TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.

Lead Stories: Friday, November 21, 2008

Injury Forces Noguchi Out of Olympic Marathon

Posted August 12th, 2008 at 11:55 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Defending Olympic Marathon champion, Mizuki Noguchi of Japan, has withdrawn from the Beijing Olympics due to injury. The announcement was made by Japan’s Olympic committee here yesterday.

After returning to Japan from her high altitude training in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in advance of the Games, Noguchi complained of both fatigue and pain in her left upper leg. She received injections to treat the problem locally, but it was apparently not enough to allow her to be ready for Sunday morning’s race.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Japan Announces Olympic Marathon Teams

Posted March 11th, 2008 at 10:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

In a widely anticipated announcement made earlier today, officials of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations announced their marathon teams for the Beijing Olympic Games. In Japan, this is big news, on a par with Americans learning which college football player will be drafted first by the NFL.

The men’s team will be made up of Tsuyoshi Ogata and Atsushi Sato, both of the Chuugoku Electric Power corporate team, and Satoshi Osaki of NTT. Ogata got the nod by being the top Japanese man at the hot and humid IAAF World Championships in Osaka last August, finishing fifth overall in 2:17:42. Sato, who set the Asian record for the half-marathon at last year’s IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships, made the team based on his excellent 2:07:13 (3rd place/top Japanese) at last December’s Fukuoka Marathon. Osaki was the top Japanese finisher at the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon earlier this month.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Focus to Be on Japanese Women at Nagoya Marathon Next Sunday

Posted March 4th, 2008 at 10:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Next Sunday’s 28th Nagoya International Women’s Marathon will be the last of six qualifying marathons for the Japanese Olympic team, and the last of three for women. Competition for the one remaining team slot will be intense.

Reiko Tosa locked up the first team spot with her gutsy bronze medal finish at last summer’s IAAF World Championships, while reigning Olympic champion, Mizuki Noguchi, is almost assured a spot on the team by winning last November’s Tokyo International Women’s Marathon in 2:21:37. The third spot will go to either to Tomo Morimoto, who clocked 2:25:34 in second place (first Japanese) at the Osaka International Women’s Marathon last January, OR the top Japanese finisher in Nagoya who should top Morimoto’s mark.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

2008 Previews & Predictions: Women’s Marathon

Posted January 24th, 2008 at 12:30 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

The marathon promises to be one of the marquee events in women’s track and field in 2008. Among the highlights will be an epic showdown in London, a thrilling U.S. Olympic Trials, and Paula Radcliffe’s last chance at Olympic glory in Beijing. These and a few other huge races should provide many memorable moments and will define many careers. I will again try to make predictions based on as much hearsay, personal bias, and circumstantial data as I can gather.

The first big event on the 2008 women’s marathon calendar is the Flora London Marathon, which will be held on April 13. This race feature’s several of the world’s top female marathoners including World Record holder Radcliffe, World Marathon Majors Champ Gete Wami, Dubai Marathon champ Berhane Adere, Svetlana Zakharova, Constantina Tomescu-Dita, and Benita Johnson.
Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink

Lel & Wami Ranked #1 in Marathon in 2007 by RRW

Posted December 31st, 2007 at 2:24 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Race Results Weekly, the wire service of distance running, announced today that Ethiopian Gete Wami and Kenyan Martin Lel were the top-ranked marathon runners of 2007. RRW produced for the third time an annual top-10 marathoner ranking based on key victories, head-to-head competition, fast times, consistent performances in multiple races and, in some cases, heroic efforts.

“Lel was a clear choice for us by winning both London and New York, a feat no man had ever accomplished” said Editor & Publisher, David Monti. “However, it was much closer on the women’ side between Wami and China’s Zhou Chunxia.”

Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink

Edith Masai To Highlight Singapore Marathon

Posted December 1st, 2007 at 10:48 PM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Running royalty comes to the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon this Sunday (December 2), in the person of Edith Masai of Kenya. A former 800 metres runner, Masai was a late developer in distance racing, winning her three world cross country titles and a world champs bronze on the track in the early years of the new century, when well into her thirties.

She only made her marathon debut two years ago, with victory in Hamburg in 2.27.06, and finished a highly creditable eighth in the recent World Championships in Osaka in August. At age 40!
Read the rest of this entry »

3 comments, add yours | Permalink

Noguchi Wins Tokyo International Ladies Marathon

Posted November 18th, 2007 at 10:17 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Reigning Olympic Marathon champion Mizuki Noguchi won today’s 29th edition of the Tokyo International Ladies Marathon and, almost with certainty, has secured a position on the Japanese team for the Beijing Olympics next August.

Noguchi, 29, dominated the race to win in a new course record of 2:21:37. Her chief rival, Yoko Shibui, stayed within striking distance through 30 km, but faded badly in the final stages of the race to finish seventh in 2:34:19.

Kenyan Salina Kosgei, who ran Tokyo because her USA visa did not come through in time to compete at the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 4, gave the Olympic champion her biggest challenge, staying with Noguchi through 35 km (1:57:28). But Noguchi ran 16:56 from 35-K to 40-K to Kosgei’s 18:02. Kosgei finished second in 2:23:31, just slightly shy of her personal best time.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Noguchi dominates Sendai International Half-Marathon

Posted May 15th, 2007 at 2:00 AM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi showed she has fully recovered from the Achilles injury that forced her out of the Flora London Marathon by running away from the field to a 68:54 victory here.

Three-time World Half/Road Running Championships medalist, Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania, also ran more than a minute under the existing course record with a solid 70:23, but could not keep up with Noguchi’s steady servings of 3:12-3:15 kilometers in the opening half of the race.

Over the weekend, Noguchi revealed her recent training:
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink

Japan’s Noguchi, an Olympic gold medalist, drops out of Flora London Marathon

Posted March 1st, 2007 at 8:44 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Organizers of the Flora London Marathon announced today that 2004 Olympic Marathon gold medalist, Mizuki Noguchi of Japan, had withdrawn from their race scheduled for Sunday, April 22.

Her withdrawal was expected; she had been fighting an Achilles tendon injury which forced her to miss too much training.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink