Chiba International Cross Country

Chiba International Cross Country
The races are held in the Showa Forest near Chiba
Date Mid-February
Location Chiba, Japan
Event type Cross country
Distance 12 km and 4 km for men
6 km for women
8 km junior men
5 km junior women
Established 1966

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.

Initiated in 1966, the Chiba Cross Country is held in Showa-No-Mori Park and features a competition schedule of eight races. 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.

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. 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.

Over a thousand runners compete at the meeting each year, although the attendance record set in 1991 featured nearly twice as many participants. 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. 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.

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

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

Past senior race winners

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.

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 Bedan Karoki (KEN) 33:58 Hitomi Niiya (JPN) 25:53
47th 2012 Charles Ndirangu (KEN) 34:59 Susan Wairimu (KEN) 26:41
48th 2013 Charles Ndirangu (KEN) 35:01 Rosemary Wanjiru (KEN) 26:08
49th 2014 cancelled due to snow storms
50th 2015 Charles Ndirangu (KEN) 36:14 Zoe Buckman (AUS) 28:37
51st 2016 Rodgers Kwemoi (KEN) 25:05 Yuki Kanehira (JPN) 29:04