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Kimetto Gets Tokyo Marathon CR

by Brett Larner

video by naoki620

On a cold and moderately windy day, pre-race favorite Dennis Kipruto Kimetto (Kenya) lived up to expectations to bring the Tokyo Marathon into the World Marathon Majors with a 2:06:50 course record, holding off defending champion Michael Kipkorir Kipyego (Kenya) over the final kilometers after taking the lead at 34 km.

The group of pacers taking the lead men through 30 km were far off the target splits of 14:50-55 per 5 km, never breaking 15:00 and immediately eliminating 2:05 from possibility. At 30 km James Kwambai (Kenya) took over, initiating a surge that turned into a 5 km split of 14:20 once Kimetto went to work at 34 km.  Kipyego came close to catching up back up in the final 5 km but could not manage to close the final 3 seconds before losing ground in the final kilometer.

2009 Tokyo runner-up Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko), who ran a 2:08:38 PB in Tokyo last year, was the only Japanese man to go with Kwambai's push, moving up to 4th in the home straight as he kicked hard to try to get the sub-2:08 time requirement for guaranteed 2013 World Championships team membership.  Although he crossed the line with 2:07:58 on the clock his final time came out an agonizing 2:08:00, just short but putting him in first in team contention standings as he became the third Japanese man this month to run 2:08 for the second time in his career.

5000 m and 30 km national record holder Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) was the second Japanese man across line, like Maeda recording a second-straight PB at Tokyo with a new best of 2:09:14 for 9th and finally surpassing his identical twin brother Yuko Matsumiya (Team Hitachi Butsuryu) as a marathoner.  Along with two strong debuts, every Japanese man in the top 25 ran a PB, suggesting that whatever problems there were with the times up front being slower than expected were not due to any wind.

In the women's race former Team Daiichi Seimei runner Azusa Nojiri (Hiratsuka Lease) went out at 2:21 pace to get some screen time for her new private sponsor before fading away just past 15 km and ultimately finishing 9th in 2:31:15. Aberu Kebede (Ethiopia) and Caroline Cheptonui Kilel (Kenya) made short work of running her down, with last year's runner-up Yeshi Esayias (Ethiopia) catching up after a more conservative start.  Kilel abruptly disappeared late in the race to leave Kebede alone on track for the 2:25:28 course record and its hefty bonus.

Kebede appeared to have it down, but, celebrating in the final few hundred meters, she crossed the line just short in 2:25:34.  Esayias was 2nd again in 2:26:01, 1 second off her time last year, with veteran Irina Mikitenko (Germany) 3rd in 2:26:41.  In her final marathon before retiring 2009 World Championships marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) took the top Japanese position, 5th overall in 2:28:30.

2013 Tokyo Marathon
Tokyo, 2/24/13
click here for complete results

Men
1. Dennis Kipruto Kimetto (Kenya) - 2:06:50 - CR
2. Michael Kipkorir Kipyego (Kenya) - 2:06:58 (CR)
3. Bernard Kiprop Kipyego (Kenya) - 2:07:53
4. Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko) - 2:08:00 - PB
5. James Kipsang Kwambai (Kenya) - 2:08:02
6. Gilbert Kipruto Kirwa (Kenya) - 2:08:17
7. Feyisa Bekele (Ethiopia) - 2:09:05
8. Dino Sefir (Ethiopia) - 2:09:13
9. Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) - 2:09:14 - PB
10. Jonathan Kiplimo Maiyo (Kenya) 2:10:18
11. Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 2:10:29 - PB
12. Gideon Kipkemoi Kipketer (Kenya) - 2:10:41
13. Soji Ikeda (Team Yakult) - 2:10:59 - debut
14. Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 2:11:01 - PB
15. Taiga Ito (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:11:15 - PB
16. Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) - 2:11:28 - PB
17. Chiharu Takada (Team JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:11:53 - PB
18. Ahmed Baday (Morocco) - 2:12:53
19. Hiroki Tanaka (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:13:09 - PB
20. Norihide Fujimori (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:13:11 - PB
21. Ryotaro Niita (Team Konica Minolta) - 2:14:09 - debut
22. Essa Ismael Rashed (Qatar) - 2:14:10
23. Makoto Harada (Team JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:14:40 - PB
24. Yasuyuki Nakamura (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:14:41 - PB
25. Yuya Shiokawa (Team Subaru) - 2:14:49 - PB
-----
26. Dmitriy Safronov (Russia) - 2:15:08
31. Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 2:16:31 - debut
34. Yoshinori Oda (Team Toyota) - 2:17:24
Sho Matsumoto (Dream AC) - 2:21:40
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DNF - Daniel Njenga (Kenya/Team Yakult)
DNF - Masato Kihara (Team Kanebo)
DNF - Naoki Okamoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku)

Women
1. Aberu Kebede (Ethiopia) - 2:25:34
2. Yeshi Esayias (Ethiopia) - 2:26:01
3. Irina Mikitenko (Germany) - 2:26:41
4. Albina Mayorova (Russia) - 2:26:51
5. Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:28:30
6. Helalia Johannes (Namibia) - 2:29:20
7. Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) - 2:30:20 - debut
8. Nastassia Staravoitava (Belarus) - 2:30:45
9. Azusa Nojiri (Hiratsuka Lease) - 2:31:15
10. Hiroko Yoshitomi (First Dream AC) - 2:31:28 - PB
11. Shoko Shimizu (Team Aichi Denki) - 2:32:43 - PB
12. Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 2:33:21 - debut
13. Bezunesh Bekele (Ethiopia) - 2:34:19
14. Saki Tabata (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:37:40 - PB
15. Noriko Hirao (First Dream AC) - 2:38:50 - PB
16. Rina Yamazaki (Team Panasonic) - 2:39:48
17. Mitsuko Hirose (Tokyo Wings AC) - 2:42:20
18. Ikue Tabata (Komono RC ) - 2:42:37 - PB
19. Amanda Rice (U.S.A.) - 2:42:44
20. Ryo Kawahara (Dream AC) - 2:44:24 - PB
21. Caroline Cheptonui Kilel (Kenya) - 2:47:08
22. Yuka Aoyama (Crest AC) - 2:47:22 - PB
23. Eri Suzuki (Noshiro Yamamoto T&F Assoc.) - 2:48:32 - PB
24. Shiho Asanuma (Kushiro Chiho T&F Assoc.) - 2:50:42 - PB
25. Toshiko Yoshikawa (NRF AC) - 2:51:00
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66. Yoshiko Fujinaga (Isahaya T&F Assoc.) - 3:05:58
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DNF - Atsede Habtamu (Ethiopia)
DNF - Noriko Matsuoka (Second Wind AC)
DNF - Olena Shurkhno (Ukraine)

(c) 2013 Brett Larner
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Comments

Brett Larner said…
The ARRS list of single-age records puts the 40+ WR at 2:26:51 by Priscilla Welch in London, 1987. Dr. Helmut Winter points out that Lyudmila Petrova ran 2:25:43 in NYC in 2008. For whatever reason this mark is not included on the ARRS listings. I've amended this article pending clarification on the ARRS listings: http://arrs.net/SA_Mara.htm
February 24, 2013 at 11:09 PM
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