Milaw and Biruk Score ASICS Stockholm Marathon Ethiopian Double

Abrha Milaw and formerly Japan-based Konjit Tilahun Biruk scored an Ethiopian double at the 2017 ASICS Stockholm Marathon, both pulling away from packs late in the race to win in 2:11:36 and 2:35:45. (video highlights above)

The men's race went out hotter than planned, going through the mostly downhill and flat first 5 km in 15:10 and the uphill-heavy next 5 km in 15:20, mid-2:08 pace on a course with a 2:10:58 record. Things calmed down over the next 10 km, putting the front end of the group at 1:04:56 at halfway, but with a slight surge up front on a gentle downhill leading to the halfway mark Japanese favorite Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) began to drift off the back of the pack. By 25 km he was over 10 seconds behind and backwardly mobile as the race progressed.

Another surge coming off the large bridge near 34 km broke up the remaining pack, Milaw putting more than 30 seconds on 2nd-place Samuel Getachew (Ethiopia) by 40 km and cruising in unchallenged to win in 2:11:36, the second-fastest winning time in event history. Getachew held on to 2nd in 2:12:27 less than 10 seconds ahead of 3rd-placer Samuel Kalalel (Kenya). As far back as 15th place at the low point of his race, Kawauchi rallied with his characteristic finish to take 6th in 2:14:04, running down 2015 Beijing World Championships 5th-placer Shumi Dechasa (Bahrain) with less than 3 km to go. "I'm really disappointed with my time and place, but I was able to keep pushing through when it got tough and I met my minimum goal of beating Dechasa, so it wasn't all bad," he told JRN post-race. "I wanted to leave a better record in the books here in Stockholm where Japanese marathoning was born at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, so I have to come back and try to achieve that next time."

The women's race also went out faster than expected, on 2:32 pace in the early going before slowing to more reasonable 2:36 territory. At halfway it was a group of five in 1:18:00, Biruk with countrywomen Belaynesh Shifera and Tiruwork Mekonen, Kenyan Alice Kibor, and Japan's Yoshiko Sakamoto (Y.W.C.). Like Kawauchi, Sakamoto slipped off the back on the hilly park section after halfway, 9 seconds behind at 25 km and fading.

The remaining four stayed together until after 35 km when Biruk surged to win by 15 seconds. Shifera was next in 2:36:00 with Kibor stopping it from being an Ethiopian sweep as she took 3rd in 2:36:19. Sakamoto was 5th in 2:41:34, her slowest international time to date in five marathons abroad. "I changed my training up this time to focus on more speedwork," she told JRN post-race. "This is what happens."

39th ASICS Stockholm Marathon
Stockholm, Sweden, 6/3/17
click here for complete results

Men
1. Abrha Milaw (Ethiopia) - 2:11:36
2. Samuel Getachew (Ethiopia) - 2:12:27
3. Samuel Kalalel (Kenya) - 2:12:36
4. Daniel Yator (Kenya) - 2:13:13
5. Mike Mutai (Kenya) - 2:13:22
6. Yuki Kawauchi (Japan/Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 2:14:04
7. Eric Kering (Kenya) - 2:15:15
8. Shumi Dechasa (Bahrain) - 2:15:35
9. John Kemboi (Kenya) - 2:16:19
10. Abdellatif Meftah (France) - 2:16:52

Women
1. Konjit Tilahun Biruk (Ethiopia) - 2:35:45
2. Belaynesh Shifera (Ethiopia) - 2:36:00
3. Alice Kibor (Kenya) - 2:36:19
4. Tiruwork Mekonen (Ethiopia) - 2:37:03
5. Yoshiko Sakamoto (Japan/YWC) - 2:41:34
6. Mikaela Larsson (Sweden) - 2:42:21
7. Lisa Ring (Sweden) - 2:43:14
8. Charlotte Karlsson (Sweden) - 2:45:21
9. Ida-Marie Nicklesson (Sweden) - 2:45:30
10. Karoline Moen Guidon (Norway) - 2:46:04

photos and text © 2017 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

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

Saturday at Kanaguri and Nittai

Two big meets happened Saturday, one in Kumamoto and the other in Yokohama. At Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet , Benard Koech (Kyudenko) turned in the performance of the day with a 13:13.52 meet record to win the men's 5000 m A-heat by just 0.11 seconds over Emmanuel Kipchirchir (SGH). The top four were all under 13:20, with 10000 m national record holder Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) bouncing back from a DNF at last month's The TEN to take the top Japanese spot at 7th overall in 13:24.57. The B-heat was also decently quick, Shadrack Rono (Subaru) winning in 13:21.55 and Shoya Yonei (JR Higashi Nihon) running a 10-second PB to get under 13:30 for the first time in 13:29.29 for 6th. Paris Olympics marathoner Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) was 9th in 13:30.62. South Sudan's Abraham Guem (Ami AC) also set a meet record in the men's 1500 m A-heat in 3:38.94. 3000 mSC national record holder Ryuji Miura made his debut with the Subaru corporate team, running 3:39.78 for 2n

93-Year-Old Masters Track and Field WR Holder Hiroo Tanaka: "Everyone has Unexplored Intrinsic Abilities"

In the midst of a lot of talk about how to keep the aging population young, there are people with long lives who are showing extraordinary physical abilities. One of them is Hiroo Tanaka , 93, a multiple world champion in masters track and field. Tanaka began running when he was 60, before which he'd never competed in his adult life. "He's so fast he's world-class." "His running form is so beautiful. It's like he's flying." Tanaka trains at an indoor track in Aomori five days a week. Asked about him, that's the kind of thing the people there say. Tanaka holds multiple masters track and field world records, where age is divided into five-year groups. Last year at the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Poland he set a new world record of 38.79 for 200 m in the M90 class (men's 90-94 age group). People around the world were amazed at the time, which was almost unbelievable for a 92-year-old. After retiring from his job as an el

japan running news

Search This Blog