Yuri Yoshizumi Explained

Yuri Yoshizumi
Nationality:	Japanese
Known For:	Skyrunning, Ultramarathon

Yuri Yoshizumi (born 1986) is a Japanese ultra runner and skyrunner. She won the Asian Vertical Kilometre Skyrunning Championship in 2016, placed second in the Vertical Kilometer World Circuit in 2019 and won a number of individual events including the 2019 Transvulcania Marathon and the Fuji Mountain Race in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Career

Yoshizumi started running as an amateur because she was working full-time.^[1] She won the 2012 Hokkaido marathon in a time of 2:39:07 and a marathon PB of 2:37:56 the next year, when she finished in 5th place.^[2] She finished 2nd in the Kobe Marathon in 2013, in a time of 2:41:00, which secured her a spot in the Chicago Marathon, which she ran as part of the Japanese National Team. Due to a bicycling accident she was unable to run her best, placing 82nd with a time of 2:56:07.^{[3] [4]}

In 2015 she set her sights on trail running and she started skyrunning in 2016.^[5] Yoshizumi won the Vertical Kilometer in the 2016 Sky Running Asian Championships in Lantau Island, Hong Kong, where she won in a time of 45:59, which was more than 2 minutes under the previous course record.^{[6] [7]} She ran the 2016 Osaka Tower Run, narrowly beating favourite Suzy Walsham.^[8] The same year she placed 13th in the IAU Trail World Championship, an 85 km race, which made her the best Asian runner in the race.^[9]

In 2017 Yoshizumi won the Fuji Mountain Race, a 21 km race with 3000 m of elevation, for the first time. She followed this up with a win in 2018, despite having broken her hand a week prior, and in 2019.^{[10] [11]} In 2017 she won the Vertical Kilometer at Transvulcania.^[12] She returned in 2019, when she placed second in the Vertical Kilometer and won the marathon event.^[13] In 2019 Yoshizumi also placed 2nd on the Vertical Kilometer World Circuit, with individual results including at least 2 second places and a fourth-place finish.^[14]

In 2019 Yoshizumi also participated in the Orsières-Champex-Chamonix (OCC) race, which is one of the races in the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, where she placed 3rd.^[15]

References

Notes and References

1. Web site: 70th Mt Fuji Mountain Race. July 29, 2017 . Bald Runner. en. 2019-11-10.
2. Web site: Chicago Marathon – Japanese Elites – by Brett Larner – Japan Running News – photo by Dr. Helmut Winter. German Road Races. de-DE. 2019-11-10.
3. Web site: Ogawa and Yoshizumi will put the Japanese accent to the Transvulcania Naviera Armas 2019. 2019-04-17. Transvulcania. en-US. 2019-11-10.
4. Web site: Yuri YOSHIZUMI Profile . www.iaaf.org. 2019-11-10.
5. Web site: Yamada und Yoshizumi gewinnen den 72. "Fuji Mountain Race" in Japan. German Road Races. de-DE. 2019-11-10.
6. Web site: Japan tops Asian Skyrunning Championships. 2016-12-08. International Skyrunning Federation. en-GB. 2019-11-10.
7. Web site: Yoshizumi smashes women's record by more than two minutes. Action Asia Events. 2019-11-10.
8. Web site: A thousand runners scale Japan's tallest tower. 2016-12-12. Vertical World Circuit. en-US. 2019-11-10.
9. Web site: Japanese runner Yuri Yoshizumi, candidate for victory in the Vertical Kilometer. 2017-02-14. Transvulcania. en-US. 2019-11-10.
10. Web site: Gorotani and Yoshizumi Defend Fuji Mountain Race Titles. japanrunningnews.blogspot.com. 2019-11-10.
11. Web site: Yamada and Yoshizumi Win Fuji Mountain Race. japanrunningnews.blogspot.com. 2019-11-10.
12. Web site: Stian Angermund-Vik vant Vertical KM Transvulcania. Gilberg. Runar. www.kondis.no. no. 2019-11-10.
13. Web site: Transvulcania 2019 Results: Ultra, Marthon, Half Marathon, Vertical.. 2019-05-11. La Palma Journal. en. 2019-11-10.
14. Web site: 2019 CIRCUIT CHAMPIONS CROWNED AND WORLD RECORD DESTROYED AT VERTICALE DU GRAND SERRE. 2019-09-29. Vertical Kilometer World Circuit. en-GB. 2019-11-10.
15. Web site: Ruth Croft dominates the 55km OCC at UTMB with 'perfect performance'. South China Morning Post. 2019-11-10.