Skip to main content

World Half Team Members Ito and Kawauchi Win Shibetsu Half Marathon Titles

by Brett Larner

Just three weeks after winning the Sapporo International Half Marathon, 2012 World Half Marathon Championships team member Mai Ito (Team Otsuka) returned to add another half marathon title to her collection, winning the 26th running of Hokkaido's Shibetsu Half Marathon in 1:11:20 over the Miyauchi twins Yoko and Hiroko of Team Kyocera.  Although her time was 28 seconds slower than her Sapporo time it was still the third-best in Shibetsu history.  Independent men's World Half Marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) likewise took the win, prevailing over a tight pack of corporate and collegiate runners in 1:05:00 in another of the fourteen half marathons he plans to race this year.

In the women's 10 km, Ai Igarashi (Team Sysmex), one of the year's leading Japanese women, had an an easy win in 33:38.  Click here for a collection of photos of the race via the Shibetsu city government site.

26th Shibetsu Half Marathon
Shibetsu, Hokkaido, 7/22/12
complete results coming soon

Women
1. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:11:20
2. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 1:11:43
3. Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 1:12:00
4. Yuki Mitsunobu (Team Kyocera) - 1:13:18
5. Chihiro Takato (Team Wacoal) - 1:13:19

Men
1. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) - 1:05:00
2. Tomonori Ikebuchi (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 1:05:04
3. Kohei Ogino (Team Fujitsu) - 1:05:06
4. Kenta Chiba (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:05:11
5. Yasunori Onuma (Asia Univ.) - 1:05:14

Women's 10 km
1. Ai Igarashi (Team Sysmex) - 33:38
2. Ayumi Sakaida (Team Daihatsu) - 33:44
3. Yui Okada (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 34:00

(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

World Championships Medalist Racewalking Coach Mizuho Sakai Recognized With Highest Coaching Honor

The 2023 Mizuno Sports Mentor Awards recognizing excellence in coaching were held Apr. 23 in Tokyo. Toyo University assistant coach and race walking coach Mizuho Sakai was given a gold award, the program's highest honor, and expressed her thanks and joy in a speech at the award ceremony. The coach of 2023 Budapest World Championships men's 35 km race walk bronze medalist Masatora Kawano , Sakai said, "This is an incredible honor and I'm truly grateful. As a child I wanted to be in the sporting world and I've spent my life in that world. My end goal was always to play a supporting role for other athletes, so I'm honored to be recognized in this way." Sakai's husband Toshiyuki Sakai , head coach of Toyo's three-time Hakone Ekiden champion team, attended the awards gala with her and was also introduced to the audience. After bowing he took a seat in front of her and watched with warmth as she received recognition for her outstanding work. The Mizun

Hirabayashi Runs PB at Shanghai Half, WR Holder Nakata Dominates Fuji Five Lakes - Weekend Road Roundup

Returning to the roads after his 2:06:18 win at February's Osaka Marathon, Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin University) took 5th at Sunday's Shanghai Half Marathon in a PB 1:01:23, just under a minute behind winner Roncer Kipkorir Konga (Kenya) who clocked a CR 1:00:29. After inexplicably running the equivalent of a sub-59 half marathon to win the Hakone Ekiden's Third Stage, Aoi Ota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) was back to running performances consistent with his other PBs with a 1:02:30 for 8th. His AGU teammate Kyosuke Hiramatsu was 10th in 1:04:00. Women's winner Magdalena Shauri (Tanzania) also set a new CR in 1:09:57. Aoyama Gakuin runners took the top four spots in the men's half marathon at the Aomori Sakura Marathon , with Hakone alternate Kosei Shiraishi getting the win in 1:04:32 and B-team members Shunto Hamakawa and Kei Kitamura 2nd and 3rd in 1:04:45 and 1:04:48. Club runners took the other division titles, Hina Shinozaki winning the women's half

Weekend Track Roundup

The two-day Hyogo Relay Carnival was the biggest meet of the weekend on the Japanese calendar. Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) kicked off her 2nd academic year with a 31:48.11 win in the GP women's 10000 m, beating Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) by 4 seconds. Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) had a tighter win in the GP men's 10000 m, 27:58.01 to 27:58.35 over Jonson Mugeni (Asia Univ.). Kenyans also dominated the men's B and C-heats, Nelson Mandela (Obirin Univ.) taking the B-heat by 0.06 over Stephen Muthini (Soka Univ.) in 28:05.37 and Patrick Wambui (NTT Nishi Nihon) the C-heat in 28:14.83. Top Japanese marks across the four races were 32:24.50 by Sora Shinozakura (Panasonic), 28:11.30 by Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon), 28:41.68 by Masashi Nonaka (Toyota), and 28:42.38 by former Rikkyo University head coach Yuichiro Ueno (Hiramatsu Byoin). The GP women's 3000 mSC might have been the best race of the meet, both Miu Saito (Nittai Univ.) and Mana