Chiba International Cross Country

The Chiba International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in Chiba, Japan in mid-February. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.[1]

Chiba International Cross Country
The races are held in the Showa Forest near Chiba
DateMid-February
LocationChiba, Japan Japan
Event typeCross country
Distance12 km and 4 km for men
6 km for women
8 km junior men
5 km junior women
Established1966

Initiated in 1966,[2] the Chiba Cross Country is held in Showa-No-Mori Park and features a competition schedule of eight races.[3] These include a senior men's long course (12 km), a senior women's course (6 km), and a senior men's short course (4 km). Furthermore, there are three races for junior athletes which are of shorter distances, as well as two 3 km races for high school runners.[4]

Four of the races act as qualifiers for the World Cross Country Championship: the men's 12 km and the women's 6 km allow athletes to enter the senior world competition while the junior men's 8 km and junior women's 5 km enable runners to qualify for the junior section of the championships.[5] The competition is one of three in which Japanese athletes can qualify for the World Championships; the others being the annual Fukuoka International Cross Country and the biennial Asian Cross Country Championships.[6]

Over a thousand runners compete at the meeting each year, although the attendance record set in 1991 featured nearly twice as many participants.[2] A select number of international athletes are invited to compete each year, although the majority of the field typically comprise a mix of Japanese runners and Japan-based Kenyan athletes.[4] Previous winners include Olympic gold medallists Samuel Wanjiru and Derartu Tulu, eight-time European cross country champion Serhiy Lebid, and Tegla Loroupe – twice winner of the New York City Marathon.[2]

The competition is televised on the NHK BS-1 channel by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, the country's public broadcaster.[7] After the International Chiba Ekiden, the Chiba International Cross Country is the prefecture's premier athletics event.[8]

The Chiba International Cross Country has also hosted the Asian Cross Country Championship race on two occasions (1995, 1997).[2]

Past senior race winners

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Two-time Chiba winner Samuel Wanjiru at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
 
Tegla Loroupe won the women's race in 1997 and 1999.
  • Note: Race data unavailable prior to 1987.[2]

Key:   Asian Championship race   8 km course (All other men's races 12 km and women's races 6 km)

Edition Year Men's winner Time (m:s) Women's winner Time (m:s)
1st 1966 Not available Not available
22nd 1987   Shuichi Yoneshige (JPN) 35:17   Jacqueline Perkins (AUS) 19:45
23rd 1988   Andrew Lloyd (AUS) 35:03   Carolyn Schuwalow (AUS) 21:19
24th 1989   Arturo Barrios (MEX) 34:28   Carolyn Schuwalow (AUS) 19:33
25th 1990   Brahim Boutayeb (MAR) 34:04   Carolyn Schuwalow (AUS) 19:01
26th 1991   Addis Abebe (ETH) 34:39   Derartu Tulu (ETH) 19:36
27th 1992   Thomas Osano (KEN) 35:03   Delilah Asiago (KEN) 19:24
28th 1993   Mathias Ntawulikura (RWA) 36:01   Viktoriya Nenasheva (RUS) 20:04
29th 1994   Gert Thys (RSA) 35:35   Nadezhda Galliamova (RUS) 19:25
30th 1995   Daniel Njenga (KEN) 35:32   Tudorita Chidu (ROU) 19:17
31st 1996   Brad Barquist (USA) 36:37   Iulia Olteanu (ROU) 20:05
32nd 1997   Mathias Ntawulikura (RWA) 35:50   Tegla Loroupe (KEN) 19:55
33rd 1998   Julius Gitahi (KEN) 36:32   Sally Barsosio (KEN) 20:37
34th 1999   Julius Kiptoo (KEN) 35:14   Tegla Loroupe (KEN) 26:00
35th 2000   Serhiy Lebid (UKR) 35:38   Yoshiko Ichikawa (JPN) 26:53
36th 2001   Samuel Kabiru (KEN) 23:33   Iulia Olteanu (ROU) 19:26
37th 2002   Craig Mottram (AUS) 35:29   Benita Johnson (AUS) 25:43
38th 2003   Ricardo Ribas (POR) 36:27   Benita Johnson (AUS) 26:09
39th 2004   Samuel Wanjiru (KEN) 35:04   Benita Johnson (AUS) 18:38
40th 2005   Samuel Wanjiru (KEN) 34:54   Miwako Yamanaka (JPN) 20:01
41st 2006   Ryan Hall (USA) 35:22   Sara Hall (USA) 19:12
42nd 2007   Joseph Gitau (KEN) 35:05   Anália Rosa (POR) 19:15
43rd 2008   Harun Mbugua (KEN) 35:27   Lucy Wangui (KEN) 19:50
44th 2009   Bedan Karoki (KEN) 34:40   Yuko Shimizu (JPN) 19:38
45th 2010   Bedan Karoki (KEN) 34:52   Misaki Katsumata (JPN) 19:39
46th 2011[9]   Bedan Karoki (KEN) 33:58   Hitomi Niiya (JPN) 25:53
47th 2012[10]   Charles Ndirangu (KEN) 34:59   Susan Wairimu (KEN) 26:41
48th 2013[11]   Charles Ndirangu (KEN) 35:01   Rosemary Wanjiru (KEN) 26:08
49th 2014 cancelled due to snow storms
50th 2015[12]   Charles Ndirangu (KEN) 36:14   Zoe Buckman (AUS) 28:37
51st 2016   Rodgers Kwemoi (KEN) 25:05   Yuki Kanehira (JPN) 29:04

References

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General
Specific
  1. ^ IAAF Cross Country Permits. IAAF (2010). Retrieved on 2010-02-12.
  2. ^ a b c d e Chiba International Crosscountry. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2009-02-15). Retrieved on 2010-02-12.
  3. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2001-02-18). Chiba International Cross Country. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-02-12.
  4. ^ a b Nakamura, Ken (2010-02-12). Chiba Cross Country to determine Japanese World Cross teams – Preview. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-02-12.
  5. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2008-02-08). Chiba International Cross Country - PREVIEW. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-02-12.
  6. ^ Tulu versus Johnson in Chiba - Preview. IAAF (2004-02-13). Retrieved on 2010-02-12.
  7. ^ 大会情報 Archived 2010-02-07 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese). JAAF. Retrieved on 2010-02-12.
  8. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2009-02-15). Karoki and Shimizu the winners at Chiba Cross Country. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-02-12.
  9. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2011-02-13). Karoki and Niiya win at Chiba Cross Country. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-02-13.
  10. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2012-02-12). Kenyan high schoolers dominate at Chiba Cross Country. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-02-12.
  11. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2013-02-10). Kenyans Ndirangu and Wanjiru win Chiba cross country races. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-02-28.
  12. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2015-02-09). Ndirangu and Buckman win at the Chiba Cross Country. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-02-09.
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