Skip to main content

Kaori Yoshida Sub-2:30 PB at Chicago Marathon (updated with photos)

by Brett Larner
photos by Dr. Helmut Winter


After years of near-misses, former Second Wind AC and Team Shiseido runner Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) finally broke through the 2:30 barrier, barely, with a 2:29:45 PB for 8th place at the 2010 Chicago Marathon. After a solid buildup which included wins at July's Gold Coast Marathon and last month's Hakodate Half Marathon, both in times just off her PBs, Yoshida hit Chicago hard with a 1:13:06 first half, just seconds off her winning time in Hakodate. Largely ignored on the Japanese television broadcast which concentrated on cursed Tenmaya runner Naoko Sakamoto's attempt to make a comeback, Yoshida faded in the final kilometers but rallied to just clear her target and mark the best Chicago finish by a Japanese woman since her former Shiseido and Second Wind teammate Kiyoko Shimahara's 3rd-place showing two years ago.

Half-marathon specialist Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) had a middling day, 14th in 2:33:21, while Sakamoto, holder of a 2:21:51 debut, continued her unfortunate slide from the professional level, 29th in 2:44:47.

Japanese coverage of Chicago also included an exclusive interview in Japanese with men's winner Samuel Wanjiru (Kenya), who talked about the importance of gaman, the capacity of calm endurance he learned during his years living in Japan, and wrote the kanji for the word and his Japanized name on a banner for the Japanese TV audience. He also said that his ultimate goal is to defend his Olympic medal in London.

2010 Chicago Marathon - Top Results
click here for complete results
Women
1. Liliya Shobukhova (RUS) - 2:20:25 - NR
2. Atsede Baysa (ETH) - 2:23:40
3. Maria Konovalova (RUS) - 2:23:50 - PB
4. Desiree Davila (U.S.A.) - 2:26:20 - PB
5. Irina Mikitenko (GER) - 2:26:40
6. Mamitu Daska (ETH) - 2:28:29
7. Magdalena Lewy-Boulet (U.S.A.) - 2:28:44
8. Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) - 2:29:45 - PB
9. Jia Chaofeng (CHN) - 2:30:35
10. Tera Moody (U.S.A.) - 2:30:53 - PB
-----
14. Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 2:33:21
29. Naoko Sakamoto (Team Tenmaya) - 2:44:47

Men
1. Samuel Wanjiru (KEN) - 2:06:24
2. Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) - 2:06:43
3. Feyisa Lilesa (ETH) - 2:08:10
4. Wesley Korir (KEN) - 2:08:44
5. Vincent Kipruto (KEN) - 2:09:08
6. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot (KEN) - 2:09:28
7. Laban Moiben (KEN) - 2:10:48
8. Jason Hartmann (U.S.A.) - 2:11:06 - PB
9. Ridouane Harroufi (MAR) - 2:13:01
10. Mike Sayenko (U.S.A.) - 2:14:27

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
photos (c) 2010 Dr. Helmut Winter
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

VavahF said…
does dr. helmut winter have a site where he posts his pics? i'd like to see more wanjiru pics if there any available.
October 13, 2010 at 12:42 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

World Championships Medalist Racewalking Coach Mizuho Sakai Recognized With Highest Coaching Honor

The 2023 Mizuno Sports Mentor Awards recognizing excellence in coaching were held Apr. 23 in Tokyo. Toyo University assistant coach and race walking coach Mizuho Sakai was given a gold award, the program's highest honor, and expressed her thanks and joy in a speech at the award ceremony. The coach of 2023 Budapest World Championships men's 35 km race walk bronze medalist Masatora Kawano , Sakai said, "This is an incredible honor and I'm truly grateful. As a child I wanted to be in the sporting world and I've spent my life in that world. My end goal was always to play a supporting role for other athletes, so I'm honored to be recognized in this way." Sakai's husband Toshiyuki Sakai , head coach of Toyo's three-time Hakone Ekiden champion team, attended the awards gala with her and was also introduced to the audience. After bowing he took a seat in front of her and watched with warmth as she received recognition for her outstanding work. The Mizun
Post a Comment
Read more

Hirabayashi Runs PB at Shanghai Half, WR Holder Nakata Dominates Fuji Five Lakes - Weekend Road Roundup

Returning to the roads after his 2:06:18 win at February's Osaka Marathon, Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin University) took 5th at Sunday's Shanghai Half Marathon in a PB 1:01:23, just under a minute behind winner Roncer Kipkorir Konga (Kenya) who clocked a CR 1:00:29. After inexplicably running the equivalent of a sub-59 half marathon to win the Hakone Ekiden's Third Stage, Aoi Ota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) was back to running performances consistent with his other PBs with a 1:02:30 for 8th. His AGU teammate Kyosuke Hiramatsu was 10th in 1:04:00. Women's winner Magdalena Shauri (Tanzania) also set a new CR in 1:09:57. Aoyama Gakuin runners took the top four spots in the men's half marathon at the Aomori Sakura Marathon , with Hakone alternate Kosei Shiraishi getting the win in 1:04:32 and B-team members Shunto Hamakawa and Kei Kitamura 2nd and 3rd in 1:04:45 and 1:04:48. Club runners took the other division titles, Hina Shinozaki winning the women's half
Post a Comment
Read more

Weekend Track Roundup

The two-day Hyogo Relay Carnival was the biggest meet of the weekend on the Japanese calendar. Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) kicked off her 2nd academic year with a 31:48.11 win in the GP women's 10000 m, beating Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) by 4 seconds. Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) had a tighter win in the GP men's 10000 m, 27:58.01 to 27:58.35 over Jonson Mugeni (Asia Univ.). Kenyans also dominated the men's B and C-heats, Nelson Mandela (Obirin Univ.) taking the B-heat by 0.06 over Stephen Muthini (Soka Univ.) in 28:05.37 and Patrick Wambui (NTT Nishi Nihon) the C-heat in 28:14.83. Top Japanese marks across the four races were 32:24.50 by Sora Shinozakura (Panasonic), 28:11.30 by Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon), 28:41.68 by Masashi Nonaka (Toyota), and 28:42.38 by former Rikkyo University head coach Yuichiro Ueno (Hiramatsu Byoin). The GP women's 3000 mSC might have been the best race of the meet, both Miu Saito (Nittai Univ.) and Mana
Post a Comment
Read more