Skip to main content

Showing Women a New Way: Yukiko Akaba's Challenge

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2009081100808

translated by Brett Larner

It's almost time for the World Championships marathon. Having experienced the pain of childbirth, the woman known as Japan's first 'Mama-san Runner' sends a strong message: "I'm running for a medal."

Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) ran her debut at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in January, finishing 2nd behind winner Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) in 2:25:40. After polishing her speed on the track Akaba is now prepared to face the best in the world in her new life as a marathoner. Coming at age 29, the change in direction has gone well.

Akaba married her university-era boyfriend Shuhei, a fellow member of the track and field team at Josai University. In August, 2006 she gave birth to a daughter, Yuna. "I ran up until two days before delivery, and then I made my comeback a month later," she laughs. Her coach as well as her husband, Shuhei says, "Before we got married, Yukiko was outrageous. When she had a day off she would start drinking at noon." Now living a full, satisfied life, she can't imagine having had that kind of a lifestyle.

In designing Akaba's richly successful training menu, Shuhei says, "We wanted to target the way a wild animal like a cheetah moves." The goal was to have Akaba ready to react to sudden gear changes during the race. Surrounded by the love and support of her family, Akaba enjoys her day to day life and can look at training as fun.

World-class athletes who continue to compete after giving birth are becoming more and more common. Planning to retire after the London Olympics to have a second baby, Akaba says, "More women have the desire to keep running after having a baby, and if they keep going then the Japanese track and field world will change. If it does it's a good thing." Carrying the pride of showing the way for the next generation of Japanese women, Yukiko Akaba is ready for Berlin.

Translator's note: Akaba has some interesting posts about her recent training on her blog. If I have time I will put translations up.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

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

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

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