Japanese long-distance runner
Kayoko Fukushi
(
福士 加代子
,
Fukushi Kayoko
, born 25 March 1982 in
Itayanagi, Aomori
)
is a Japanese
long-distance runner
, who specializes in the
5000
,
10,000 metres
and
marathon
. Fukushi represented Japan at the 2004, 2008 and 2012
Summer Olympics
. She was the bronze medallist in the marathon at the
2013 World Championships in Athletics
. She holds a marathon best of 2:22:17 hours.
Fukushi won two
silver medals
at the
2002 Asian Games
and then won the 10,000 m
gold medal
at the
2006 edition
. She is a former
world record
holder in the 15 km road race and is the
Japanese record
holder in the 5000 m, 10,000 m, and
10K road
distance. Fukushi is also a six-time national champion over the 5000 m.
[1]
In addition, she has run more sub 34 minute 10,000 m runs in competition than any other woman in the world (as of 2014 this mark stands at 44).
[2]
She was chosen as the torch lighter for the
2003 Asian Winter Games
which was held in
Aomori Prefecture
, her home region.
Career
[
edit
]
Early career
[
edit
]
Fukushi was fourth over 5000 m at the
2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics
and had a breakout year two years later. After a fifteenth-place finish in the senior section of the
2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
, she broke national junior records (over
3000 m
, 5000 m and 10,000 m) and then went on to record an out-right national record of 8:44.40 minutes in the 3000 m that July.
[3]
At the
2002 Asian Games
she took a
silver medal
double in the 5000/10,000 m, finishing behind
Sun Yingjie
on both occasions.
[4]
Olympic debut and Asian gold
[
edit
]
Continuing to focus on
track running
, she ran at her first senior global track competition in 2003. She was eleventh in the 5000 m at the
2003 World Championships in Athletics
, but had less success on her Olympic debut as she finished 26th in the 10,000 m at the
2004 Athens Games
. She doubled up at the
2005 World Championships in Athletics
, coming near the top ten in both long-distance track events.
On February 5, 2006 at the
Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon
she broke the 15-kilometre
road running
record by running the distance in 46:55 minutes.
Tirunesh Dibaba
of
Ethiopia
improved the record to 46:28 minutes in 2009.
[5]
During the race in
Marugame
she also set the
Asian record
in the
half marathon
. She had more success on home turf soon after with a win at the
Fukuoka International Cross Country
.
[6]
She competed at the
2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
, also held in Fukuoka, and took sixth place in the long race ? one of only two non-East African runners to make the top ten.
[7]
Her finish also led the Japanese women to the
bronze medal
in the team competition. She claimed a bronze on the track at the
2006 IAAF World Cup
, coming third over 5000 m and took the 10,000 m
gold medal
at the
2006 Asian Games
? her first major championship win.
[8]
Despite her continental success, she failed to break through on the global scene, just finishing in (or near) the top ten at the World Championships in
2007
and
2009
, and an eleventh-place finish at
2008 Beijing Olympics
. She made her
marathon
debut at the 2008
Osaka Ladies Marathon
and led the race up to the 30 km mark. However, her pacing collapsed soon after that point and she ended up in 19th place with a time of 2:40:54 hours, over fifteen minutes adrift of the winner.
[9]
She came back to the half marathon in July 2010 and won at the
Shibetsu Half Marathon
, although her time of 1:12:25 was below her best.
[10]
Fukushi's track form deteriorated somewhat that year ? she attempted to defend her Asian title at the
2010 Asian Games
but came fourth over 10,000 m and fifth in the 5000 m. She anchored the
Kyoto
team to victory at the
Inter-Prefectural Women's Ekiden
in January 2011, increasing her team's lead in the final 10 km leg of the race.
[11]
Her 2011 season began with a third career win at the Marugame Half Marathon.
[12]
Her main competition that year was the
2011 Chicago Marathon
, where she was among the leaders at the halfway point and went on to take third place in a new personal best time of 2:24:38 hours.
[13]
In her first race of 2012, she was the pre-race favourite for the Osaka Ladies Marathon but finished seventh after a slow second half.
[14]
Having missed out on Olympic selection for the marathon, she focused on the track instead. She was runner-up in both the 5000 m and 10,000 m at the Japanese Championships and was selected to run both events at the
2012 London Olympics
. She placed tenth in the 10,000 m final, but failed to progress beyond the heats in the shorter distance.
[15]
World medal
[
edit
]
Fukushi returned to the marathon at the start of 2013 and she was leading with two kilometres to go at the Osaka Women's Marathon. She faltered badly in the final stages, turning a 19-second lead to 23-second deficit behind
Tetyana Hamera-Shmyrko
. Still, her runner-up finish in 2:24:21 hours was a personal best.
[16]
This gained her selection for Japan for the
2013 World Championships in Athletics
marathon, where she won her first major medal over the distance ? a bronze. Although she was aged 31, she was the youngest of the medallists alongside
Edna Kiplagat
and
Valeria Straneo
.
[17]
Her foremost race the following season was the
2014 Berlin Marathon
, but her time of 2:26:24.7 hours only brought her sixth place in the high calibre contest. She did not compete at a major tournament for a whole year, finally returning for the
2015 Chicago Marathon
, where she was fourth. She aimed to make the
Japanese Olympic marathon team
and assured her place with a victory at the
Osaka Women's Marathon
. She defeated the opposition by over six minutes and set a new personal best of 2:22:17 hours, moving her into the Japanese all-time top seven women.
