Competitive clashes as athletes achieve Oregon race walk places in Wajima

Japan will be a major player at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 if they reproduce the excellent walks seen in Wajima, Japan, on Sunday (17).

A thrilling men’s 35km saw long-time leader Daisuke Matsunaga caught in the last four kilometres to hand a win to Masatora Kawano by 29 seconds.

The battle for the places was even closer with Tomohiro Noda just falling short of catching Matsanuga for second place. All three were considerably under the previous world lead of 2:27:53 set by Spain’s Miguel Angel Lopez in January.

All three get their country’s spots available for the World Championships in July.

In a special 20km designed to give everyone a last chance on home soil of making the tough qualifying standard set by Japan, Olympic silver medallist Koki Ikeda walked solo for the second half of the race to record 1:18:53 - also a verified world lead by one second from Brazil’s Caio Bonfim.

The women’s 20km had just two competitors. But in another nail biter, Nanako Fuji and Kumiko Okada were joined at the hip until the last 400m when Fuji edged ahead of the national record-holder, with both going under 1:30:00.

Serena Sonoda was, like Matsunaga, on her own for most of the women’s 35km. But there was no one capable of challenging her and her 2:45:48 finish was ratified third best on the 2022 list.

From the start in the men’s 35km, four set off as if the race were 3km - not another 32. The first kilometre was an eye-watering 3:53, as Satoshi Maruo, Matsunaga, Noda and Kawano left the others for dead.

Noda was quick to realise the pace was too hot, and shortly after 2km, Kawano and Maruo were struggling to keep up with Matsunaga.

They were lapping women back markers as early as 3km and the first of a small field of men not long after 4km. Matsunaga hit 5km at 20;02, while the chasing two, around 20m in arrears, crossed five seconds after.

The nearest challenger after that was Noda, 28 seconds behind the leader, but he was keeping his powder dry. Behind him, 2017 world silver medallist, Hirooki Arai, was more than a minute in arrears.

At 10km, the leader had stretched his advantage to 23 seconds having hit his own watch at 41:31 - the pace settling somewhat since the blistering start. 

Four kilometres later, Matsunaga latched on to the small 20km field barely 2km into their race. That slipstream lasted barely five minutes, but it took the 35km leader further away from his pursuers.

He didn’t know then he was to pay for his rash move. By 15km, Matsunaga was barely in sight of the pair hoping he had overcooked it. His 1:00:52 was now more than 1:09 better, and he looked to be going faster. 

Meanwhile, Noda had recovered to join the chasing pair. Matsanuga made 20km in 1:21:34, a time good enough to place in top races had it just been that distance, but on he charged with a 1:34 edge over his nearest challenger.

But he proved human when that lead was cut to 1:15 at 25km, with the slightest suggestion the leader’s stride was slowing. In fact, it did more than that.

At 31km, Japan’s record-holder at 50km and sixth in the Olympics, could see Matsanuga slowing rapidly. Kawano, who had been worried by a bout of anaemia that curtailed his training in January, sensed his chance and pushed hard to take the lead.

The new leader’s face betrayed the effort as he raced for the line in 2:26:40, but it creased into a smile as he broke the tape.

"I am happy making the Oregon national team," he said. "I felt honoured to race with university senior, Matsunaga-san. I was still not in the best form so I tried to stay with the pack as long as possible, save energy and make the attack in the end."

Matsanuga stopped the clock at 2:27:09, with the fast-finishing Noda home in 2:27:18. 

"I know I went out too fast, but I was having way too much fun with the pace," said Matsanuga.

"The original plan was to go 4:05/km for 30km and try to break away from the pack and escape the whole way. If I stuck to my plan, maybe I had the chance to win the race. In the last 10km, I really slowed down. I think to be the best in the world, you need to be able to push a 4:03/km."

A distant Maruo was fourth in in 2:29:19. Even that was good for second on the previous best times for 2022.

The 35km women adopted an equally swift pace, with five of them strung across the downtown residential road in 9°C and sun in the city at the tip of the peninsula in Ishikawa province.

However, it didn’t take long for Sonoda to establish her credentials and by the time she reached 5km in 24:08, she had a three-second lead over Kaori Kawazoe, and 13 more over Maika Yagi and two others a footstep behind.

Sonoda and Kawazoe buried themselves in a small group of three men, although it looked as if the men were grateful for the tow. Sonoda recorded 48:03 for 10km, with Kawazoe four seconds behind. But that was as good as it got for the chaser and their male entourage.

The whole group quickly fell apart, with Sonoda forging a far more convincing lead. Behind the first two women, Yagi and Masumi Fuchise were already 49 seconds shy of the leader.

With four races at the same time, there was a wry moment for the leader was passed by the leading 20km men, and straight after by the 20km women, who had themselves been lapped by their male counterparts. Sonoda literally took it in her stride, she could afford to with exactly a minute to spare over Kawazoe, 1:11:43 to 1:12:43 at 15km.

Sonoda was 1:35:19 at 20km, with the same second place at 1:37:40, and Mao Tatsumi timed at 1:38:25, an equally distant third.

And thus, it remained to the finish with Kawazoe, 2:54:25, nearly nine minutes behind the winner and Yagi, third in 2:55:55.

Ikeda stamped his authority on the 20km with his dark hair bouncing to the same rhythmical pace from first to last.

Eiki Takahashi was 23 seconds behind, and his 1:19:16 should equally give him a July trip to Oregon.

The group of just three 20km walkers were actually a second slower going through the first kilometre than the men, but 3:54, was still 78 minutes for the whole trip. At 5km, (19:34) Ikeda and Takahashi held a six-second lead over Motofumi Suwa. 

For the man in third place, the race was well and truly over by halfway with the leaders clocking 39:07, and poor Suwa 1:42 behind was sentenced to a solitary second half, where there was plenty of company from the other three races, but none in his own.

Takahashi was the next confined to walking solo before 15km, which he reached in 58:53, 15 seconds behind Ikeda, and from there it was a quick procession to the tape, with a weary Suwa finishing more than a kilometre behind in 1:23:46.

"Today was part of training for Oregon," Ikeda said. "It was a good race, but I will also need to work on when I’m walking alone. keeping a pace or raise the pace. I’ll be ready for Oregon." 

In the women’s 20km, Fuji and Okada were both on 44:52 by halfway. Of the four races, this was the closest.

Finally, Fuji inched ahead, with the Japanese record-holder right behind and striving to make up the last few strides.

Fuji charged for the line and was rewarded with 1:29:29 - just two seconds ahead of Okada, but both easily inside the qualifying time for the World Championships.

The winner said: “"After Muscat (the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Muscat 22), I wasn’t sure how my condition would be, and I am glad to mark the nomination time.

"We (with Okada) train together and I was happy to race with her and make the Oregon team together."

Paul Warburton for World Athletics