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Tanui Sets 10000 m World Leader at Kyushu Corporate Championships

by Brett Larner

2011 World Cross Country silver medalist Paul Tanui (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) delivered the biggest run of a weekend of regional corporate track and field championships, setting a meet record at the Kyushu region championships 10000 m in a world-leading 27:21.50. His teammate Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) likewise brought her best with a meet record 15:17.47 in the women's 5000 m.  Moscow World Championships marathon team members Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) and Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) both ran well behind Tanui to go sub-29, Nakamoto for only the second time in his career.

Less than an hour after Tanui's world leading run, London Olympics 10000 m 5th-place Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA RC) flashed the flamboyant colors of the new DeNA uniform to win the East Japan region 10000 m in 27:30.65, the fastest time in the world this year behind Tanui.  Ethiopian Asmeraw Mengistu (Team Honda), hired as the Honda team's B-African behind 2011 world champion Ibrahim Jeilan (Ethiopia) and finding himself bumped to A-status with Jeilan's departure, just got under 28 for 2nd.  2013 World Cross Country junior silver medalist Leonard Barsoton (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) won the 5000 m over a field that included his 2010 World XC silver medalist predecessor Clement Langat (Kenya/Team Subaru).  Doricah Obare (Kenya/Team Hitachi) won the women's 10000 m in a solid 32:17.35, leading ekiden ace Yurie Doi (Team Starts) to make a dent in the Japanese top ten lists for the year with a 32:26.89 clocking for 2nd, the only Japanese athlete of the weekend to do so.

Running reliably strong lately, Patrick Muwaka (Kenya/Team Aisan Kogyo) rounded out the list of men going sub-28 in the corporate regional meets, running 27:56.28 to win the Chubu region 10000 m.  Alex Mwangi (Kenya/Team YKK) came close at the Hokuriku region meet, soloing a 28:11.32 for the win.  Former Sera H.S. ringer Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) ran only 28:27.67 to win the Chugoku region 10000 m but doubled with a 13:36.57 meet record in the 5000 m.  His teammate, 2012 Fukuoka International Marathon winner Joseph Gitau, was 3rd in 28:48.85 behind Team Mazda leader Akihiko Tsumurai.  The year's leading Japanese woman over 10000 m, Ayumi Hagiwara (Team Uniqlo), was unchallenged in the women's 10000 m, winning by well over a minute in 32:35.54. In Kansai, the only region not to allow non-Japanese athletes, winning times were slow, Yohei Nishiyama (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) winning the men's 10000 m in 29:10.75 and 2011 Tokyo Marathon winner Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal) the women's race in 33:07.29.

All three Moscow World Championships marathon women sat the weekend out.  Alongside Maeda and Nakamoto's good performances, men's marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) ran badly at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon, 14th in 1:05:05.  Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda) is scheduled to race next weekend's Great Manchester Run 10 km, but missing in action was 2:08:12 man Hiroyuki Horibata (Team Asahi Kasei), seen neither this weekend at the Kyushu region championships nor on home ground at last weekend's Golden Games in Nobeoka.

Kyushu Corporate Track and Field Championships
Fukuoka, 5/18-19/13
click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m Heat 3 - 5/18
1. Paul Tanui (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 27:21.50 - WL, MR
2. Melaku Abera (Ethiopia/Team Kurosaki Harima) - 28:18.57
3. Jeremiah Karemi (Kenya/Team Toyota Kyushu) - 28:26.68
4. Kenichi Shiraishi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 28:42.17
5. Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 28:45.24
6. Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) - 28:45.37
7. Fumihiro Maruyama (Team Asahi Kasei) - 28:46.34
8. Ryuji Watanabe (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 28:47.37
9. Kohei Matsumura (Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) - 28:52.97
10. Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) - 28:59.14

Men's 5000 m - 5/19
1. Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 14:04.76
2. Kei Goto (Team Nishitetsu) - 14:30.07
3. Yuki Mori (Team Memoread) - 14:35.93

Men's 1500 m - 5/18
1. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Team Asahi Kasei) - 3:48.46
2. Koki Maeda (Team Kyudenko) - 3:49.57
3. Kenta Maeda (Team Kyudenko) - 4:01.25

Women's 10000 m - 5/18
1. Misaki Kato (Team Kyudenko) - 33:10.83
2. Chieko Kido (Canon AC Kyushu) - 33:11.05
3. Keiko Nogami (Team Juhachi Ginko) - 33:11.17

Women's 5000 m - 5/19
1. Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 15:17.47 - MR
2. Eri Hayakawa (Team Toto) - 16:02.04
3. Megumi Amako (Canon AC Kyushu) - 16:02.55

East Japan Corporate Track and Field Championships
Ibaraki, 5/18-19/13
click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m Heat 2 - 5/18
1. Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA RC) - 27:30.65
2. Azmeraw Mengistu (Ethiopia/Team Honda) - 27:59.96
3. Johnson Kiumbani (Kenya/Team Konica Minolta) - 28:01.87
4. Paul Kuira (Kenya/Team Konica Minolta) - 28:21.42
5. Benjamin Ngandu (Kenya/Team Monteroza) - 28:30.25

Men's 5000 m Heat 4 - 5/19
1. Leonard Barsoton (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:34.65
2. Zewdie Million (Ethiopia/Team Yachiyo Kogyo) - 13:41.19
3. Clement Langat (Kenya/Team Subaru) - 13:42.32
4. Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta) - 13:49.21
5. Masato Kikuchi (Team Konica Minolta) - 13:57.31

