japan running news

by Brett Larner Despite a year that has seen her coach and most of her teammates depart Sendai Ikuei H.S. , Kenyan Mary Waithera  brought the highlight of the meet to the final day of the National Sports Festival in Gifu.  The favorite in the junior women's 3000 m, Waithera obliterated rival Rosemary Wanjiru  (Kenya/Aomori Yamada H.S.) and all Japanese competitors with a meet record 8:48.16, a four-second PB and one of the upper-echelon times of the year worldwide.  Wanjiru was nearly twenty seconds back in 9:06.99, with Shiori Yano  (Kitakyushu Municipal H.S.) the top Japanese finisher at 3rd overall in 9:12.91, outkicking a tight pack of four other Japanese athletes.  As she steadily improves Waithera looks set to become another in the lineage of Kenyan greats to have passed through Sendai Ikuei, most notably including the late Beijing Olympics marathon gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru . 2012 National Sports Festival Day Four Nagaragawa Field, Gifu Memor...

by Brett Larner   High school track continued along the road to next month's National Championships with a nationwide round of regional championships this weekend.  Thirty-three girls across the country broke the 9:30 mark over 3000 m, with the fastest time of the weekend going to Kenyan Mary Waithira  (Sendai Ikuei H.S.), who set an impressive meet record of 9:00.85 at the Tohoku Regionals meet over Kenyan rival Rosemary Wanjiru  (Aomori Yamada H.S.), who ran 9:07.44.  The fastest performance by a Japanese girl came at the South Kanto Regionals meet, where Maki Izumida  (Hakuoh Joshi H.S.) won in 9:17.74.  All but three regions featured winning times under 9:30. Boys' performances were less noteworthy, but in the Tokai Region 5000 m Kenyan Jeremiah Karemi  (Toyokawa H.S.) set a meet record of 13:52.51.   Charles Ndungu (Sapporo Yamanote H.S.) also set a meet record in the Hokkaido Region 5000 m, running 13:57.81.  Both boys' a...