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Showing posts with the label Samuel Ganga

"If You Just Want to Buy Your Way It Will Never Succeed" - Tsutomu Akiyama Part II

Part two of a 2010 interview with Tsutomu Akiyama , one of the people responsible for bringing the first Kenyans into Japan's high school, collegiate and corporate running worlds. Read part one here . Can you talk more about World Half Marathon Championships silver medalist Philes Ongori? Well, as of April she’s leaving and going back to be based in Kenya. She’s superb up to the half marathon. She has run in the 67:30’s. At the World Half in the U.K. she ran 67:38 and came 2nd, just beating 3rd at the very end. But looking toward the marathon…she can train up to what’s necessary for the half marathon, but the marathon has to be double that. I don’t know how that’s going to turn out. I can’t say one way or the other. Looking back a bit, when she came over in high school she was running 2:23 for 800 m. The first stage of the National High School Ekiden is the same as the first stage of the National Inter-Prefectural Ekiden. On the first stage of the National High School Eki...

Discovering the Legend - Tsutomu Akiyama on Finding Wanjiru, Mogusu and More

Tsutomu Akiyama is a key figure in the history of both Japanese running and Olympic marathoning. A senior advisor to Yamanashi Gakuin University's ekiden and track and field programs and one half of the partnership responsible for beginning to bring Kenyans to Japan in the wake of Olympic medalist Douglas Wakiihuri 's arrival, Akiyama discovered and has been a mentor to the likes of marathon great Daniel Njenga , World Half Marathon silver medalist Philes Ongori , World Championships marathon medalist Tsuyoshi Ogata , Hakone Ekiden course record breaker  Mekubo Mogusu , corporate league star,  Gideon Ngatuny , multiple world-level medalist  Paul Tanui and Beijing Olympics marathon champion and winner of the legendary 2010 Chicago Marathon, Samuel Wanjiru In 2010 Akiyama gave JRN a one-on-one interview in which he talked about everything, from the human side of his athletes to problems with foreign agents, from picking a teenaged Wanjiru up at the airport during his ...

Bat-Ochir, Yoshitomi Win Hofu Yomiuri Marathon

by Brett Larner The worldwide marathon season came to a close for the year with the Dec. 19 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon . Coming off a top-10 finish at September's Berlin Marathon, Mongolian ace Serod Bat-Ochir took his first win in three straight Hofu appearances. Bat-Ochir sat in a large pack behind pacemaker Dishon Karukwa (Kenya/Team Aisan Kogyo) through the early stages of the race until it whittled down to three by 30 km. Pushing ahead, he dropped Kenyan debutant Samuel Ganga (Team Mazda) and by 35 km had a three-second gap on Taiga Ito (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC). From there it was smooth sailing all the way to the finish. Ganga dropped out before 40 km, leaving Ito free in 2nd and challenged only by teammate Hiroyuki Kamiguchi (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC), who ran a patient race to close strongly and take 3rd. Although Hofu has regularly had second-tier women, its official women's division only opened last year. Hiroko Yoshitomi (Saga T&F Assoc.) put pressure on past winners His...

Kentaro Ito Returns to Hofu Yomiuri Marathon

http://kyushu.yomiuri.co.jp/news/national/20101130-OYS1T00214.htm translated by Brett Larner On Nov. 29 the organizing committee of the 41st Hofu Yomiuri Marathon , scheduled for Dec. 19, announced the field of ten invited elites at this year's race. Eight domestic runners and two overseas athletes will compete for the win, while the general division will see its largest-ever field including 1692 men and 156 women. At the top of the field is Kurao Umeki (Team Chugoku Denryoku), who set his PB of 2:09:52 at the 2003 Berlin Marathon. 2008 Hofu champion Kentaro Ito (Team Kyowa Hakko Bio) returns to seek a second title. Young rising stars seeking to make a name include Takuro Yamashita (Team Fujitsu), Takashi Yamauchi (Team Aisan Kogyo) and Kiyotaka Shimamura (Tokyo T&F Assoc.). Kenyan Samuel Ganga (Team Mazda) will make his marathon debut. Invited overseas elites include Mongolian Serod Batochir , who set a PB of 2:12:42 at September's Berlin Marathon and returns for his...

Karoki, Moges Win Oda Memorial 5000 m

by Brett Larner In high winds, Kenyan Bitan Karoki (Team S&B) took his first win in his new team colors as he ran 13:48.17 in the men's 5000 m at the 44th Oda Memorial Track and Field Meet on Apr. 29. Last month Karoki graduated from Sera High School to take a place with the elite Team S&B. Interestingly, the runner-up in the Oda Memorial 5000 m was his succesor at Sera, Kenyan Charles Durango , who clocked 13:58.15. Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku) finished 3rd in 14:04.70 over Kenyan Samuel Ganga (Team Mazda). The women's 5000 m was a closer-pitched battle, turning into a three-way sprint finish. Ethiopian Betelhem Moges (Team Denso) came out on top in 15:38.70, with Kenyans Felista Wanjugu (Team Universal Entertainment) and Danielle Filomena Cheyech (Team Uniqlo) just a step behind. Just behind, Hitomi Niiya (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) outleaned Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Kagaku) for 4th. 2010 Oda Memorial Track & Field Meet - Top Finishers click event ...

