Simon Maina

Last updated

Simon Maina
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1998 Kuala Lumpur 10,000 m

Simon Maina Munyi (born 18 March 1978) is a Kenyan former long-distance runner who competed in track and road running events. In his first year of international competition, he was the gold medallist in the 10,000 metres at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Contents

Maina was also runner-up at the 1998 Goodwill Games and represented Kenya at the 1999 All-Africa Games and Chiba Ekiden. He has personal bests of 27:18.74 minutes over 10,000 m and 60:48 minutes for the half marathon. He was the 1998 Kenyan champion over 10,000 m.

Based in Japan, he ran for the Toyota corporate running team. He won twice on the track at the Japan Championships in Athletics over 5000 metres. He switched to road running after 2004 and had podium finishes in the Nagoya and Sapporo half marathons. After suffering an injury in 2007 he was dropped by Toyota and was subsequently arrested and deported from Japan for violating his athlete's visa, raising concern in the sports media over foreign runners' treatment in Japan.

Career

Early life and career

Born Simon Maina Munyi in Nyeri, Kenya, [1] he was trained by Kenyan running coach David Miano as a teenager. [2] Maina moved to Japan in 1997 to compete for the Toyota corporate running team, based in Aichi Prefecture. [3] That same year he won the 5000 metres at the Japanese Athletics Championships – a feat he repeated the following year with a championship record. [4] He set two track bests at the start of the 1998 outdoor season, running 27:21.14 minutes for the 10,000 metres for second place at the Hyogo Relays, then recording 13:10.71 minutes for third at the Prefontaine Classic 5000 m. [5] [6] The former time meant he was ranked in the top ten runners that year. [7] He rose to the top of the national scene at the Kenyan Athletics Championships, winning the 10,000 m title with a sub-28-minute run. [8]

Commonwealth champion

Maina made his international debut at the 1998 Goodwill Games and helped complete a Kenyan sweep of the 10,000 m medals, taking the silver medal half a second behind Julius Gitahi, with James Koskei coming in third. [9] He was dominant at the 10,000 metres final at the Commonwealth Games in September, winning the gold medal almost a minute ahead of the runner-up, fellow Kenyan William Kalya. [10]

He opened 1999 with runner-up finishes at the Osaka Grand Prix and Hyogo Relays before improving his 10,000 m best to 27:18.74 minutes at the FBK Games in the Netherlands. [6] The time ranked him eleventh in the world that year. [11] He did not manage to defend his national title in Kenya, finishing seventh, although he did gain selection for the 10,000 m final at the 1999 All-Africa Games. There he placed fourth in a race won by world medallist Assefa Mezgebu in what proved to be his final individual race representing Kenya. Returning to the Japanese circuit, he won at the Shizuoka Meet but was second to Julius Gitahi at the Japanese Championships. [6] [12]

Road running

Maina made his debut over the half marathon distance in 2000, starting with a run of 62:46 minutes at the Tokyo Half Marathon in January, and then a career best of 60:48 minutes to win the Nagoya Half Marathon. He won the 10,000 m track race at the Hyogo Relays in a then world-leading time of 27:18.95 minutes (fifth best that year). [13] He was out of the running in that event at the Kenyan Championships, thus missing a chance to compete at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. [14] He placed fifth at the high calibre Memorial Van Damme at the end of the track season. He dropped out of the top-30 rankings in 2001, and had a low key season with the exception of a win at the Kumamoto Kosa 10-Miler, which he won in a course record of 45:29 minutes. [15] He returned to form over 10,000 m in 2002, taking runner-up spots at the Hyogo Relays and Nacht Van de Atletik meet to rank 14th globally. [16] [17] He also gained team selection for the Chiba Ekiden, running a 5K leg and placing second with Kenya. [18]

Maina placed first in the 5000 m among the guest athletes at the 2003 Japanese Championships, with the format now changed so that only Japanese runners were ranked. [19] He was runner-up to Julius Maina (an unrelated Kenyan based in Japan) over the 5000 m at the Yokohama Super Meet and was the winner of the Japanese Corporate title over that distance for Toyota. [20] He placed sixth at the Kenyan 10,000 m trials for the 2003 World Championships in Athletics, so did not make the national team. He came twelfth at the Memorial Van Damme race, although such was the speed of the race his time of 27:22.29 minutes ranked him 14th best in the world that year. [6]

