Yoko Shibui at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate (© Victah Sailer)
Berlin, GermanyYoko Shibui could very well be the star attraction of Sunday’s Real - Berlin Marathon (26 Sep).
The 25 year-old Japanese marathon runner, who has a personal best of 2:21:22 from 2002, has indicated that she wants to become the second Japanese runner in history to dip under the 2:20 marathon barrier.
Asian record could be recaptured
It was Naoko Takahashi who first broke the barrier in Berlin three years ago when clocking 2:19:46. That still stands as a Japanese record while Paula Radcliffe has of course put the World record out of reach in last year’s London Marathon (2:15:25). But there is a second record Yoko Shibui might go for on Sunday. Since Takahashi has lost her Asian record to Chinese Yingjie Sun (2:19:39) last year it would be a great feat for Japanese distance running if Shibui could get the record back to Nippon.
Sleeping as a hobby!
There was a moment after today’s press conference when Shibui seemed to have disappeared. Between two follow-up interviews she had taken a break and had laid down across a line of chairs. At least she did not fall asleep. But that would not have been a big surprise for race director Mark Milde. When he invites the elite athletes he asks them to give all sorts of personal details in order to offer the best service possible, and when Shibui sent back the questionnaire she had stated just one hobby: Sleeping!
But that does not seem to be a very intense hobby for her. Asked about how many hours she would sleep per night she said: “Normally I do not sleep more than six hours.” Well, she will be very awake on Sunday morning as the race will start at 9 am.
A certain Japanese victory?
Shibui is considered to be the big favourite though Hiromi Ominami (2nd in Rotterdam in 2003 with a time of 2.26:17) also is said to be in great shape. “I think the first two places are booked by the two Japanese”, Sonja Oberem said. The German runner would be happy with a third place on Sunday.
If either Shibui or Ominami triumphed in Berlin they would continue a Japanese win streak. Since 2000 every winner of the women’s event in the Berlin Marathon has come from Japan. Takahashi’s race in 2001 was of course the climax.
Course record is the target
Both Shibui and her coach Hideo Suzuki, say that they cannot yet think of times near to Paula Radcliffe’s World record of 2:15:25 but still Yoko Shibui chose the Berlin Marathon because the fast course gives her the chance for a personal best.
“It is a flat and easy going course – I hope to be able to run a very good time”, Shibui said.
She has trained at high altitude in Kunming, which is a large plateau where runners train 1900 metres above sea level. Sharing the same coach as Reiko Tosa, who came in fifth in the Olympic marathon in Athens, the two trained together in China.
“I can not say anything about a weekly average of kilometres because we did not count them. The longest training run was 40k. But I will not tell you the time – it is a secret”, Shibui said. “But altogether training went very well.”
“It seems possible for Yoko to break the Berlin course record, which would of course be a great success”, Hideo Suzuki said. “But is not yet possible for her to get near to Paula Radcliffe’s time. But may be it will be possible for her in a couple of years if training continues to go well.”
Fastest over 10,000m
At present Yoko Shibui is the third fastest Japanese marathon runner behind the two Olympic Champions Naoko Takahashi (2000) and Mizuki Noguchi (2004). Noguchi has a personal best of 2:21:18. Shibui’s enormous marathon talent became obvious when she won her debut race in Osaka in 2:23:11 three years ago. She was just 21 years old and had run a time which was an unofficial debut World best at that time. Shibui also has the fastest 10,000m track time of all the top Japanese marathon runners. Two years ago she ran 30:48.89.
Shibui says she is not yet a high profile athlete in Japan. While Takahashi or Noguchi are superstars in marathon mad Japan, she says: “I am a normal person and live a normal life back home.” But she also adds: “If I should break the 2:20 barrier on Sunday that may change.”
Huge TV audiences
Back in her home country there will probably be more people watching the Real,- Berlin Marathon on TV than in Germany. The race will once more be broadcasted live to Japan by Fuji TV. And due to the time difference Japanese will be able to watch at almost a prime time in early evening. When Takahashi broke the World record three years ago Fuji TV got sensational TV ratings with almost every second Japanese watching the Berlin Marathon.
Asked if she had watched the race on TV in Japan, Shibui said: “ Yes, I did so last year – but while watching I fell asleep!” Then the runner from Machida near Tokyo added: “Well, perhaps I do sleep more than six hours a day.”
Meticulous preparations
Preparations for Berlin Marathon have been painstaking. Some days ago a Japanese man was seen walking through a big Berlin park area with a hand wheel. It was Shibui’s coach Suzuki who was measuring roads and tracks for training. At one stage he was on a road with oncoming traffic. There was a bus coming but Suzuki did not give way. Instead the bus had to make a curve.
Jörg Wenig for the IAAF
