Joseph Gitau en route to victory in Chiba (© Kazutaka Eguchi(Agence SHOT))
Kenyan Joseph Gitau and Analia Rosa from Portugal took home victories at the 42nd Chiba International Cross Country on Sunday (11), which doubles as the selection meet for the 35th World Cross Country Championships.
Four selection races – men’s 12Km, junior men’s 8Km, women’s 6Km and junior women’s 5Km – were held, with Kenyans living in Japan dominated the men’s senior race.
Young Gitau nabs the victory in the men’s race
Gitau, who attends Sera high school in Hiroshima won the race in 35:05, while Augustine Gatimu Ndirangu finished second and Peter Kariuki fourth. Gitau, a high school senior, was third at 5000m in the Japanese inter-high school championships in August and was the second fastest at stage one in the Japanese national high school Ekiden championships in December. Ndirangu and Kariuki are Kenyans running for the Japanese corporate track team. Yuichiro Ueno, who was fourth at 5000m in the 2006 Inter-Collegiate championships, was the first Japanese in the race, finishing third. His rival since high school days, Satoru Kitamura, who won the 10,000m in the 2006 Inter-Collegiate Championships and finished second at 5000m at the nationals, was sixth.
Big win for Rosa
Analia Rosa, a runner invited from Portugal, won the women’s 6Km in 19:15, while Mary Wangari, a Kenyan who runs for Japanese corporate track team sponsored by Denso, was second, six seconds behind. Rosa was eighth at 3000m in the 2006 World Indoor Championships. The first Japanese in the race was Akane Wakita, who is coached by famed Yoshio Koide, formerly the coach of Naoko Takahashi, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist at the Marathon. Two years ago at the World Cross Country Championships in St. Galmier, France Wakita was the first non-African in the junior women’s race, finishing 11th. Wakita was followed by Kayo Sugihara, who was second at 5000m in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. Another big name in the race was Minori Hayakari, who finished seventh. Hayakari is the Asian 3000mSC record holder and finished twelfth at 3000mSC in the World Championships in Helskiki.
Yuki Yagi, who was fifth and the first Japanese (top four were all Kenyans) at 5000m in the 2006 Inter-high school championships, won the junior men’s 8Km in 24:04. Yagi, one of the most promising young runners in Japan, also recorded the fastest third stage at the national high school Ekiden championships in December. He was followed by Takuya Noguchi, who was one place behind Yagi at the Inter-high school championships.
The women’s junior race was won by Atsuko Matsumura in 16:09. Still a high school freshman, Matsumura was the fourth fastest in the third stage of the national high school Ekiden championships. Matsumura was followed by Marie Imada.
Martin Mathathi of Kenya and Suzuki Motors won the men’s 4Km race in 10:47, 24 seconds ahead of the second place Hiroki Kadota. Mathathi, along with Samuel Wanjiru of Toyota Kyushu, who recently set a Half Marathon record, are the best Kenyans in Japan. He was third at the 2006 World Cross Country Championships and fifth at 10,000m in the World Championships in Helsinki.
Ken Nakamura for the IAAF
Results: (JPN unless otherwise noted)
Men’s 12Km
1) Joseph Gitau (KEN & Sera high school) 35:05
2) Augustine Gatimu Ndirangu (KEN) 35:19
3) Yuichiro Ueno 35:22
4) Peter Kariuki 35:30
5) Yuta Takahashi 35:33
6) Satoru Kitamura 35:41
7) Hiroyuki Ono 35:54
8) Hiroki Matsumura 35:59
Men’s 4Km
1) Martin Mathathi (KEN) 10:47
2) Hiroki Kadota 11:11
3) Masahiro Takaya 11:12
4) Naoki Shibata 11:13
5) Osamu Ibata 11:15
6) Atsushi Yamazaki 11:19
Men’s Junior 8Km
1) Yuki Yagi 24:04
2) Takuya Noguchi 24:06
3) Takuro Nakanishi 24:14
Men’s Junior 4Km
1) Daisuke Kawai 11:56
2) Akira Shiga 12:00
3) Daiki Saito 12:04
Women’s 6Km
1) Analia Rosa (POR) 19:15
2) Mary Wangari (KEN) 19:21
3) Akane Wakita 19:21
4) Kayo Sugihara 19:24
5) Misaki Katsumata 19:28
6) Yuka Kakimi 19:39
7) Minori Hayakari 19:41
8) Yoshika Tatsumi 19:45
Women’s 5Km
1) Atsuko Matsumura 16:09
2) Marie Imada 16:15
3) Misato Tomoeda 16:16
4) Hanae Tanaka 16:22
5) Remi Nakazato 16:23
6) Yoshie Maeda 16:25
