Skip to main content

2008 Golden Games in Nobeoka - Results

by Brett Larner

The 2008 Golden Games in Nobeoka track meet took place May 31. The meet acts as a kind of championship for professional jitsugyodan runners in the leadup to the National Championships in late June and is somewhat unusual in that it features a limited number events, with only the 800, 1500 and 5000 m distances contested along with a 3000 m event for junior high school students. The 5000 m is the main event of the day, with 10 heats for men and 4 for women. Primarily featuring jitsugyodan runners with heavy representation by teams` foreign ringers, the meet also attracts the most ambitious of the nation`s university runners, those who want to run against the strongest competitors.

The most impressive result of the day came in the women`s 800 m, where Team Natureal`s Miho Sato broke the meet record by over one second to win in 2:04.10. 2nd place finisher Ayako Jinnai of Saga University also broke the old meet record but was far behind Sato in 2:05.11. The men`s 1500 m also saw a new meet record with a 3:38.11 by Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko`s Kazuya Watanabe. Kenyans Pauline Wanguru (Team Kyudenko) and Mary Wangari (Ritsumeikan AP Univ.) went 1-2 in the women`s 5000 m, with Megumi Seike of Team Sysmex close behind in 3rd, the top Japanese in 15:26.31 but just shy of the Olympic B-standard.

In the men`s 5000 m heats, Team Honda`s Yakob Jarso recorded the fastest time of the day, 13:21.30, to take the win in the D-heat and squeeze under the Olympic A-Standard. 2nd through 4th place cleared the B-standard. Osaka World Championships 10000 m bronze medalist Martin Mathathi (Team Suzuki) won the A-heat in a comparatively slow 13:46.87. The fastest Japanese runner of the day was Josai University junior Yuta Takahashi, 9th in the otherwise all-African D-heat in 13:43.06. Komazawa University`s Tsuyoshi Ugachi ran 13:53.15 in the A-heat just six days after finishing 2nd in the Kanto Regional University T&F Championsips half marathon. 5000 m national record Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica-Minolta), who set a PB in th 10000 m at last month`s Cardinal Invitational, ran an unaccountably slow 13:55.11 to finish 5th in the B-heat. Beijing Olympics men`s marathon team member Satoshi Osaki (Team NTT Nishi Nihon) was 3rd in the C-heat in 13:55.16. The surprise winner of February`s Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, Team Asahi Kasei rookie Tomoya Adachi, ran 13:58.27 to finish 10th in the B-heat.

Listed below are the combined top men`s and women`s times with heat and placing indicated. Also included are the top results from the 800 m and 1500 m. For complete results visit the meet website.

Combined Men`s 5000 m Results
13:21.30 (D:1) - Yakob Jarso, Team Honda
13:21.75 (D:2) - John Kariuki, Team Toyota Boshoku
13:22.27 (D:3) - Micah Njeru, Team Toyota Boshoku
13:22.76 (D:4) - Cyrus Njui, Team Nissan Jidosha
13:28.44 (D:5) - Samuel Ndungu, Team Aichi Steel
13:32.06 (D:6) - Hillary Chenonge, Team Aisan
13:33.56 (D:7) - Martin Mukule, Team Toyota Jidosha
13:34.82 (D:8) - Hailu Mekonnen, Team Honda
13:43.06 (D:9) - Yuta Takahashi, Josai University (junior)
13:44:92 (B:1) - Nicholas Makau, Team JAL Ground Service
13:45.54 (D:10) - Samuel Gatogo, Team Suzuki
13:46.87 (A:1) - Martin Mathathi, Team Suzuki
13:49.72 (A:2) - Kazuharu Takai, Team Kyudenko
13:49.92 (B:2) - Tomoyoshi Umegae, Team NTN
13:50.10 (A:3) - Tomoaki Bungo, Team Asahi Kasei
13:50.26 (A:4) - Masayuki Obata, Team Yasukawa Denki
13:51.47 (A:5) - Tsukasa Morita, Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko
13:51.83 (A:6) - Hidekazu Sato, Team Toyota Boshoku
13:52.33 (D:11) - Abera Ertiban, Team Kurosaki Harima
13:52.62 (A:7) - Aso Takahiro, Team Aisan
13:53.15 (A:8) - Tsuyoshi Ugachi, Komazawa University (junior)
13:53.49 (B:3) - Keita Tsuchihashi, Team Asahi Kasei
13:54.14 (C:1) - Hisanori Kitajima, Team Yasukawa Denki
13:54.19 (A:9) - Kensuke Takahashi, Team Toyota Jidosha
13:54.49 (B:4) - Sota Hoshi, Komazawa University (junior)
13:54.85 (C:2) - Makoto Harada, Team JR East Japan
13:55.11 (B:5) - Takayuki Matsumiya, Team Konica-Minolta
13:55.16 (C:3) - Satoshi Osaki, Team NTT West Japan
13:55.92 (C:4) - Yasuhito Ikeda, Team NTT West Japan
13:56.58 (B:6) - Ryo Yamamoto, Team Sagawa Express
13:56.97 (B:7) - Kenichiro Setoguchi, Team Asahi Kasei
13:57.17 (B:8) - Masakazu Fujiwara, Team Honda
13:57.20 (A:10) - Takashi Horiguchi, Team Honda
13:57.59 (C:5) - Kenji Takeuchi, Team Toyota Jidosha Kyushu
13:58.08 (B:9) - Tomohiko Sumi, Team Toyota Boshoku
13:58.18 (C:6) - Tomoyuki Sato, Team Asahi Kasei
13:58.27 (B:10) - Tomoya Adachi, Team Asahi Kasei
13:58.53 (E:1) - Geoffrey Ngugi, Daiichi Kodai University (sophomore)
13:58.66 (B:11) - Yoichiro Akiyama, Team Honda
13:58.73 (C:7) - Yasuyuki Nakamura, Team Suzuki
13:58.87 (C:8) - Akiyuki Iwanaga, Team Kyudenko
13:59.23 (C:9) - Makoto Tobimatsu, Team Yasukawa Denki
13:59.48 (C:10) - Makoto Otsu, Team Toyota Jidosha Kyushu

