle over the last 7 km.

The first of three major women's selection races for the 2013 Moscow World Championships, Yokohama saw Japanese women butting heads with the Federation's seemingly excessively ambitious sub-2:24 qualifying time.  In difficult conditions three pacers led by the promising Asami Kato (Team Panasonic) took things out on schedule, but after Kato's departure at 14 km the pace slackened and Cheromei grew impatient.  Moving ahead of remaining pacers Maria Konovalova (Russia) and Olena Shurkhno (Ukraine) at 15 km she forged on ahead, fluttering on either side of the 2:23 line with the vagaries of …
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Strong New York Ties in Yokohama and Ageo as Moscow WC Campaign Kicks Off - Preview

by Brett Larner
photo by Mika Tokairin

The Japanese campaign for places on the 2013 Moscow World Championships marathon team kicks off this Sunday in Yokohama at the fourth running of the Yokohama International Women's Marathon, followed two weeks later by the Fukuoka International Marathon.  With Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) running 2:23:23 to win January's Osaka International Women's Marathon and Arata Fujiwara (Miki House) running 2:07:48 for 2nd in Tokyo in February the Federation decided to enact strict standards for the Moscow team: sub-2:24 for women and sub-2:08 for men at any of the designated domestic selection races or the World Marathon Majors.  Considering that both Shigetomo and Fujiwara made it into the all-time Japanese top ten it seems like a pretty tall order to imagine Japan being able to field full five-member teams of that caliber next summer, but that's where the powers that be set the hoop and people are lining up to jump.  With favorable weather …
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Former Suzuki Teammates Kabuu and Mathathi Win Great North Run Half Marathon

by Brett Larner

Former teammates at Shizuoka-based Suzuki Hamamatsu AC, Kenyans Lucy Wangui Kabuu and Martin Irungu Mathathi staged dominating performances to win the women's and men's races at the rolling downhill Great North Run half marathon on Sept. 18.  Wangui, a graduate of Aomori Yamada H.S. before running for Suzuki and winning 10000 m gold and 5000 m bronze at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, showed no sign of her near-absence from competition since the Beijing Olympics as she made an early surge at world record pace to easily crush the field, winning in 1:07:06 over two minutes up on runner-up Jessica Augusto (Portugal).  2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon 3rd-placer Marisa Barros (Portugal) was 3rd again only four weeks after finishing 9th in the Daegu World Championships marathon.  Formerly Japan-based Mara Yamauchi (Great Britain), in training for November's third edition of Yokohama, was a DNF after dropping from the lead pack early.

Mathathi, the 2…
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World Championships Women's Marathon - Results

by Brett Larner

For only the third time in the last 20 years, the Japanese women's World Championships marathon team came up empty-handed, outdone by a superb team performance from Kenya who marked the first-ever sweep of a world-level marathon.  After a slow first half which saw Azusa Nojiri (Team Daiichi Seimei) take the lead from 8 km to 15 km in a bid to get the pace on track, defending silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) faltered when the action began at 33 km, moving backwards from the front of the pack and ultimately finishing 18th as the third woman on the Japanese team.

The other four Japanese women on the team finished in PB order ranging from 5th for Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) to Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) in 22rd.  Nojiri was the first to lose touch with the leaders after the forcing the field into action, but after staying within sight of the front pack she later overtook Ito and ended up just back from Ozaki in 19th.  Akaba and the young Remi Nakaz…
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World Championships Women's Marathon Preview

by Brett Larner

A few months ago JRN had dinner with an executive member of an IAAF gold label overseas marathon.  "The World Championships marathon doesn't matter," this colleague told us.  "Nobody cares about it."  That may be true many places, but in Japan, where most athletes receive regular salaries and do not have agents pushing them into overseas big money races, patriotism still counts for more than the shot at a big payday and the country's best marathoners regularly line up for the chance to represent their country at the World Championships.  Even more so in years like this which precede an Olympics because if a Japanese athlete scores an individual marathon medal at Worlds their place on the Olympic team is secure.  The results speak for themselves.  In the last 20 years Japanese women have scored nine individual marathon medals at eight out of ten World Championships and the men at three along with team medals from both sides virtually every tim…
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WC Silver Medalist Yoshimi Ozaki 2:23:56 Yokohama Win

