Skip to main content

London Marathon - Japanese Women's Results

by Brett Larner

Yoshiko Fujinaga (l) and Azusa Nojiri (r). Click here to enlarge photo.

In spite of the stress of living through both the Christchurch and Tohoku disasters and the difficulties caused by trying to maintain a peak for a month after their target race, the Nagoya International Women's Marathon, was cancelled, the majority of the Japanese women at the Apr. 17 London Marathon ran well. The first three across the line recorded PBs, the next a strong debut, and the first five broke 2:30. Former pro XC skier Azusa Nojiri (Team Daiichi Seimei) cleared the federation's World Championships qualifying standard and, pending formal confirmation, will join her teammate Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) on the women's team for this summer's championships. 2009 Nagoya winner Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) also cleared the 2:26 standard but must wait for the official decision following tomorrow's Boston Marathon on whether she will be picked over Osaka runner-up Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) for the final spot on the team.

While the lead pack led by defending London champion Liliya Shobukova (Russia) and half marathon world record holder Mary Keitany (Kenya) set off on 2:18 pace, 2011 Osaka winner Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren), the only Japanese woman who had planned to run London, went out at a more conservative but still ambitious 2:21 pace. All seven Nagoya entrants went with her along with a small number of international competitors including 2009 Yokohama winner Inga Abitova (Russia). The pair of runners from the Tenmaya team were the first to falter and lose contact, with first-timer Risa Shigetomo ending up 24th in 2:31:28 and 2008 Nagoya winner Yurika Nakamura ultimately finishing 31st in a dismal 2:41:22, continuing the unfortunate decline in her performances in every marathon since her Nagoya debut win.

The rest of the second pack stayed together longer as the pace relaxed somewhat through the middle of the race, but when Portuguese steeplechase national record holder Jessica Augusto overtook them and tried to go ahead Akaba went with her, causing the rest of the pack to splinter. Akaba came out ahead of Augusto, 6th for the second year in a row in a PB of 2:24:09 as she overtook many of the casualties from the first pack, just seconds from overtaking 4th and 5th as well. Nojiri, the first of the seven women in contention for the World Championships spot, was next, 12th in a sizeable PB of 2:25:29. Along with 2011 Yokohama winner Ozaki, Nojiri's result confirms Team Daiichi Seimei, coached by 1991 World Championships women's marathon silver medalist Sachiko Yamashita, as the best current women's marathon team in Japan.

Fujinaga and Nojiri. Click here to enlarge photo.

2009 Nagoya winner Fujinaga had trouble staying with the second pack but came through with a strong final 10 km. Clearing 2:26, she is a likely pick for the World Championships team as well. Having returned to peak fitness from a nearly career-ending collision with a cyclist only to see her planned marathon debut in Nagoya cancelled, Noriko Matsuoka (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) delivered a strong 2:26:54 performance. Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) also cleared 2:30, with Tokyo Marathon course record holder Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Universal Entertainment) just missing the mark as she clocked 2:30:00.

The Japanese women's team for the Daegu World Championships marathon now includes teammates Ozaki and Nojiri. Akaba is a certainty for her Osaka win along with Yokohama runner-up Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu). Barring a surprise performance from injured Hiromi Ominami (Yutic AC) in Boston, the decision between Fujinaga and Osaka runner-up Ito will be difficult to call, not least because Ito's coach Tadasu Kawano is also the federation's director of road racing. The official decision is expected to be announced this week.

2011 London Marathon Women's Results
1. Mary Keitany (Kenya) - 2:19:19 - PB
2. Liliya Shobukhova (Russia) - 2:20:15 - PB
3. Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) - 2:20:46 - PB
4. Bezunesh Bekele (Ethiopia) - 2:23:42
5. Atsede Baysa (Ethiopia) - 2:23:50
6. Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) - 2:24:09 - PB
7. Irina Mikitenko (Germany) - 2:24:24
8. Jessica Augusto (Portugal) - 2:24:33 - debut
9. Aberu Kebede (Ethiopia) - 2:24:34
10. Mariya Konovalova (Russia) - 2:25:18
-----
12. Azusa Nojiri (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:25:29 - PB
13. Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) - 2:25:40 - PB
16. Noriko Matsuoka (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:26:54 - debut
20. Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) - 2:29:52
21. Mizuho Nasukawa (Team Universal Entertainment) - 2:30:00
24. Risa Shigetomo (Team Tenmaya) - 2:31:28
31. Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) - 2:41:22

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

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
Post a Comment
Read more

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
1 comment
Read more

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
Post a Comment
Read more