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Kobayashi and Niiya Bring Toyota Jidoshokki Win in Kita-Kyushu Women's Invitational Ekiden

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Scroll to the bottom of the above article for Ken Nakamura's brief report. Along with Nakamura's comments a few things are worth pointing out.

-Team Toyota Jidoshokki's Yuriko Kobayashi broke Yoko Shibui's 7-year old 1st stage record by 7 seconds, clocking 12:59 for the 4.2 km leg. Kobayashi is banned from regular jitsugyodan races due to her status as both a student and professional, so it was a rare moment to see her in an ekiden with Toyota Jidoshokki.

-Toyota Jidoshokki anchor Hitomi Niiya, the 2007 Tokyo Marathon winner, followed up her stage-best anchor run at last week's National Interprefectural Women's Ekiden with another stage-best anchor performance, beating Beijing Olympic marathoner Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) and 2008 Tokyo International Women's Marathon runner-up Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) among others.

-Team Shiseido defectors Second Wind AC made an extremely rare ekiden appearance, fielding a team including Kano, 2008 Honolulu Marathon winner Kiyoko Shimahara, and new members Ruth Wanjiru, Seki Kimura and Yumiko Kinoshita. The team finished 6th out of 11.

Complete results for the Kita-Kyushu Women's Invitational Ekiden are available here.
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