After 2003 he had little success in track races. Over the half marathon, he came third at the 2004 and 2005 Sapporo Half Marathon, and was runner-up at the 2005 Nagoya Half Marathon. [21] [22] [23] He won the Nagoya race for the second time in his career in 2006. [24]

Injury and deportation

He suffered an injury and did not compete in 2007. He was fired that year from the Toyota corporate track team [25] and subsequently a local car parts manufacturing business created its own track and field team to take on Maina and another injured runner, Joseph Kamau, offering them nominal posts in the factory. Maina planned a comeback to the sport at the end of 2008 but he and Kamau were arrested by the immigration police, who treated them as regular labourers working illegally under their athlete visas. [3] The two were taken to trial in November 2008, with some commentators noting that the outcome could affect runners' conditions and set a precedent for Japanese corporate track teams, allowing them to fire injured foreign recruits and leave them open to deportation. [25] At the trial, Maina and Kamau were found guilty and deported back to Kenya. [26]

Personal bests

International competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
1998 Goodwill Games Uniondale, New York, United States2nd10,000 m
Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1st 10,000 m
1999 All-Africa Games Johannesburg, South Africa4th 10,000 m
2002 Chiba Ekiden Chiba, Japan2nd Ekiden Team marathon

Related Research Articles

Lucy Wangui Kabuu is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 and 10,000 metres events. She has represented Kenya twice at the Summer Olympics, finishing in the top ten of the 10,000 m race in both 2004 and 2008. Her personal bests of 14:33.49 minutes for the 5000 m and 30:39.96 minutes for the 10,000 m make her one of Kenya's fastest ever runners in the events.

Martin Irungu Mathathi is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who competes in track, cross country and road running events. Mathathi won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. He represented his country in the same event at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He holds the 10 miles world junior record of 44:51.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayoko Fukushi</span> Japanese long-distance runner

Kayoko Fukushi is a Japanese long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000, 10,000 metres and marathon. Fukushi represented Japan at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. She holds a marathon best of 2:22:17 hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yurika Nakamura</span> Japanese long-distance runner

Yurika Nakamura is a Japanese long-distance runner. Nakamura grew up in the Hyōgo Prefecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryoko Kizaki</span> Japanese long-distance runner

Ryoko Kizaki is a Japanese long-distance runner who competes in marathon and half marathon races. She won the 2011 Yokohama Women's Marathon in a personal best time of 2:26:32 hours. She is a three-time participant at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and a two-time medallist at the Summer Universiade.

Philes Moora Ongori is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in half marathon and marathon events.

Josephat Muchiri Ndambiri is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He represented his country at the World Championships in Athletics in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensuke Takezawa</span> Japanese long-distance runner

Kensuke Takezawa is a Japanese professional long-distance runner. He attended Waseda University in Tokyo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yukiko Akaba</span> Japanese long-distance runner

Yukiko Akaba is a Japanese long-distance runner who specializes in the 10,000 metres, half marathon and marathon events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuri Kanō</span> Japanese long-distance runner

Yuri Kanō is a Japanese athlete who specialises in long distance running, including the marathon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yacob Jarso</span> Ethiopian runner

Yacob Jarso Kintra is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner and former steeplechaser. He has represented Ethiopia at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.

Megumi Kinukawa is a Japanese long-distance runner. She represented her country at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka and is the Japanese high school and junior record holder for the 10,000 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hitomi Niiya</span> Japanese long-distance runner

Hitomi Niiya is a Japanese professional long-distance runner who competes in track, cross country running and marathon races. Niiya competed for Japan at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She is a two-time silver medallist at the Asian Athletics Championships and has represented Japan three times at the World Athletics Championships. She represents Team Toyota Industries in national competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suguru Osako</span> Japanese long-distance runner

Suguru Osako is a Japanese long-distance runner. He won the 10,000 metres gold medal at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen and holds the Asian junior record for the half marathon. He held the Japanese National Record for the marathon of 2:05:29 set at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, where he finished fourth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atsushi Sato</span> Japanese long-distance runner

Atsushi Sato is a Japanese long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. He is the Asian record holder in the half marathon with his time of 60:25 minutes. His marathon best of 2:07:13 hours is the fourth fastest by a Japanese athlete. He is married to Miho Sato, who was a 2004 Japanese Olympian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Ndungu</span> Kenyan long-distance runner

