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Lead Stories: Thursday, August 28, 2008

Tokyo Women’s Marathon To Be Discontinued After 2008

Posted December 18th, 2007 at 9:15 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

One of the world’s most prestigious marathons, the Tokyo International Women’s Marathon, will be discontinued after its 30th edition next November, organizers announced yesterday.

“Yes, Asahi Shimbun, one of the organizers of Tokyo International Women’s Marathon, announced on Dec. 17, that 30th edition… to be held on Nov. 16, 2008, will be the last edition of this marathon,” wrote Wataru Ogushi, the elite athlete coordinator, in an e-mail message to the Race Results Weekly office.
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Eastler, Vaill win
Ron Zinn Awards

Posted November 24th, 2007 at 3:45 PM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results

USA Track & Field has announced that Kevin Eastler and Teresa Vaill are the winners of the 2007 Captain Ron Zinn Awards that honor the outstanding U.S. male and female race walkers of the year. Formal presentation of the awards will take place December 1 in ceremonies held in conjunction with USATF’s Annual Meeting at the Sheraton Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The annual awards commemorate the achievements of Captain Ronald Zinn, who lost his life in combat during the Vietnam War. Zinn was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. His sixth-place finish in the 20 km race walk is one of America’s all-time top international race walking performances.
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Olympic great Al Oerter dies

Posted October 1st, 2007 at 3:05 PM by Jamal Walker

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Four-time Olympic gold medalist, former world record holder and National Track & Field Hall of Famer Al Oerter died Monday of heart failure in Fort Myers Beach, Fla. He was 71.

The greatest athlete ever to compete in the discus, Oerter participated in four Olympics, always as the underdog, and always came out the winner. With each win he set an Olympic record in the event.

A native of Astoria, N.Y., Oerter won his first gold medal in 1956 while he was a student at the University of Kansas, upsetting fellow National Track & Field Hall of Famer Fortune Gordien in throwing an Olympic record 56.37 meters/184 feet 11 inches.
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Podcast 29: Interview with two-time Olympian Jen Rhines

Posted March 20th, 2007 at 4:10 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Episode 29 of The Final Sprint Podcast features an interview with two-time Olympian Jen Rhines.

Jen is coming off of an impressive performance at the USA 15k Championships at the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, Florida. She finished second to fellow Team Running USA member Deena Kastor.

The former standout from Villanova also had a very successful 2006 on the rack; setting new personal records in the 5000m (14:55), 10000m (31:24), and the marathon (2:29:32).

Download the podcast to hear Jen explain her decision to focus on 5k and 10k races instead of the marathon, her friendship with Deena Kastor, being trained/coached by her husband Terrence Mahon (who was also an eight-time NCAA All-American), the 2008 Olympics, why she loves running in Rome, who she thinks will win this years Boston Marathon and much more!

Listen In
[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)

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Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Jen Rhines
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 9.63 MB
Length: 00:14:01

Check out every episode of TFS’s Podcast in iTunes!

Interested in featuring The Final Sprint Podcast on your site, blog or My Space page? Click here to learn how!

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Njenga wins Tokyo Marathon

Posted February 18th, 2007 at 10:12 AM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The man who was reduced to tears when he narrowly finished second at last October’s LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, Daniel Njenga of Kenya, easily won today’s Tokyo International Marathon, leading a field of 25,000 in the first mass edition of this race.

Njenga, 30, who runs for the Japanese corporate team, Yakult, pulled away from the field off of a slow pace around 25 km into the race, winning by more than a minute and one-half over Tomoyuki Sato of Japan. Njenga clocked 2:09:45 on a new point-to-point course to Sato’s 2:11:22. Sammy Korir, the second-fastest marathoner of all-time, faded from contention after 15 km and did not finish in the top-10.
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Big marathon debuts in Tokyo on Sunday

Posted February 16th, 2007 at 12:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Some of the world’s oldest and most important marathons are held in Japan, like the Fukuoka Marathon which was held for the 60th time last September and featured a blazing run by Haile Gebrselassie.

But that race had a only 303 finishers, and is emblematic of the elitist status which marathons occupy in Japan. In fact, there are no large mass marathons in Japan. The largest, known to Race Results Weekly, is the Tsukuba Marathon which had 9708 finishers last year, roughly one fourth the total finishers of the ING New York City Marathon, the world’s largest with 37,866 in 2006. The largest marathon in the world in terms of Japanese participants is not in Japan, but rather in the United States. The Honolulu Marathon had 17,905 entrants from Japan in 2006 out of a total of 28,635.

But all of that will change on Sunday as the Tokyo Marathon for 2007 will, for the first time, permit recreational runners to enter.
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Tokyo International Marathon announces elite field

Posted February 13th, 2007 at 3:35 AM by Ken Nakamura

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The Tokyo International Marathon, which for the first time will be held as a mass marathon with the participation of recreational runners, has released its elite international and Japanese fields. The 28th running of the event, scheduled for Sunday, February 18, will only have male elite athletes.

The two heavyweights amongst the overseas competitors are Daniel Njenga and Sammy Korir, both of Kenya, the #9 and #10-ranked marathoners in the world last year according to Race Results Weekly’s exclusive marathoner rankings.

Njenga has a personal best time of 2:06:16 set in Chicago in 2002, and Korir is the second-fastest marathoner ever, with a 2:04:56 career best set in Berlin in 2003 when he finished one second behind Paul Tergat when he set the still-standing world record.
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