News30 Sep 2006


Fukushi leads Japanese squad for Debrecen

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Kayoko Fukushi, produces a brave 10,000m run in Helsinki (© Hasse Sjögren)

Japan is sending a five men and five women team to the IAAF World Road Running Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. The team was mostly selected based on the performances at the All Japan Corporate team Half Marathon championships in March, the Sendai Half Marathon in May and the Sapporo Half Marathon in July. 

The runner with the best chance for a medal on the Japanese team is Kayoko Fukushi, the Asian record holder at the Half Marathon. On her half marathon debut in February of 2006, Fukushi won the Marugame Half Marathon in 1:07:26. Not only was it an Asian record in the event, but en route she recorded the World record, 46:55, at 15Km.  Fukushi qualified for the team by winning the Sendai Half Marathon in May where she finished in 1:11:27 ahead of Kenyan Catherine Ndereba. More recently Fukushi won the 10,000m in Helsinki in July in 31:00.64 and finished third at the 5000m in the World Cup of Athletics in September. “The Half marathon is very long. So I like 20Km much better. 1 Km makes a huge difference,” joked Fukushi in Athens. Fukushi also holds national records at 3000m and 5000m. 

The women’s team is a young one. At 24, Fukushi is the oldest, with the others all under 22. 21-year-old Masami Sakata was sixth in the Sapporo Half Marathon in 71:19. On her marathon debut, Sakata was fourth in the 2006 Osaka Ladies Marathon in 2:27:13. Yurika Nakamura and Mayumi Yoshida were second (1:10:03) and third (1:10:07) respectively behind Mizuki Noguchi at the All Japan Corporate team half marathon championships. Both are 20. More recently, in September, Nakamura was fourth at the Philadelphia Half Marathon in 1:11:20. 21-year-old Ryoko Kizaki, who was second in the Kyoto Half Marathon last March, is a silver medalist at the Half Marathon in the 2005 World University Games in Izmir, Turkey. 

UPDATE >>3 Oct - we have been informed that Mayumi Yoshida will miss the World Road Running Championships<<

The men’s team consists of Kazuyoshi Shimozato, Masatoshi Ibata, Masayuki Tomura, Kazuo Ietani and Tomonori Michikata.  Shimozato and Ietani finished first and second respectively at the All Japan Corporate team half marathon championships where they were given the same time, 1:02:00. Ietani recorded his half marathon personal best, 1:01:30, in 2001 and came close to his PR when he recorded 1:01:38 last year. Ietani finished eighth at the 2005 World Half Marathon Championships in Edmonton and 24th at the 2001 World Half Marathon Championships. 

Ibata was third, the first Japanese in the race, at the Sendai Half Marathon. His half marathon best, 1:00:55, was recorded at the 1995 Tokyo City Half Marathon. He was 29th in the 2004 World Half Marathon championships in New Dehli. Other team members, Tomura and Michikata, finished 10th and 12th respectively in the Sapporo Half Marathon. In the Kenyan dominated race, they were the first and second Japanese. 

Team members with Half-Marathon PB:
Men -
Kazuyoshi Shimozato, 1:02:00
Masatoshi Ibata, 1:00:55
Masayuki Tomura, 1:02:57
Kazuo Ietani, 1:01:30
Tomonori Michikata, 1:02:59 

Women -
Kayoko Fukushi, 1:07:26 
Yurika Nakamura, 1:10:03
Masami Sakata, 1:11:19
Mayumi Yoshida, 1:10:07
Ryoko Kizaki, 1:11:44

Ken Nakamura for the IAAF

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