Women`s 5000 m A-Group
1. 15:25.60 - Pauline Wanguru, Team Kyudenko
2. 15:26.06 - Mary Wangari, Ritsumeikan AP University (senior)
3. 15:26.31 - Megumi Seike, Team Sysmex
4. 15:28.47 - Keiko Nogami, Team Juhachi Ginko
5. 15:34.19 - Madoka Ogi, Team Juhachi Ginko
6. 15:37.59 - Nanako Hayashi, Team Kyocera
7. 15:39.56 - Ryoko Kisaki, Team Daihatsu
8. 15:41.05 - Betelhem Moges, Team Denso
9. 15:42.10 - Mika Yoshigawa, Team Panasonic
10. 15:43.70 - Mika Okunaga, Team Kyudenko

Men`s 800 m
1. 1:47.64 - Hiroshi Sasano, Team Fujitsu
2. 1:47.96 - Jae Hun Lee, Koyo City Hall
3. 1:48.49 - Takeshi Kuchino, Nittai University (senior)
4. 1:48.53 - Mitsuaki Yoshii, Waseda University (junior)
5. 1:49.18 - Taiki Tsutsumi, Team Acom

Women`s 800 m
1. 2:04.10 - Miho Sato, Team Natureal (meet record)
2. 2:05.11 - Ayaka Jinnai, Saga University (meet record)
3. 2:05:40 - Ruriko Kubo, Team Deodeo
4. 2:06:31 - Saori Yamashita, Team Hokuren
5. 2:06.60 - Kieko Shinada, Tsukuba University

Men`s 1500 m
1. 3:38.11 - Kazuya Watanabe, Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko (meet record)
2. 3:38.53 - Fumikazu Kobayashi, Team NTN
3. 3:40.77 - Yasuhiro Tago, Team Chugoku Denryoku
4. 3:40.82 - Kazuharu Murakami, Team Fujitsu
5. 3:45.53 - Hiroyuki Morikawa, Osaka Police Dep`t

Women`s 1500 m
1. 4:25.59 - Misako Suguro, Team Shiseido
2. 4:26.82 - Yoshika Tatsumi, Team Noritz
3. 4:27.28 - Mika Tanimizu, Meijo University (frosh)
4. 4:27.91 - Aya Isomine, Team Shiseido
5. 4:28.97 - Akane Ota, Team Niigata Albirex

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Japan's Olympic Marathon Team Meets the Press

With renewed confidence, Japan's Olympic marathon team will face the total 438 m elevation difference hills of Paris this summer. The members of the women's and men's marathon teams for August's Paris Olympics appeared at a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 25 in conjunction with the Japan Marathon Championship Series III (JMC) awards gala. Women's Olympic trials winner Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) said she was riding a wave of motivation in the wake of the new women's national record. When she watched Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) set the record at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon on TV, Suzuki said she was, "absolutely stunned." Her coach Sachiko Yamashita told her afterward, "When someone breaks the NR, things change," and Suzuki found herself saying, "I want to take my shot." After training for a great run in Paris, she said, "I definitely want to break the NR in one of my marathons after that." Mao

Weekend Racing Roundup

  China saw a new men's national record of 2:06:57 from  Jie He  at the Wuxi Marathon Sunday, but in Japan it was a relatively quiet weekend with mostly cold and rainy amateur-level marathons across the country. At the Tokushima Marathon , club runner Yuhi Yamashita  won the men's race by almost 4 1/2 minutes in 2:17:02, the fastest Japanese men's time of the weekend, but oddly took 22 seconds to get across the starting line. The women's race saw a close finish between the top two, with Shiho Iwane  winning in 2:49:33 over Ayaka Furukawa , 2nd in 2:49:46.  At the 41st edition of the Sakura Marathon in Chiba, Yukie Matsumura  (Comodi Iida) ran the fastest Japanese women's time of the weekend, 2:42:45, to take the win. Club runner Yuki Kuroda  won the men's race in 2:20:08.  Chika Yokota  won the Saga Sakura Marathon women's race in 2:49:33.  Yuki Yamada  won the men's race in 2:21:47 after taking the lead in the final 2 km.  Naoki Inoue  won the 16th r

Sprinter Shoji Tomihisa Retires From Athletics at 105

A retirement ceremony for local masters track and field legend Shoji Tomihisa , 105, was held May 13 at his usual training ground at Miyoshi Sports Park Field in Miyoshi, Hiroshima. Tomihisa began competing in athletics at age 97, setting a Japanese national record 16.98 for 60 m in the men's 100~104 age group at the 2017 Chugoku Masters Track and Field meet. Last year Tomihisa was the oldest person in Hiroshima selected to run as a torchbearer in the Tokyo Olympics torch relay. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the relay on public roads was canceled, and while he did take part in related ceremonies his run was ultimately canceled. Tomihisa recently took up the shot put, but in light of his fading physical strength he made the decision to retire from competition. Around 30 members of the Shoji Tomihisa Booster Club attended the retirement ceremony. After receiving a bouquet of flowers from them Tomihisa in turn gave them a colored paper placard on which he had written the characters