Men's 1500 m Final - 5/18
1. Bikila Demma Daba (Ethiopia/Team Kanebo) - 3:42.54
2. Yasunori Murakami (Team Fujitsu) - 3:45.57
3. Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 3:46.73
4. Keisuke Tanaka (Team Fujitsu) - 3:48.33
5. Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA RC) - 3:50.48

Women's 10000 m - 5/18
1. Doricah Obare (Kenya/Team Hitachi) - 32:17.35
2. Yurie Doi (Team Starts) - 32:26.89
3. Grace Kimanzi (Kenya/Team Starts) - 32:41.69
4. Shiho Takechi (Team Yamada Denki) - 32:52.57
5. Yuka Tokuda (Team Starts) - 32:54.03

Women's 5000 m - 5/19
1. Felista Wanjugu (Kenya/Team Univ. Ent.) - 15:52.18
2. Yuki Hidaka (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 15:55.64
3. Moeno Nakamura (Team Univ. Ent.) - 15:57.59
4. Risa Takenaka (Team Shiseido) - 15:57.84
5. Rina Yamazaki (Team Panasonic) - 16:00.53

Women's 3000 m - 5/19
1. Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 9:29.46
2. Tomoyo Yamamoto (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 9:29.75
3. Sakiko Naito (Team Panasonic) - 9:29.75

Women's 1500 m - 5/18
1. Chihiro Sunaga (Team Shiseido) - 4:23.27
2. Madoka Mitsueda (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 4:23.79
3. Mika Nakagawa (Team Hokuren) - 4:27.02

Chubu Corporate Track and Field Championships
Gifu, 5/11-12/13
click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m - 5/11
1. Patrick Muwaka (Kenya/Team Aisan Kogyo) - 27:56.28
2. Agato Yashin Hassan (Ethiopia/Team Chuo Hatsujo) - 28:39.77
3. Minato Oishi (Team Toyota) - 28:40.49
4. Takahiro Aso (Team Aisan Kogyo) - 28:42.55
5. Micah Njeru (Kenya/Team Toyota Boshoku) - 28:43.87

Men's 5000 m - 5/12
1. Patrick Mutunga (Kenya/Team Toyota Boshoku) - 13:39.01
2. Jacob Wanjuki (Kenya/Team Aichi Seiko) - 13:43.44
3. Edward Waweru (Kenya/Team NTN) - 13:46.87
4. Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) - 13:51.97
5. Chiharu Nakamura (Team Toenec) - 14:01.98

Men's 1500 m - 5/11
1. Patrick Mutunga (Kenya/Team Toyota Boshoku) - 3:47.67
2. Hideyuki Tanaka (Team Toyota) - 3:48.23
3. Chiharu Nakamura (Team Toenec) - 3:50.45

Women's 10000 m - 5/11
1. Yuka Takashima (Team Denso) - 33:09.70
2. Michi Numata (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 33:37.94
3. Chika Nakama (Team Aichi Denki) - 34:19.36

Women's 5000 m - 5/12
1. Susan Wairimu (Kenya/Team Denso) - 16:15.32
2. Yuko Mizuguchi (Team Denso) - 16:19.52
3. Sayuri Sento (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 16:20.02

Hokuriku Corporate Track and Field Championships
Niigata, 5/11-12/13
click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m - 5/12
1. Alex Mwangi (Kenya/Team YKK) - 28:11.32

Men's 5000 m - 5/12
1. Naohiro Yamada (Team YKK) - 14:34.97

Women's 10000 m - 5/12
1. Maiko Kushima (Niigata Albirex RC) - 36:06.95

Women's 5000 m - 5/12
1. Azusa Saito (Niigata Albirex RC) - 17:06.89

Chugoku Corporate Track and Field Championships
Hiroshima, 5/11, 18-19/13
click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m - 5/18
1. Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) - 28:27.67
2. Akihiko Tsumurai (Team Mazda) - 28:43.62
3. Joseph Gitau (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) - 28:48.85

Men's 5000 m Heat 4 - 5/11
1. Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) - 13:36.57 - MR
2. Akihiko Tsumurai (Team Mazda) - 13:54.56
3. Kenji Yamamoto (Team Mazda) - 13:57.83

Women's 10000 m - 5/18
1. Ayumi Hagiwara (Team Uniqlo) - 32:35.54
2. Akari Ota (Team Tenmaya) - 33:50.20
3. Nanami Matsuura (Team Tenmaya) - 33:57.35

Women' 5000 m - 5/11
1. Akari Ota (Team Tenmaya) - 15:58.59
2. Ayumi Hagiwara (Team Uniqlo) - 15:58.95
3. Asahi Takeuchi (Team Uniqlo) - 16:00.66

Kansai Corporate Track and Field Championships
Hyogo, 5/17-19/13

Men's 10000 m Heat 2 - 5/17
1. Yohei Nishiyama (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 29:10.75
2. Yusuke Kawaminami (Team Osaka Gas) - 29:12.49
3. Kenta Iinuma (Team Sagawa Express) - 29:27.77

Men's 5000 m Heat 4 - 5/19
1. Shohei Morikawa (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 14:05.83
2. Masaki Sekido (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) - 14:06.49
3. Kentaro Masuda (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) - 14:06.76

Women's 10000 m - 5/17
1. Noriko Higuchi (Team Wacoal) - 33:07.29
2. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 33:09.04
3. Yuki Mitsunobu (Team Kyocera) - 33:10.25

Women's 5000 m - 5/18
1. Kotomi Takayama (Team Sysmex) - 16:02.95
2. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 16:02.98
3. Misato Tanaka (Team Sysmex) - 16:04.94

(c) 2013 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

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