Shibutani Wins 40th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon

by Brett Larner Veteran Akinori Shibutani (Team Yanagawa Seiki) came within steps of breaking his nearly 10 year-old PB on Dec. 20 as he scored his first-ever win at the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon , taking the 40th anniversary edition of the race in 2:13:58. Following the departure of pacemaker Samuel Ganga (Team Mazda) at 25 km after a 1:06:38 first half Shibutani emerged from the pack to first edge and then cruise away to victory. It was a major triumph for Shibutani, a former teammate of national record holder Toshinari Takaoka at Team Kanebo, who found a position with the minor-league Team Yanagawa Seiki after losing his place on the Kanebo lineup several years ago. For his win Shibutani picks up an invitation to the 2010 Berlin Marathon. 2003 Fukuoka International Marathon winner and Athens Olympian Tomoaki Kunichika (Team S&B) initially remained behind in the pack when Shibutani broke away and was followed by Fumiyuki Watanabe (Team Asahi Kasei) and 2009 Copenhagen Marathon wi...

National Corporate Track and Field Championships - Day Two A.M. Session

by Brett Larner Fifteen hours after running the 10000 m, most of the men's and women's fields at the 2009 National Jitsugyodan Track and Field Championships were back for the 5000 m qualifying heats. In both the men's and women's cases, the top eight finishers in each of the three equally-balanced heats along with the next three fastest times overall would make tonight's final. 10000 m winners Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) and Philes Ongori (Team Hokuren) loped to easy wins in their heats, with Kenyans also taking the top spots in the other two men's and two women's heats. The runners will return at 7:20 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. for the final, in most cases their third race in 24 hours. 2009 National Corporate Track and Field Championships - Top Results click event headers for complete results Men's 5000 m - Heat One 1. Gideon Ngatuny (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:59.14 2. Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 13:59.31 3. Jonthan Ndiku (Team Hitachi Cable)...

Cheyech Over Nakamura Again at Chugoku Jitsugyodan Meet (updated)

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/sports/Sp200905100138.html translated and edited by Brett Larner The men's and women's 5000 m were the highlights of the May 9 Chugoku Jitsugyodan Track and Field Meet at the Miyoshi Sports Park Track and Field Grounds in Miyoshi, Hiroshima Prefecture. In the men's race, Joseph Gitau (Team JFE Steel) ran 13:41.98 to take his first win at the meet, while Peter Kariuki and Samuel Ganga (both Team Mazda) rounded out a Kenyan sweep of the top three positions. Masayoshi Kuroda (Team Chugoku Denryoku) was 4th. Danielle Filomena Cheyech (Team Uniqlo) set a new meet record of 15:19.47 to defend her title from last year in the women's event. Cheyech's time was a PB by nearly eight seconds and the second-best in the world thus far this year. Beijing Olympics marathoner Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) was 2nd in 15:45.41. She was red-eyed and furious with herself after letting Cheyech slip away in the second half of the race. "I thought I coul...

Nihon University's Gitau Steals Izumo Ekiden Victory From Komazawa (updated)

by Brett Larner The 2008-2009 university ekiden season officially got underway on Oct. 13 with the 20th anniversary edition of the Izumo Ekiden . Twenty-two teams competed over the six stage, 44 km course, including the top teams from the Kanto regional championship Hakone Ekiden, strong schools from other regions of Japan, and a select team of ace runners from the American Ivy League. Tokai Unversity had won the previous three years at Izumo on the strength of its two stars Hideaki Date and Yuki Sato, but with the loss of Date to graduation Tokai faced a tough challenge in its quest for a first-ever fourth straight title from 2008 Hakone Ekiden winners Komazawa University. Komazawa’s runners have traditionally relied on sheer strength over speed to make it the top running school in Japan, but this year Komazawa comes to ekiden season with six runners under 14 minutes for 5000 m for the first time in its history. Waseda University, with 5000 and 10000 m Olympian Kensuke Takezawa and a ...

National University Track and Field Championships - Results

by Brett Larner The 77th Japanese National University Track and Field Championships took place Sept. 12-14 at Tokyo's National Stadium. Nihon University's Daniel Gitau delivered the biggest shock of the meet, beating Yamanashi Gakuin University star Mekubo Mogusu in both the men's 5000 m and 10000 m after having been soundly defeated by Mogusu in May's Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships where Mogusu set the 10000 m national university record. Kenyan 'exchange students' rounded out the top three in the 10000 m with Hiroshima University of Economics' Samuel Ganga, who set the 5000 m meet record at June's National University Track and Field Individual Championships, narrowly beating out Meiji University's Yudai Matsumoto to take 3rd. Three ace Japanese runners battled for 3rd in the 5000 m, with Josai University's Yuta Takahashi edging out Juntendo University's Hiroyuki Ono, famous for his gutsy but unsuccessful run on the ...