Samuel Ndungu Wanjiku is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the 10,000 metres and road running events. He has a half marathon best of 60:55 minutes and a marathon best of 2:07:04 hours. A Japan-based runner, he has won the Lake Biwa Marathon, the Marugame Half Marathon, and was the 2010 Japanese Corporate champion the half marathon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mai Ito</span> Japanese long-distance runner

Mai Ito is a Japanese long-distance runner who competes in half marathon and marathon races. She represented Japan in the marathon at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and competed at the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, taking the team bronze medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Chepyego Kaptich</span> Kenyan long-distance runner

Sally Chepyego Kaptich is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes mainly in track and road running events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philomena Cheyech</span> Kenyan long-distance runner

Flomena Cheyech Daniel is a Kenyan athlete who competes in long distance and marathon races. She set her personal best of 2:22:44 winning the 2014 Paris Marathon and was a gold medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She represented Kenya at the 1999 IAAF Junior World Cross Country Championships in Dublin, Ireland and at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. She was based in Japan between 2007 and 2010, running for the Uniqlo corporate team, and was a two-time winner of the Japanese Corporate Half Marathon. She has also won marathons in Vienna and Toronto.

Everline Kemunto Kimwei is a Kenyan long-distance runner. Her greatest achievement was a team gold medal at the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships, where she was sixth. She is joint-holder of the African record for the ekiden marathon relay, courtesy of her winning run for Kenya at the 2006 Chiba Ekiden.

References

  1. ↑ 'Focus on Africans' – men's 10,000m Final biographies. IAAF (24 August 2003). Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  2. ↑ 'New find' Kabiru wins 20km,Talel beaten in 5km and Rumokal triumphs again. IAAF (15 November 2003). Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 Larner, Brett (17 October 2008). Two Kenyan Pros Abandoned by Their Sponsor Teams Imprisoned in Nagoya and Facing Deportation . Japan Running News. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  4. ↑ Japanese Championships. GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Mighty Mo. Marvellous Marion Archived 20 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine . IAAF (1 June 1998). Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Simon Maina. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  7. ↑ 1998 Top List 5000 metres men. Mennea. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  8. ↑ Kenyan Championships. GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Goodwill Games. GBRAthletics. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  10. ↑ Maina sings golden song. Indian Express (17 September 1998). Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  11. ↑ 10,000 Metres – men – senior – outdoor – 1999. IAAF. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  12. ↑ Nakamura, Ken (4 October 1999). Hanaoka the Star of Japanese National Championships. IAAF. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  13. ↑ Nakamura, Ken (25 April 2000). Yuko Kawakami wins the 10,000m at the Hyogo Relays. IAAF. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  14. ↑ Three top Kenyan athletes fail to win Sydney berths. IAAF (22 July 2000). Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  15. ↑ Kosa 10 Mile. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  16. ↑ Nakamura, Ken (28 April 2002). Noguchi limbers up for Brussels with 32:05 10,000m at Hyogo Relays. IAAF. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  17. ↑ 10,000 Metres – men – senior – outdoor – 2002. IAAF. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  18. ↑ Nakamura, Ken (23 November 2002). Bekele's back at record best – Double wins for Ethiopia in Chiba. IAAF. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  19. ↑ New Asian 200m record for Suetsugu at Japanese national championships. IAAF (9 June 2003). Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  20. ↑ Nakamura, Ken (23 September 2003). 'Super Meet' in Yokohama. IAAF. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  21. ↑ Nakamura, Ken (27 November 2005). Maina's half marathon win in Nagoya highlights busy week in Japan". IAAF. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  22. ↑ Nakamura, Ken (4 July 2004). Ndereba and Wainaina fare badly in Sapporo. IAAF. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  23. ↑ Nakamura, Ken (3 July 2005). Ndereba and Mogusu victorious at Sapporo Half Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  24. ↑ Nagoya Half Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  25. 1 2 Larner, Brett (3 November 2008). Deportation Trial for Two Kenyan Elites to Begin Nov. 4. Japan Running News. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
  26. ↑ Larner, Brett (13 May 2010). Teaching the Masters. Running Times. Retrieved on 15 July 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.