01/01/2023   Tokyo (JPN): Yutaro Murayama won this morning in 1:20:40 the 71st New Year's Race Walking Tournament







 

As always happens in Japan in Tokyo at 9:20 local time, with impressive punctuality, the first walking race of 2023 was kicked off.
It was the 71st edition of the New Year's Tournament, on a beautiful sunny day with a very large group of participants.
 
 
20km men
 
They were 82 at the start.
Ishida Subaru, the winner of the last edition with a mark of 1:20:22, was the favorite at the start while the most valid opponent was Yutaro Murayama who boasted a personal best of 1:20:49 dating back to 15.3.2020 and established in Nomi (JPN).
Well today there was almost no history between the two contenders, with Yutaro Murayama who soon managed to detach his opponent
 
Victory to Yutaro Murayama in 1:20:40 which for him represents the new personal best with an improvement of 9 seconds.
In the 2022 edition the athlete from the Fujitsu club of Chiba had stopped the clock in 1:22:53 (5th place), while in the 2020 edition his time had been 1:21:58 which earned him the fourth place
 
Second place to Ishida Subaru, in 1:22:18.
In the 2022 edition, the bearer of the sports club of the Santama self-defense forces had established, with his victory, his personal best on this course in 1:20:22: in 2021 he had finished second in 1:21:25, while in 2020 he had finished the race in 1:23.23 (6th place)
 
Third place to Kazuya Iway in 1:22:50 with the new personal best
A new name for the race walk in Japan, born on 24.3.2002, and came to light in Takahata last 23.10.2022, when he competed in the 20km finishing 7th in 1:26:19. Today for him an improvement of great interest after improving his best by 3:29
 
They finished the race in 68 athletes, 6 DQ and 8 DNF
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
10km women
 
 
Thirty-two athletes at the start.
 
Victory to Miyu Naito in 45:27
The young athlete of Japan (dob: 24.12.2002) at her first appearance on 10km road walk established an interesting personal best considering that on 10.9.2022 in Takebishi Stadium, in Kyoto (JPN) she walked 10.000m track walk in 47:11.51.
Second place to Yukiko Umeno in 45:46
Third place to Hitomi Shimooka in 47:47
 
Fourth place to Kaori Kawazoe in 48:48, but the most intresting to note is the age of the first ten arrived:
- year of birth 2003: 4 athletes
- year of birth 2002: 2 athletes
- year of birth 2001: 2 athletes
- year of birth 2000: 1 athlete
- year of birth 1995: 1 athlete
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(Photos by Tomoya Ishii, JPN and Tokyo Athletics Association @toriku_official, JPN)