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Suzawa Wins Yamazaki Women's Half Marathon

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20090107k0000m050022000c.html
http://www.47news.jp/CN/200901/CN2009010601000557.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

On Jan. 6, 20 year old Maki Suzawa (Team Kyocera) won the 29th Yamazaki Women's Road Race half marathon, breaking her PB by 1:07 to take her first victory in 1:11:22. 46 elite women ran the course from the Prefectural Office building in Miyazaki city along Kusunamiki Street to the Miyazaki Prefectural Sports Park. With 200 m to go Suzawa broke from the lead pack of four to win a sprint finish. Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) and Ruth Wanjiru (Second Wind AC), both in training for the Jan. 25 Osaka International Women's Marathon, were 2nd and 3rd, with Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Oki) coming in 4th. Yukari Soh, daughter of marathon great Takeshi Soh, who now coaches her at Team Asahi Kasei, was 10th in her half marathon debut.

Temperatures at the start were 15 degrees with 43% humidity and northerly winds at 0.7 m/s.

2009 Miyazaki Women's Road Race Top Finishers
1. Maki Suzawa (Team Kyocera) - 1:11:22 - PB
2. Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) - 1:11:24
3. Ruth Wanjiru (Second Wind AC) - 1:11:25
4. Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Oki) - 1:11:29
5. Mayumi Fujita (Team Juhachi Ginko) - 1:11:59
6. Satoko Uetani (Kobe Gakuin Univ.) - 1:12:58
7. Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 1:13:00
8. Ayumi Nakayama (Team Yamada Denki) - 1:13:32
9. Akane Taira (Team Panasonic) - 1:13:47
10. Yukari Soh (Team Asahi Kasei) - 1:13:55

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