[18]
International competitions
[
edit
]
Year
|
Competition
|
Venue
|
Position
|
Event
|
Notes
|
Representing
Japan
|
2000
|
World Junior Championships
|
Santiago
,
Chile
|
4th
|
5000 m
|
16:25.01
|
2002
|
Asian Games
|
Busan
,
South Korea
|
2nd
|
5000 m
|
14:55.19
|
2nd
|
10,000 m
|
30:51.81
|
2003
|
World Championships
|
Paris
,
France
|
23rd (h)
|
5000 m
|
15:16.53
|
11th
|
10,000 m
|
31:10.57
|
2004
|
Olympic Games
|
Athens
, Greece
|
26th
|
10,000 m
|
33:48.66
|
2005
|
World Championships
|
Helsinki
,
Finland
|
12th
|
5000 m
|
14:59.92
|
11th
|
10,000 m
|
31:03.75
|
2006
|
World Cross Country Championships
|
Fukuoka
,
Japan
|
6th
|
Long race (8 km)
|
25:51
|
3rd
|
Team competition
|
80 pts
|
World Cup
|
Athens
,
Greece
|
5th
|
3000 m
|
8:44.58
|
3rd
|
5000 m
|
15:06.69
|
World Road Running Championships
|
Debrecen
,
Hungary
|
6th
|
20 km
|
1:05:32
|
Asian Games
|
Doha
,
Qatar
|
1st
|
10,000 m
|
31:29.38
|
2007
|
World Championships
|
Osaka
,
Japan
|
14th
|
5000 m
|
15:19.40
|
10th
|
10,000 m
|
32:32.85
|
2008
|
Olympic Games
|
Beijing
,
China
|
18th (h)
|
5000 m
|
15:20.46
|
11th
|
10,000 m
|
31:01.14
|
2009
|
World Championships
|
Berlin
,
Germany
|
9th
|
10,000 m
|
31:23.49
|
2010
|
Asian Games
|
Guangzhou
,
China
|
5th
|
5000 m
|
15:25.08
|
4th
|
10,000 m
|
31:55.54
|
2012
|
Olympic Games
|
London, United Kingdom
|
17th (h)
|
5000 m
|
15:09.31
|
10th
|
10,000 m
|
31:10.35
|
2013
|
World Championships
|
Moscow
,
Russia
|
3rd
|
Marathon
|
2:27:45
|
National titles
[
edit
]
Marathons
[
edit
]
Personal bests
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Ota, Shigenobu (2010-06-06).
National Outdoor 5000m Championships for Japan
.
Association of Road Racing Statisticians
. Retrieved on 2011-01-20.
- ^
Ota, Shigenobu (2010-06-06).
[1]
.
Association of Road Racing Statisticians
. Retrieved on 2014-11-1.
- ^
Japanese team for the Asian Games
.
IAAF
(2002-10-01). Retrieved on 2011-01-20.
- ^
Chua Chong Jin (2002-11-07).
China’s Sun eclipses Japan’s rising star
.
IAAF
. Retrieved on 2011-01-20.
- ^
"Dibaba shatters 15Km World record in Nijmegen! - UPDATED"
.
IAAF
. 2009-11-15
. Retrieved
2016-04-23
.
- ^
Nakamura, Ken (2006-03-05).
"Fukushi takes runaway win far ahead of Ndereba - Fukuoka XC - UPDATED"
. IAAF
. Retrieved
2016-04-23
.
- ^
2006 World XC Championships Long Race - W Final
. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-01-20.
- ^
Negash, Elshadai (2006-12-08).
"Zhang throws Asian Hammer Record - Asian Games, Day Two"
. IAAF. Archived from
the original
on 2011-06-05
. Retrieved
2011-01-20
.
- ^
Nakamura, Ken (2008-01-27).
"Britain's Yamauchi wins Osaka Ladies Marathon in 2:25:10"
. IAAF
. Retrieved
2016-04-23
.
- ^
Ota, Shigenobu (2010-07-29).
Shibetsu Half Marathon
.
Association of Road Racing Statisticians
. Retrieved on 2011-01-20.
- ^
Nakamura, Ken (2008-01-27).
"Kyoto takes women's Inter-Prefectural Ekiden title in Kyoto"
. IAAF. Archived from
the original
on 2011-01-24
. Retrieved
2011-01-20
.
- ^
Nakamura, Ken (2011-05-06).
"Ndungu and Fukushi take victories at Marugame Half Marathon"
. IAAF
. Retrieved
2016-04-23
.
- ^
Ferstle, Jim (2011-10-09).
"Mosop and Shobukova scorch to Chicago titles - UPDATED"
. IAAF
. Retrieved
2016-04-23
.
- ^
Nakamura, Ken (2012-01-29).
"Shigetomo takes Osaka as favourite Fukushi falters"
. IAAF
. Retrieved
2016-04-23
.
- ^
Kayoko Fukushi
Archived
2013-04-05 at the
Wayback Machine
. London2012. Retrieved on 2013-02-23.
- ^
Nakamura, Ken (2013-01-27).
"Ukraine's Gamera-Shmyrko leaves it late to come from behind and win in Osaka"
. IAAF
. Retrieved
2013-02-23
.
- ^
Landells, Steve (2013-08-10).
"Report: Women's Marathon ? Moscow 2013"
. IAAF
. Retrieved
2016-01-31
.
- ^
Nakamura, Ken (2016-01-31).
"Fukushi wins Osaka Women's Marathon by more than six minutes in 2:22:17"
. IAAF
. Retrieved
2016-01-31
.
External links
[
edit
]