by Brett Larner
photos by Mika Tokairin


Running in near-perfect conditions on a flatter new course, 2009 World Championships marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) ran a race record 2:23:56 to win the 2011 Yokohama International Women's Marathon and become the first Japanese woman to secure a guaranteed spot on the team for this summer's World Championships. Ozaki said before the race that her goal was only to win, not to run a fast time, but her mark was the fastest by a Japanese woman in over 2 years and close to her PB.

Top two Nakazato and Ozaki.

Pacemaker Shoko Mori (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) took the race out faster than planned with a 3:19 first km, but things soon settled down to 16:59 for the first 5 km. Despite being right on target pace the pack began to fracture, with debutante Yuka Izumi (Team Tenmaya) then 2:29 women MayumiFujita (Team Juhachi Ginko) and Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) losing touch. The pack continued to splinter as the pace accelerat…
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Yokohama International Women's Marathon Preview - Watch Online

by Brett Larner

The second running of the elite Yokohama International Women's Marathon takes place this Sunday, Feb. 20. Intended as a continuation of the legacy of the Tokyo International Women's Marathon, which fell under the wheels of the mixed elite and mass-participation Tokyo Marathon in 2008. Conceived of as a speed race with a spectator-friendly circuit course designed to help athletes qualify and prepare for world-level championship marathons held on similar loops, Yokohama has struggled to get off the ground thus far. It was bumped from its original Nov. 23 date last year by the APEC conference held in Yokohama, its hillier-than-promised course changed from a three-circuit loop through downtown Yokohama to a two-circuit loop this year with much of the race taking place on an out-and-back along the industrial waterfront south of the city, and relatively weak fields compared to those pulled in by Tokyo. This year will see two Yokohamas as it is scheduled to return to i…
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WC Silver Medalist Ozaki, '09 NYC Champ Tulu Lead Yokohama Int'l Women's Marathon Elites

http://www.asahi.com/sports/spo/TKY201101250131.htmlhttp://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/110124/spg1101241747004-n1.htm
http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2011012400672

translated and edited by Brett Larner

On Jan. 24 Rikuren announced the domestic and overseas elite fields for the second running of the Yokohama International Women's Marathon, scheduled for Feb. 20. The domestic field of six includes 2009 World Championships marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) and 2010 Nagoya International Women's Marathon 5th place finisher Mayumi Fujita (Team Juhachi Ginko. The foreign field of five is led by 2009 New York City Marathon winner Derartu Tulu (Ethiopia), who holds a marathon best of 2:23:30. 2004 Athens Olympics marathoner Naoko Sakamoto (Team Tenmaya) is entered in the general division.

As a selection race for August's World Championships in Daegu, Korea, the top Japanese woman in Yokohama will earn a place on the team provided she runs under 2:26 on…
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Gobena Wins Osaka, Kano and Yamaoka Take Half

by Brett Larner
photo by Mika Tokairin

Osaka top 8 Simon, Obata, Barros, Gobena, Ozaki, Kizaki, Horie and Nojiri at the post-race award ceremony.

Ethiopian Amane Gobena and 2009 World Championships marathon 6th place finisher Marisa Barros of Portugal outlasted the domestic competition to go 1-2 in miserable conditions at the 2010 Osaka International Women's Marathon on Jan. 31. Both women recorded PBs, Gobena clocking 2:25:14 and Barros 2:25:44. In her first marathon since the 2007 World Championships Mari Ozaki (Team Daihatsu) was third in 2:26:27. Domestic favorite Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) was an unfortunate DNF after pushing the race at 2:21 pace for the first 25 km. In the accompanying Osaka Half Marathon, Masayoshi Yamaoka (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) outleaned Tsukasa Morita (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) in a great sprint finish, both timed at 1:04:04 as the top six men broke the course record. Second Wind AC women Yuri Kano and Kiyoko Shimahara, running as official guests out of com…
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