Skip to main content

Yamamoto 4th at New York City Marathon, Kawauchi 2nd in Porto

by Brett Larner


Running just his second career marathon, Toyo University graduate Hiroyuki Yamamoto followed up on his 2:11:48 debut at Beppu-Oita last year with a 2:11:49 for 4th at the New York City Marathon.  Always in the lead pack until he wasn't, always looking smooth, confident and relaxed, Yamamoto's placing was the best-ever by a Japanese man in New York, his time also up near the top of the Japanese lists in New York.

2015 World Champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (Eritrea) smoked a 2:07:51 for the win, the third-fastsest winning time in NYC history, while this year's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon winner Lucas Rotich (Kenya) was 2nd.  The perpetual Abdi Abdirahman (U.S.A.) held Yamamoto off for 3rd in 2:11:23.  In an admittedly weaker than usual field, Yamamoto's best-ever Japanese placing was also arguably the best performance by a Japanese man in any of the World Marathon Majors events since Kurao Umeki's 3rd-place finish at the 2006 Berlin Marathon.  In the women's race, Mary Keitany (Kenya) scored her third-straight New York City Marathon win in 2:24:26.  Sally Kipyego (Kenya) ran a 2:28:01 best for 2nd, while in 3rd Molly Huddle (U.S.A.) ran a good 2:28:13 debut.

Elsewhere, after saying that he planned to break the Porto Marathon's 2:09:51 course record, serial marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) took 2nd in just 2:14:32, nearly three minutes behind winner Samuel Theuri Mwaniki (Kenya). The pre-race favorite, Kawauchi lost touch with the lead pack within the first 10 km, running as low as 8th overall before inching his way up through the field over the last 10 km.  "I don't know," he told JRN post-race.  "After this I don't know if I can run 3:00/km pace at Fukuoka."

The Porto women's race was more dramatic.  Running her third career marathon and first outside Africa, Loice Chebet Kiptoo (Kenya) ran side-by-side with #1-ranked Guteni Shone (Ethiopia) through 20 km before pulling away on the most technical part of the course.  Kiptoo pushed on until 27 km when she began to show signs of trouble, her stride changing and pace fading. Running with a cadre of 3~4 male pacers behind her, local Filomena Costa (Portugal) began to make up ground, pulling to within 10 seconds.  After the 31 km turnaround to the long straightaway to the finish, however, Costa stalled, never able to close the last 10 seconds to the win.  Kiptoo dug deep to fight Costa off, breaking the course record in 2:29:13, the first win in her short marathon career to date.  Costa slowed and was run down by compatriot Catarina Ribeiro, both breaking 2:31 and clearing the London World Championships qualifying standard.  On the podium Kiptoo wept openly, the personal significance of her first European win clear to every person in attendance.

New York City Marathon
New York, USA, 11/6/16
click here for complete results

Men
1. Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (Eritrea) - 2:07:51
2. Lucas Rotich (Kenya) - 2:08:53
3. Abdi Abdirahman (U.S.A.) - 2:11:23
4. Hiroyuki Yamamoto (Japan/Konica Minolta) - 2:11:49
5. Shadrack Biwott (U.S.A.) - 2:12:01

Women
1. Mary Keitany (Kenya) - 2:24:26
2. Sally Kipyego (Kenya) - 2:28:01
3. Molly Huddle (U.S.A.) - 2:28:13
4. Joyce Chepkirui (Kenya) - 2:29:08
5. Diane Nukuri (Burundi) - 2:33:04

Porto Marathon
Porto, Portugal, 11/6/16
click here for complete results

Men
1. Samuel Theuri Mwaniki (Kenya) - 2:11:48
2. Yuki Kawauchi (Japan/Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 2:14:32
3. Jose Moreira (Portugal) - 2:16:11
4. Matthew Kipkore Kiprotich (Kenya) - 2:17:38
5. Gilbert Kipkemboi Maina (Kenya) - 2:19:25

Women
1. Loice Chebet Kiptoo (Kenya) - 2:29:13 - CR
2. Catarina Ribeiro (Portugal) - 2:30:10
3. Filomena Costa (Portugal) - 2:30:27
4. Pamela Kipchoge (Kenya) - 2:36:42
5. Guteni Shone (Ethiopia) - 2:38:23

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Toshifumi Kasao said…
恂悊恌ćØć†ć”ć–ć„ć¾ć—ćŸ。
Eryn said…
Yamamoto san was mentioned on TV at mile 11 by the ABC 7 presentations. I only look at the show today as I ran the marathon yesterday ;-)

Most-Read This Week

Weekend Racing Roundup

  China saw a new men's national record of 2:06:57 from  Jie He  at the Wuxi Marathon Sunday, but in Japan it was a relatively quiet weekend with mostly cold and rainy amateur-level marathons across the country. At the Tokushima Marathon , club runner Yuhi Yamashita  won the men's race by almost 4 1/2 minutes in 2:17:02, the fastest Japanese men's time of the weekend, but oddly took 22 seconds to get across the starting line. The women's race saw a close finish between the top two, with Shiho Iwane  winning in 2:49:33 over Ayaka Furukawa , 2nd in 2:49:46.  At the 41st edition of the Sakura Marathon in Chiba, Yukie Matsumura  (Comodi Iida) ran the fastest Japanese women's time of the weekend, 2:42:45, to take the win. Club runner Yuki Kuroda  won the men's race in 2:20:08.  Chika Yokota  won the Saga Sakura Marathon women's race in 2:49:33.  Yuki Yamada  won the men's race in 2:21:47 after taking the lead in the final 2 km.  Naoki Inoue  won the 16th r

Japan's Olympic Marathon Team Meets the Press

With renewed confidence, Japan's Olympic marathon team will face the total 438 m elevation difference hills of Paris this summer. The members of the women's and men's marathon teams for August's Paris Olympics appeared at a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 25 in conjunction with the Japan Marathon Championship Series III (JMC) awards gala. Women's Olympic trials winner Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) said she was riding a wave of motivation in the wake of the new women's national record. When she watched Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) set the record at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon on TV, Suzuki said she was, "absolutely stunned." Her coach Sachiko Yamashita told her afterward, "When someone breaks the NR, things change," and Suzuki found herself saying, "I want to take my shot." After training for a great run in Paris, she said, "I definitely want to break the NR in one of my marathons after that." Mao

Takeuchi Wins Niigata Half in Boston Tune-Up

Running in cold, windy and rainy conditions, Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) warmed up for April's Boston Marathon with a win at Wednesday's Niigata Half Marathon . Takeuchi sat behind Nittai University duo Susumu Yamazaki and Ryuga Ishikawa in the early stages, then made a series of pushes to pick up the pace. Each time he tucked in behind whoever went to the front, while behind them others dropped off. Before 15 km only Yamazaki and Riki Koike of Soka University were left, and when Takeuchi went to the front the last time after 15 km only Koike followed. By 16 he was gone too, leaving Takeuchi to solo it in to the win in 1:03:13 with a 17-second negative split. "This was my last fitness check before the Boston Marathon next month, and my time was right on-target," he said post-race. "Everything went as planned. I'm looking forward to racing some of the world's best in Boston, and my goal there is to place in the single digits." Just back from tr