Skip to main content

Kanaguri Memorial Meet Results

by Brett Larner

The Japanese outdoor track season got started Saturday at Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet depite high winds and heavy rain from a passing storm that kept times from what was hoped.  Japan-based Africans won all the major races, with last year's winners Patrick Mutunga (Kenya/Team Toyota Boshoku) and Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) repeating in the men's and women's 5000 m A-heats in 13:26.48 and 15:42.81.  The Koichi Morishita-coached Yuya Konishi (Team Toyota Kyushu) clocked the fastest time of the day by a Japanese man, 13:39.46 for 2nd in the B-heat, while independent Yuka Ando (Tokinosumika T&F Assoc.) took 2nd behind Chepyego for the top Japanese time in 16:02.08.  The year's leading Japanese marathoner, Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), started his buildup to August's World Championships, running a 14:07.46 shakeout in the men's 5000 m B-heat in his first race since running 2:08:00 at February's Tokyo Marathon.

In the men's 1500 m, last year's 10000 m national champion Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) took 3rd in 3:50.52 behind a strong solo 3:42.75 by Ethiopian Bikila Demma Daba (Team Kanebo).  61-minute half marathoner Yusuke Takabayashi (Team Toyota) was 5th in 3:51.98, while #1-ranked collegiate Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.) was only 10th in 3:56.09.  Beatrice Wainaina Murugi (Kenya/Team Toyota Jidoshokki) won the women's 1500 m in 4:27.88 over collegiate Minami Nakaarai (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), with 2013 World XC junior women's team member Yui Fukuda (Suma Gakuen H.S.) in 4:33.40.

22nd Kanaguri Memorial Meet
Kumamoto, 4/6/13
click here for complete results

Men's 5000 m Heat 5
1. Patrick Mutunga (Kenya/Team Toyota Boshoku) - 13:26.48
2. Paul Tanui (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 13:28.67
3. Charles Ndirangu (Kenya/Team JFE Steel) - 13:32.76
4. Alex Mwangi (Kenya/Team YKK) - 13:47.22
5. Kazuharu Takai (Team Kyudenko) - 13:50.49
6. Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta) - 13:50.67
7. Paul Kuira (Kenya/Team Konica Minolta) - 13:51.50
8. Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA RC) - 13:54.49
9. Keita Shitara (Toyo Univ.) - 13:54.74
10. Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) - 14:00.04

Men's 5000 m Heat 4
1. Patrick Mwaka (Kenya/Team Aisan Kogyo) - 13:37.68
2. Yuya Konishi (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 13:39.46
3. Enock Omwamba (Kenya/Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 13:41.80
4. Micah Njeru (Kenya/Team Toyota Boshoku) - 13:50.52
5. Jeremiah Karemi (Kenya/Team Toyota Kyushu) - 13:50.58
6. Shota Hattori (Nittai University) - 13:50.70
7. Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 13:52.77
8. Yuta Shitara (Toyo Univ.) - 13:55.58
9. Duncan Muthee (Kenya/Takushoku Univ.) - 13:59.71
10. Kazuma Kubota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 14:00.08
-----
12. Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) - 14:07.46

Women's 5000 m Heat 2
1. Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 15:42.81
2. Yuka Ando (Tokinosumika T&F Assoc.) - 16:02.08
3. Risa Takenaka (Team Shiseido) - 16:03.94
4. Ayari Maeda (Bukkyo Univ.) - 16:06.20
5. Mao Kiyota (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 16:08.16
6. Michi Numata (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 16:09.24
7. Kotomi Takayama (Team Sysmex) - 16:13.75
8. Aya Nagata (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 16:14.13
9. Eri Makikawa (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 16:14.73
10. Megumi Amako (Canon AC Kyushu) - 16:19.73

H.S. Boys' 5000 m Heat 6
1. Ryoichi Yoshida (Omuta H.S.) - 14:44.65
2. Takumi Minaura (Toyokawa H.S.) - 14:49.71
3. Takaya Arake (Miyazaki Nittai Prep H.S.) - 14:54.89

H.S. Girls' 3000 m Heat 4
1. Kotona Ota (Suma Gakuen H.S.) - 9:27.30
2. Chika Uemura (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 9:28.71
3. Kureha Seki (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 9:30.99

Men's 1500 m
1. Bikila Demma Daba (Ethiopia/Team Kanebo) - 3:42.75
2. Yuki Akimoto (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 3:50.30
3. Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 3:50.52
4. Yasunari Kusu (Team Komori Corp.) - 3:51.64
5. Yusuke Takabayashi (Team Toyota) - 3:51.98
-----
10. Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.) - 3:56.09

Women's 1500 m Heat 2
1. Beatrice Wainaina Murugi (Kenya/Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:27.88
2. Minami Nakaarai (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) - 4:28.66
3. Miyuki Mandai (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:31.45
4. Risa Yokoe (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 4:33.00
5. Yui Fukuda (Suma Gakuen H.S.) - 4:33.40

(c) 2013 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

Three Japanese Men Running 128th Boston Marathon

Back in Japan's golden years Boston was a big draw for its top talent in the marathon, but for a long time it was off the list of first-choice marathons as the preoccupation shifted to times. That started changing again in 2017 when 5000 m NR holder Suguru Osako made his debut there with a 2:10:28 for 3rd, following in the footsteps of other Waseda University alum who ran well in Boston including two-time winner Toshihiko Seko and the late Tomoyuki Taniguchi . Osako was 3rd at October's Paris Olympic marathon trials, putting him in position to be on the Paris team unless someone runs 2:05:50 or better at February's Osaka Marathon or March's Tokyo Marathon. Having run 2:06:13 in Tokyo last year but beaten by two Japanese men who both went under 2:06, there wasn't really any upside to Osako doing Tokyo this time. Osaka seemed like the logical choice, but like he has for most of his life Osako is following his own motivations and opting to return to the 128th Boston
2 comments
Read more