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Ominami Twins Announce New Private Sponsor Utic

http://www.fukuishimbun.co.jp/modules/news0/index.php?page=article&storyid=24728&storytopic=4
http://mainichi.jp/area/fukui/news/20101112ddlk18050540000c.html

translated by Brett Larner

The town of Wakasa's most famous pair of long distance runners, identical twins Hiromi and Takami Ominami, 34, held a press conference in their native Fukui prefecture on Nov. 11 to announce the launch of a new running club under the support of new sponsor Utic which will support their athletic careers. Both Rotterdam Marathon winners, the world-class Ominami Twins lost their previous sponsor last spring when Toyota Shatai shut down its running team. Moving from Nagoya to Tokyo the sisters worked temp jobs while searching for a sponsor.

The new sponsor, Utic, is based in Sakai, Fukui. Utic AC will be made up of a team of four, the sisters, Toshio Shibata, their coach during their days at Mikata J.H.S. in Wakasa, and 110 m hurdler Hironori Murao. The company plans to add two more members in April. The Ominami sisters commented, "It has been very hard to keep the right training, access to the right places to train, the right nutrition, but now that we have secured a sponsor we're very glad that the road ahead is clear."

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