Anzai Just Misses 1000m National Record at Hokuren Distance Challenge Abashiri Meet

by Brett Larner

Team S&B rookie Aruto Anzai just missed Fumikazu Kobayashi`s men`s 1000 m national record of 2:19.65 at the Hokuren Distance Challenge Abashiri Meet on July 9th. Anzai ran a duel with Team Fujitsu`s Hiroshi Ino, leaving the rest of the field behind and winning in 2:20.43 with Ino 2nd in 2:21.89.

Athens Olympics men`s 10000 m team member Ryuji Ono of Team Asahi Kasei likewise came up short in the 5000 m, landing 2nd behind Kenyan winner John Thuo of Team Toyota Jidosha in 13:32.67. Ono`s mark was well off the Olympic A-standard he needs to have in order to become a last-minute addition to the Beijing Olympic team. His last chance will come in the 10000 m at the Hokuren Distance Challenge Kushiro Meet on July 16.

The Abashiri Meet also included rarely-contested men`s and women`s 600 m races. Ayako Jinnouchi of Saga University won the women`s competition in 1:28.41, while Takeshi Kuchino of Nittai University took the men`s race in 1:16.74.

The Hokuren Distance Challenge continues July 13 in Kitami, Hokkaido. 1500 m national record holder Fumikazu Kobayashi of Team NTN will race have a rematch of his fluke National Track and Field Championships victory over Team NTT Nishi Nihon`s Kazuya Watanabe and Team Chugoku Denryoku`s Yasuhiro Tago as all three make their final attempt to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

Top Finishers
Women`s 600 m
1. Ayako Jinnouchi (Saga Univ.): 1:28.41
2. Heo Jung Yeon (Korea): 1:29.34
3. Miki Nishimura (Self-Defense Force Sports Academy): 1:31.08

Men`s 600 m
1. Takeshi Kuchino (Nittai Univ.): 1:16.74
2. Sung Soo Park (Korea): 1:17.03
3. Masaharu Nakano (Team Otsuka Seiyaku): 1:17.48

Men`s 1000 m
1. Aruto Anzai (Team S&B): 2:20.43
2. Hiroshi Ino (Team Fujitsu): 2:21.89
3. Hiroaki Morikawa (Osaka Police): 2:25.70

Women`s 3000 m
1. Chisa Nishio (Team Starts): 9:09.44
2. Mari Ozaki (Team Noritz): 9:10.04
3. Hitomi Nakamura (Team Panasonic): 9:20.06

Men`s 3000 m
1. Yasunori Murakami (Team Fujitsu): 7:58.28
2. Makoto Fukui (Team Fujitsu): 8:01.24
3. Satoru Kitamura (Team Nissin Shokuhin): 8:11.46

Women`s 5000 m
1. Chiaki Takagi (Team Starts): 15:42.96
2. Yuka Izumi (Team Tenmaya): 15:46.46
3. Miki Ohira (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo): 15:51.98

Men`s 5000 m A-group
1. John Thuo (Team Toyota): 13:32.02
2. Ryuji Ono (Team Asahi Kasei): 13:32.67
3. Martin Waweru (Team Fujitsu): 13:46.77

Men`s 5000 m B-group
1. Atsushi Fujita (Team Fujitsu): 13:54.65
2. Takamasa Uchida (Team Toyota): 13:56.60
3. Kenta Oshima (Team Nissin Shokuhin): 13:59.39

Men`s 5000 m C-group
1. Keizo Maruyama (Team Nissin Shokuin): 14:03.67
2. Keun Tae Yuk (Korea): 14:08.24
3. Yun Ho Shin (Korea): 14:10.00

A complete list of results is available here.

(c) 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

With three sub-2:09 Japanese men in the race and good weather conditions by Boston standards the chances were decent that somebody was going to follow 1981 winner Toshihiko Seko 's 2:09:26 and score a sub-2:10 at the Boston Marathon . But nobody thought it was going to be by a 2:14 amateur. Paris Olympic team member Suguru Osako had taken 3rd in Boston in 2:10:28 in his debut seven years ago, and both he and 2:08 runners Kento Otsu and Ryoma Takeuchi were aiming for spots in the top 10, Otsu after having run a 1:01:43 half marathon PB in February and Takeuchi of a 2:08:40 marathon PB at Hofu last December. A high-level amateur with a 2:14:15 PB who scored a trip to Boston after winning a local race in Japan, Yuma Morii told JRN minutes before the start of the race, "I'm not thinking about time at all. I'm going to make top 10, whatever time it takes." Running Boston for the first time Morii took off with a 4:32 on the downhill opening mile, but after that Sis

Saturday at Kanaguri and Nittai

Two big meets happened Saturday, one in Kumamoto and the other in Yokohama. At Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet , Benard Koech (Kyudenko) turned in the performance of the day with a 13:13.52 meet record to win the men's 5000 m A-heat by just 0.11 seconds over Emmanuel Kipchirchir (SGH). The top four were all under 13:20, with 10000 m national record holder Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) bouncing back from a DNF at last month's The TEN to take the top Japanese spot at 7th overall in 13:24.57. The B-heat was also decently quick, Shadrack Rono (Subaru) winning in 13:21.55 and Shoya Yonei (JR Higashi Nihon) running a 10-second PB to get under 13:30 for the first time in 13:29.29 for 6th. Paris Olympics marathoner Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) was 9th in 13:30.62. South Sudan's Abraham Guem (Ami AC) also set a meet record in the men's 1500 m A-heat in 3:38.94. 3000 mSC national record holder Ryuji Miura made his debut with the Subaru corporate team, running 3:39.78 for 2n

93-Year-Old Masters Track and Field WR Holder Hiroo Tanaka: "Everyone has Unexplored Intrinsic Abilities"

In the midst of a lot of talk about how to keep the aging population young, there are people with long lives who are showing extraordinary physical abilities. One of them is Hiroo Tanaka , 93, a multiple world champion in masters track and field. Tanaka began running when he was 60, before which he'd never competed in his adult life. "He's so fast he's world-class." "His running form is so beautiful. It's like he's flying." Tanaka trains at an indoor track in Aomori five days a week. Asked about him, that's the kind of thing the people there say. Tanaka holds multiple masters track and field world records, where age is divided into five-year groups. Last year at the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Poland he set a new world record of 38.79 for 200 m in the M90 class (men's 90-94 age group). People around the world were amazed at the time, which was almost unbelievable for a 92-year-old. After retiring from his job as an el

japan running news

Search This Blog