News08 Feb 2004


Njenga wins Tokyo International Marathon

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Daniel Njenga (KEN) wins the 2004 Tokyo Marathon (© AFP/Getty Images)

Daniel Njenga of Kenya overhauled Japan’s Satoshi Osaki at 41Km to win today’s 2004 Tokyo International Marathon in 2:08:43. Osaki finished second just three seconds behind having tried to steal the race by surging away from the field after 30Km. 

The three pace setters – Joseph Kariuki, Isaac Macharia both from Kenya and Teodoro Vega of Mexico - did an excellent job leading the pack of runners at the designated pace (15:05 for each 5Km).  The pack passed 5Km in 15:06, 10Km in 30:06 and 20Km in 1:00:26.

Despite the quick pace, at the half way point (1:03:45) 20 runners were still bunched up in the lead pack, with the only major casualty of the race at that point being former national marathon record holder Takayuki Inubushi, who had fallen off the lead at 9.5Km.

At 21.5Km, Koji Shimizu (who fell right after the start and had to play catch-up) also had to let the leaders go and eventually finished disappointing 25th. Next to drop back (at 23Km) was Noriaki Igarashi, and he was quickly followed by Eric Wainaina (KEN), Kurao Umeki and Toshihiro Iwasa, and (25Km in 1:15:29) Takeshi Hamano also fell back by the 27km point of the race. 

The defining moment came at 29.5Km, when out of 13 runners still left with a winning chance, Isaac Macharia and Satoshi Osaki moved to the front. “My pre-race plan was to go at 30Km,” confirmed Osaki later. Soon, Macharia (one of the rabbits) ended his race and Osaki was alone.

“I did not see anyone coming with me, so I thought this was a great opportunity,” confirmed Osaki, who increased the pace and ran 2:57 for the kilometre between 30Km & 31Km.

At this point six runners - Ben Kimondiu, Daniel Njenga, Driss El Himer, Tomoyuki Sato, Yukinobu Nakazaki and Michitaka Hosokawa - were chasing Osaki (Takayuki Nishida had falled back). 

At 33Km, Osaki was 18 seconds ahead of the chasing pack but by 35Km his advantage was down to 15 seconds ahead of Njenga, who was now alone in the second place, and as the runners climbed up the hill, Njenga gained more on Osaki.

“The uphill at the critical part of the race (approximately 30m gain in elevation from 36Km to 39Km) was tougher than I had imagined,” said Osaki who was 7 seconds ahead of Njenga at 40Km.

Finally, at 40.6Km, Njenga caught up with Osaki. They ran together until 41.3Km, at which point Njenga slowly increased the pace and pulled away to win in 2:08:43. 

However, Osaki never gave up, kept the pressure on and stayed close, finishing a mere 3 seconds adrift of the Kenyan, so improving his personal best by nearly a minute from 2:09:38 to 2:08:46.

“I thought I must finish ahead of (two-time Olympic medallist) Eric Wainaina in order to be considered for the Kenyan Olympic team. So I am very happy to the win,” said Njenga.

“I was shooting for 2:08, so I am very happy to accomplish that goal,” confirmed Osaki.  “Although Njenga passed me during the final stage of the race, I have no regret for surging at 30Km.” Whether Osaki will be selected for the Olympic marathon team remains uncertain.  “If I am selected for the team, I want to train at a higher level,” concluded Osaki who must wait until March 15 to see if he has a ticket to Athens.

Ken Nakamura for the IAAF
with assistance from Akihiro Onishi   
 
NB. Short bios of the top two finishers follow after the results.

Weather   8.3C, 37% humidity, SSW wind 2.1m/s

Results:
1)  Daniel Njenga (KEN)  2:08:43
2)  Satoshi Osaki    2:08:46
3)  Ben Kimondiu (KEN)   2:09:27
4)  Yukinobu Nakazaki    2:09:28
5)  Tomoyuki Sato     2:09:43
6)  Michitaka Hosokawa 2:10:38    Debut
7)  James Wainaina (KEN)   2:11:00
8)  Eric Wainaina (KEN)    2:11:03
9)  Toshiya Katayama   2:11:05

13)  Driss El Himer (FRA)   2:11:55 
14)  Jose M Martinez (ESP)   2:13:14
 …
19) Takayuki Nishida   2:15:29 

23) Takayuki Inubushi   2:17:33
24)  Toshihiro Iwasa   2:17:47
25)  Koji Shimizu    2:17:57 

Splits
5Km    15:06     Isaac Macharia (KEN)
10Km 30:06  (15:00)    Teodoro Vega  (MEX)
15Km   45:09  (15:03)   Teodoro Vega
20Km   1:00:26  (15:17)  Teodoro Vega
Half    1:03:45     Teodoro Vega
25Km  1:15:29  (15:03)   James Wainaina  (KEN)
30Km  1:30:36  (15:07)    Isaac Macharia    (KEN) 
35Km  1;45:36  (15:00)   Satoshi Osaki
40Km   2:01:44  (16:08)   Satoshi Osaki
Finish   2:08:43  (6:59)     Daniel Njenga


Daniel Njenga - a former World junior steeplechase record holder at 8:19.21 (set in 1994), he has been living in Japan for nearly 13 years ever since High School - one of the first Kenyans to attend the High School in Japan - and graduated and now runs for a corporate team. His first marathon was in 1995, when he was a senior High School senior, making an auspicious start by winning the Saitama race in 2:20:28.  However, his next five marathons left something to be desired.  Going into the 2002 Chicago marathon, his marathon personal best was only 2:11:49 (1999 Fukuoka).  He made a major breakthrough in Chicago, when he finished second in 2:06:16, and returned there in 2003 to record another fast time, 2:07:41.  However, until today Njenga has never won a big marathon. 

Satoshi Osaki - one of the few elite runners in Japan who works full time.  Because of the work schedule, his training runs starts mostly after 5:30pm and although his total mileage is quite low (approximately 500 – 600Km per month), the quality of the training (which includes a regular 50Km run at the weekends) is quite high. For Osaki who made a debut in the 2000 Lake Biwa race (2:13:49) he made a major breakthrough in the 2002 Hofu Marathon, where he ran his first sub 2:10 marathon (2:09:38).

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