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by Brett Larner
On the first day of track and field competition at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore on Aug. 17, Japan's Moe Kyuma and Kazuto Nishiike easily advanced to the A-final in the girls' and boys' 3000 m races. In the opposite approach to most championships, all entrants in the Youth Olympics Games 3000 m competed in the qualifying round at the same time, with the results dividing the field into several different final rounds. Only those in the A-final are elligible to receive a medal.
Kyuma, holder of both the fastest personal and season bests in the girls' field, ran comfortably in the qualifying round to finish 2nd in 9:35.33. Qualifying round winner Gladys Chesir of Kenya ran a PB of 9:25.44 but was still over 15 seconds off Kyuma's best and nearly 10 seconds off her season best. In the boys' race, Nishiike was ranked only 4th coming into the qualifying round and, despite running a PB of 8:13.05, finished equal with his ranking. He nevertheless showed strong closing speed and just missed catching Moroccan Hicham Sigueni for 3rd. Fekru Jebesa of Ethiopia won the qualifying round in 8:12.65.
The finals of both the girls' and boys' 3000 m take place Aug. 22. Both races are scheduled to be broadcast through the excellent Youth Olympic Games website.
2010 Youth Olympic Games - top finishers
Girls' 3000 m - Qualifying Round
click here for complete results
1. Gladys Chesir (KEN) - 9:25.44 - PB
2. Moe Kyuma (JPN) - 9:35.33
3. Monica Florea (ROM) - 9:39.00 - PB
4. Samrawit Mengisteab (ERI) - 9:43.25
5. Aikaterini Berdousi (GRE) - 9:44.73 - PB
Boys' 3000 m - Qualifying Round
click here for complete results
1. Fekru Jebesa (ETH) - 8:12.65
2. Abrar Osman (ERI) - 8:12.80
3. Hicham Sigueni (MAR) - 8:12.95
4. Kazuto Nishiike (JPN) - 8:13.05 - PB
5. Josphat Kiprop Kiptis (KEN) - 8:14.08
(c) 2010 Brett Larner
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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
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