Shizuoka International Meet

The 22nd annual Shizuoka International meet was held yesterday (3 May) in Shizuoka, Japan, and brought a smattering of world class results on the track and in the field with the main honours being taken by Kenyan and Japanese athletes.

Matsumiya, the first non-Kenyan home

The Kenyans running for Japanese corporate team dominated men’s 10,000m, while the Japanese did better in the women’s 10,000m. Led by James Getanda, who won in 28:04.87, the Kenyans took first five places in the men’s race.  Takayuki Matsumiya, 30Km world record holder, was the first Japanese in sixth place.   Megumi Oshima, who was 10th at the marathon in the World Championships in Helsinki, won the women’s 10,000m in 32:11.64.  She won the race by more than 40 seconds from Ruth Wanjiru of Kenya. 

Four separate 400m Hurdles races were held in Shizuoka and Kenji Narisako, the 2005 World University Games champion, won the fourth race, the fastest section, in 49.59.  It was an improvement from 49.81 he recorded in the Mt SAC relays. 

Two premier long sprinters in Japan – Sakie Nobuoka and Asami Tanno – are rounding into form. The national 200m record holder Sakie Nobuoka won her specialty in 23.37, the time 0.04 seconds short of her national record. Finishing second in 23.55 is Asami Tanno, the national 400m record holder.  Although the time is faster than Tanno’s personal best, 23.73, the race was wind-assisted with the wind speed of 2.5m/s.

Home jump winners

Kumiko Ikeda, the 2000 World Junior Championships bronze medallist, long jumped 6.75m (1.8m/s) to defeat her arch rival Maho Hanaoka, who jumped 6.68m.  In Shizuoka Hanaoka has improved her season best from 6.43m she recorded in the Mt SAC.

Daichi Sawano, a national record holder at PV, won his specialty in 5.60m.  He has improved from 5.53m he vaulted in Mt SAC. 

Other highlights of the meet are: Shinji Takahira, two-time national champion, won his specialty 200m in wind-assisted 20.71; Satomi Kubokura won the women’s 400m Hurdles from the national record holder Makiko Yoshida; Yuka Murofushi, national record holder at both discus and hammer throw won the women’s discus throw.  

Ken Nakamura for the IAAF

Results: 

Men

200m    2.8m/s
1) Shinji Takahira  20.71
2) Mitsuru Hasegawa  20.78
3) Yusuke Omae  20.83

1500m
race 1
1) Tsukasa  Morita  3:49.97

Race 2
1) Fumikazu Kobayashi  3:44.65
2) Jun Tsuji  3:44.88

10,000m
1) James Getanda (KEN)  28:04.87
2) Ombeche Mokamba (KEN)  28:05.40
3) Cyrus Njui (KEN)  28:05.70 
4) Samuel Muturi (KEN)  28:07.24
5) Stanley Nganga (KEN)  28:10.97
6) Takayuki Matsumiya  28:11.89

400mH
race 1
1) Shuhei  Yamamichi  51.81

Race 2
1) Shuhei Takabayashi  51.94

Race 3
1) Naoki Ihara  51.10

Race 4
1) Kenji Narisako  49.49
2) Yoshihiro Chiba  50.11
3) Naohiro Kawakita  50.41

HJ
1) Naoyuki Daigo  2.21m

PV
1) Daichi Sawano  5.60m
2) Ryo Onodera  5.30m
3) Takehito Ariki  5.30m

LJ
1) Daisuke Arakawa  7.98m  (2.3m/s)
2) Shin-ichi Terano  7.79m  (3.3m/s)

Women

200m   2.5m/s
1) Sakie Nobuoka  23.37
2) Asami Tanno  23.55
3) Yuka Nagakura  24.40
4) Andrea Bliss (JAM)  24.40 

10,000m
1) Megumi Oshima  32:11.64
2) Ruth Wanjiru (KEN)  32:52.45
3) Marina Haga  33:01.59
4) Kaoru Nishi  33:02.21
5) Miho Watanabe  33:02.25

400mH
race 1
1) Mami Morishita  61.52

Race 2
1) Ai Wakabayashi 61.12

Race 3
1) Satomi Kubokura  58.22
2) Makiko Yoshida  58.57

HJ
1) Miyuki Aoyama  1.83m

LJ
1) Kumiko Ikeda  6.75m  (1.8m/s)
2) Maho Hanaoka  6.68m (2.7m/s)

SP
1) Yoko Toyonaga  15.73m

DT
1) Yuka Murofushi  55.39m