Previews30 Nov 2007


Leading Japanese continue Beijing chase, while Wanjiru set for debut – Fukuoka Marathon preview

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Toshinari Takaoka wins in Tokyo in 2:07:41 (© Kazuaki Matsunaga/Agence SHOT)

30 November 2007The 61st Fukuoka Marathon, which doubles as an Olympic qualifying race for Japanese runners, is set for Sunday (2). Although three Olympic qualifying races were designated, Sunday’s Fukuoka contest has the best field of the three.

Five of the biggest names in Japanese marathoning will be running in Fukuoka.  They are Toshinari Takaoka, the national 10,000m and Marathon record holder; Atsushi Fujita, the former national Marathon record holder; Shigeru Aburaya, fifth in the 2001 and 2003 World Championships as well as the 2004 Olympics; Atsushi Sato, the national Half Marathon record holder; and Yuko Matsumiya.

One last Olympic shot for Takaoka?

The sentimental favorite may be Takaoka, for despite recording 2:07:59 at the 2003 Fukuoka Marathon, Takaoka failed to make the 2004 Olympic Marathon team. Takaoka, who made both the 5000m and 10,000m finals at the Sydney Olympics, finishing seventh in the later event, set his personal best of 2:06:16 at the 2002 Chicago Marathon. He returned to Chicago two years later and recorded 2:07:50. Takaoka won the 2005 Tokyo Marathon with 2:07:41 and finished second a year later. He has six sub-2:10 marathon performances to his credit, the most by a Japanese. Takaoka, who was fourth at the 2005 World Championships, has not given up his goal of medaling at the Olympic Games. For his latest Marathon, he ran the 2007 Nagano race as a training run.

Fujita, who is known for his dedication to the Marathon, holds the course record of 2:06:51, a former national record, which was recorded in 2000. Fujita was sixth in the 1999 Worlds and 12th in the 2001 World Championships but he has been struggling to regain top form lately. In Fukuoka, Fujita was third in 2005 and eighth in 2006, but after following the advise of Haile Gebreselassie, Fujita won his last marathon, this year’s Beppu-Oita Marathon. 

Although he dropped out of his last Marathon, Tokyo in February, Aburaya is known for his consistency, having finished fifth in 2001 and 2003 World Championships as well as the 2004 Olympics. He set his best, 2:07:52, in the 2001 Lake Biwa Marathon but hasn’t broken 2:09 since and has yet to win a Marathon.

Sato, who recently set the national Half Marathon record of 1:00:25 at last month’s World Road Running Championships, is superb in Ekiden competition. However, Sato is yet to fulfill his promise over the Marathon distance. In his Marathon debut, Sato clocked 2:09:50, a Japanese collegiate record. He ran 2:08:50 and 2:08:36 at the 2003 and 2004 Lake Biwa Marathons respectively. However, Sato finished a dismal 16th at the Chicago Marathon in 2005, dropped out of the 2006 Lake Biwa Marathon and finished second in the 2007 Beppu-Oita Marathon in 2:11:16. Sato, who is married to Miho Sugimori, the national 800m record holder, recently had a dream that the couple would be in Beijing together.     

Matsumiya ran 2:09:25 and 2:09:18 respectively at the 2004 and 2005 editions of the Lake Biwa Marathon. In Fukuoka last year, he was 11th in 2:12:40. In his most recent Half Marathon, he was second in 1:01:59 in Hakodate.

With Tergat’s withdrawal, international attention on Wanjiru’s debut

Paul Tergat, the former World record holder, was originally on the start list, but had to pull out after being called to duty by the Kenyan Armed Forces. That leaves Samuel Wanjiru, the World Half Marathon record holder, as the strongest non-Japanese in the race in his debut over the distance.

“His goal in the Fukuoka Marathon is to win with the course record (2:06:51 by Atsushi Fujita),” said Wanjiru’s coach Kouichi Morishita, the 1992 Olympic silver medalist. “His training emphasis has changed from speed to endurance.  My concern is that he has only a month and a half of Marathon training under his belt, instead of the standard three month training. Sammy has done two 40Km runs. On his second 40Km run, Sam hit the wall, but I think it was good for him to realize that the Marathon is not simple.”

A pair of 2:08 runners from Africa will be running in Fukuoka. Ethiopian Hailu Negussie has good credentials in December marathons.  He won the 2001 and 2002 Hofu Marathons, the latter in 2:08:16.  In Fukuoka 2003, he was fifth clocking 2:08:21. However, he has not broken the 2:10 barrier since.

In 2005, Daniel Yego was third in the Rome Marathon with 2:08:16 and second in the Amsterdam Marathon with 2:08:58.  This year, Yego won the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in June in 2:09:04 but dropped out of October’s Chicago Marathon. 

Two Europeans will be running as well. Portugal’s Alberto Chaica finished one second ahead of Aburaya at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, when he crossed the line fourth in 2:09:25, still his personal best. A year later at the 2004 Olympics, Chaica was eighth. Two years later he was eighth at the European Championships.

Irishman Mark Carroll, primarily a track runner, has completed only one Marathon, the 2002 New York City Marathon where he finished sixth (2:10:54).  He started the 2006 London Marathon, but failed to finish the race. He is the fastest 5000m man in the field, having recorded 13:03.93 in 1998, and the third fastest (after Wanjiru and Takaoka) at 10,000m, having recorded 27:46.82 in 2000. 

Although not invited runners, several other top Japanese will be shooting for an Olympic team berth. Among them, Muneyuki & Tadayuki Ojima with 2:08:43 and 2:08:18 personal best respectively, are the fastest. 

Ken Nakamura for the IAAF

Invited Runners (with personal bests):
Hailu Negussie (ETH), 2:08:16, 2002 Hofu
Daniel Yego  (KEN), 2:08:16, 2005 Roma
Alberto Chaica  (POR), 2:09:25, 2003 Worlds
Mark Carroll (IRL), 2:10:54, 2002 New York
Samuel Wanjiru (KEN), 58:33 (half marathon), Debut 

Japanese -
Toshinari Takaoka, 2:06:16, 2002 Chicago
Atsushi Fujita, 2:06:51, 2000 Fukuoka
Shigeru Aburaya, 2:07:52, 2001 Lake Biwa
Atsushi Sato, 2:08:36, 2004 Lake Biwa
Yuko Matsumiya, 2:09:18, 2005 Lake Biwa

Other top runners:
Brett Cartwright (AUS), 2:15:17, 2007 Beppu-Oita
Tadayuki Ojima, 2:08:18, 2004 Lake Biwa 
Muneyuki Ojima, 2:08:43, 1998 Lake Biwa 
Michitane Noda, 2:09:58, 2003 Fukuoka
Naoki Mishiro, 2:10:33, 2003 Tokyo
Masaya Shimizu, 2:12:31, 2006 Lake Biwa
Kazuo Ietani, 2:12:37, 2001 Tokyo
Kensuke Takahashi, 2:14:16, 2002 Lake Biwa 
Kazuyuki Maeda, 1:29:57  (30Km), (not a debut) 

Pace Setters:
Isaac Macharia  (KEN)
Jonathan Maiyo  (KEN)
Fabian Joseph (TAN)
Shinji Tateishi

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