Yukiko Akaba

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Yukiko Akaba at the 2011 London Marathon

Yukiko Akaba ( Japanese 赤 羽 有 紀 子 , Akaba Yukiko ; born October 18, 1979 in Haga , Tochigi Prefecture ) is a Japanese long-distance runner .

At the Universiade she won silver in the half marathon in 1999 and bronze in the 10,000 m in 2001 . After studying at Jōsai University , she joined the Hokuren company team , but initially suffered setbacks due to injury. In 2005 she married her fellow student Shuhei Asari (who took his wife's family name), from whom she was trained from then on. She became a mother in August 2006, but soon resumed training. In 2007 she led Japan to victory in the Ekiden von Chiba as the final runner and was the fastest Japanese woman of the year over 10,000 m with 31: 23.27 minutes.

In 2008 she won the Japanese company half marathon championships and qualified as national runner-up over 5000 and 10,000 m over both distances for the Olympic Games in Beijing . There, however, after she had to endure a febrile illness shortly before, she only came 20th over 10,000 m and was eliminated over 5000 m in the preliminary run. She was tenth at the World Half Marathon Championships in Rio de Janeiro and was the best runner on the Japanese team that won the bronze medal.

The following year she was nominated for her debut on the 42.195 km distance second in the Osaka Women's Marathon and then for the marathon of the World Athletics Championships in Berlin . After winning the Sendai half marathon , she became national champion in the 10,000 m in the summer. At the World Championships, however, she suffered a slump and came in 31st. At the Half Marathon World Championships in Birmingham , she did not get past 26th place.

In 2010, she stayed in the top group up to 25 km in Osaka, but then fell back and gave up due to the aftermath of a knee injury. She finished sixth in the London Marathon .

In 2011 she achieved her greatest success to date with a win in Osaka. She was sixth at the London Marathon and fifth at the World Championships Marathon in Daegu , the best non-African runner.

Yukiko Akaba is 1.58 m tall and weighs 43 kg. Because of the still uncommon connection in Japan between motherhood and high-performance athletic careers, her family life became the subject of a television program.

Personal bests

  • 5000 m: 15: 11.17 min, November 27, 2005, Yokohama
  • 10,000 m: 31: 15.34 min, June 27, 2008, Kawasaki
  • Half marathon: 1:08:11 h, March 16, 2008, Yamaguchi
  • Marathon: 2:24:09 h, April 17, 2011, London

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ^ IAAF: Japan comes from behind to win the Chiba International Ekiden . November 23, 2007
  2. ↑ Japan Running News: Akaba: From Besting Ndereba to the Olympics . November 24, 2007
  3. ^ IAAF: Akaba, Gebretsadik take All-Japan Corporate Half Marathon titles ( Memento of April 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ). March 16, 2008
  4. ↑ Japan Running News: Akaba Breaks Noguchi's Course Record at Jitsugyodan Half Marathon . March 17, 2008
  5. ↑ Japan Running News: Yukiko Akaba Returns From Birth Stronger Than Ever . March 21, 2008
  6. ↑ Japan Running News: From Beijing to Brazil - Yukiko Akaba On Top of Japanese Women's Team at World Half Marathon . October 9, 2008
  7. ^ IAAF: Berlin-bound Akaba clocks 1:08:50 at Sendai Half Marathon ( Memento from May 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). May 10, 2009
  8. ↑ Japan Running News: Akaba Crushes Field to Win Her First Sendai International Half Marathon . May 10, 2009
  9. ↑ Japan Running News: Akaba, Karoki, Iwamizu and Kondo Take Day One of Japanese Nationals . June 25, 2009
  10. ↑ Japan Running News: Akaba Feeling Positive About Aggressive Osaka Performance . February 2, 2010
  11. ↑ Japan Running News: Akaba 6th in PB at London Marathon . April 26, 2010
  12. ^ IAAF: Akaba out-duels Ito in windy Osaka ( Memento of February 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ). January 30, 2011
  13. ↑ Japan Running News: Yukiko Akaba Wins Cold and Windy Osaka International Women's Marathon . January 30, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Akaba, Yukiko
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 赤 羽, 有 紀 子
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese long distance runner
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Haga , Tochigi Prefecture