目次
The Yokohama SUP Marathon 2023 was held in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture on Sunday, March 5th.
This was the sixth time the event has been held, and for the first time, competitors from overseas, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the UK, entered.
The Ooka River, Nakamura River, and Hori River, which flow through Yokohama City, were the venues for the race, which featured two distances: a 22km course (two round trips of 5.5km from Hinode-cho to Honmachi via Makita and Ishikawa-cho), and half that distance (11km). Nariakira Shimazu and Natsumi Baba from Team KOKUA, and Kaisei Ikeda from KOKUA Generation Next, participated in this event, which could be said to be the longest in Japan.
Shigeaki Shimazu and Natsumi Baba entered the 22km race, while Kaisei Ikeda entered the 11km race. This time, some of the top-ranked athletes at the world championships participated, making it a very exciting race despite it being so early in the season.
Shigeaki Shimazu made a strong start and fought with the top runners in the leading pack. He held on until the 11km turnaround point, but the gap widened on a turn and he fell into the water, which prevented him from closing the gap and he ended up in second place. If he improves his overall level, we can imagine him fighting on equal terms until the end.
Natsumi Baba was conscious of her overall ranking among the male competitors. Halfway through the race, she found herself falling behind the competitors in front and behind her, and it became a lonely journey for her, but she remained calm and rowed to the end, winning the race.
Kaisei Ikeda is a first-year junior high school student and has only been SUPing for one year, but his paddle technique and board control, honed through canoeing and surfing, stand out among junior paddlers his age. He placed 5th in the 11km class at this tournament, and there are high expectations for his future success this year.
Below is the player report:
[Nariakira Shimazu]
Result: 22km 14ft Hardboard Men
02:14:55 2nd place
"The conditions were flat and the race was 11km with two laps. From the start I expected Araki Juri, who finished first this time, to be in the lead, so I stayed alongside her until the first buoy, then drafted after the turn to follow her, but with 1.5km to go I fell off and fell behind the leader. However, without panicking, I relied on the smooth, efficient movement of my board and managed to catch up by the second buoy. The performance of the boat helped me make it back.
After that, the two of us were fighting for the lead until the halfway point, but we got caught in a backwash at the halfway point and lost track of the leader. From there, we were fighting for second place, and I didn't rush, just let the board move forward, and after going around the last buoy, I made a sprint and finished in second place. The performance of the board helped me throughout the race. I finished three minutes behind the world champion, so I'll do my best to close that gap in preparation for this year's World Championships.
Board:KOKUA FLY PRO 21
Paddle:KK MINI
[Natsumi Baba]
Result:
22km 14ft Hardboard Women
02:29:17 Winner "This was my first race of the season. Rowing 22km on a flat river is something I don't usually do, so I wanted to see how my rowing and my body would change over this distance. I couldn't draft directly behind the male runners, so it was a race against myself, but I was encouraged by the cheers from the sidelines, which is unique to river races.
My goal was to pick up the pace towards the second half, but drafting alongside a male cyclist didn't go well in the early stages, disrupting my pace, so it wasn't until the last 2km that I felt I'd managed to pick up the pace. Looking at the data, my pace hadn't really increased that much, only my heart rate had. There were many issues that became apparent because of the long distance and these conditions, such as pace distribution, how to control myself in relation to other boats, and the timing of refueling. To be honest, I'm still not at my best physically, so I'm going to continue practicing carefully while getting my racing sense and rowing sense back.
Board:KOKUA FLY PRO 22.5
Paddle: KK PRO HA Skinny
Fin:KK PRO FIA
[Kaisei Ikeda]
Result:
11km 14ft Hardboard Men
01:22:19 5th place "This was my second 11km race, and I enjoyed it. I was able to move up the rankings by drafting and passing various people, and it was fun to pass on the inside during turns. This was my first river race, and I felt a bit sick being surrounded by concrete walls."
Board:KOKUA FLY PRO 21
Paddle:KK AFTERSKOOL
Fin:KK PRO FIA
For many paddlers, this was their first race of the season. It was a tough race for a first race, but it was a worthwhile experience that revealed many challenges along with a sense of accomplishment.
There are already world-class races waiting for us, with the JCF overseas athlete selection tournament in April and the ISA representative athlete selection tournament in May.
I look forward to seeing Team KOKUA in action both at home and abroad.
