Atsushi Fujita at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton (© Getty Images)
Atsushi Fujita and Tomoaki Kunichika - are among the featured competitors in Sunday’s (4 December) Fukuoka Marathon. But the key question that is expected to be answered on Sunday is whether or not the pair can recapture the old form that led them to wins in 2000 and 2003 respectively at this traditionally competitive Japanese race in the city that will host the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
Can Fujita and Kunichika regain past winning form?
Fujita won the 2000 edition in 2:06:51, then a National record. Following his victory, he was heralded as the next great Japanese Marathon runner. For Fujita, the even is his life. He is known to avoid anything that may be detrimental to his training and racing. However, since his sub 2:07 performance five years ago, Fujita’s career has been plagued by injury problems. He has run just one reasonably good Marathon since, his 2002 win at the Dong-A Marathon in Seoul with a 2:11:22 performance. His last effort as at the Lake Biwa Marathon last March, where he was 10th in 2:12:30. In July, he was a distant 11th in the Sapporo Half Marathon, with a 63:00 performance. Despite these recent modest efforts, it’s been widely reported that his training has been going extremely well.
Kunichika won the 2003 edition with a personal best of 2:07:52. In the process, he defeated quadruple National record holder Toshinari Takaoka, and qualified for the 2004 Olympic Marathon team. In Athens, however, he was never a factor and finished a distant 42nd. Since the Olympic Games, he’s run just one marathon – this year’s Seoul Marathon, where he was third in 2:11:32. After Seoul, Kunichika set Fukuoka as his target. According to Toshihiko Seko, who has been coaching Kunichika, “He is in fine form. He is in about the same shape as 2003 when he set his personal best in Fukuoka.”
Strong international line-up
The fastest in the field is Morocco’s Abdelkader El Mouaziz, who set his personal best of 2:06:46 at the 2002 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. A past winner in London (1999 and 2001) and New York (2000), the big question may be whether El Mouaziz is the same runner he was a few years ago when he recorded six personal bests from April of 1998 to October of 2002. Always fiercely competitive, El Mouaziz was fourth in London earlier this year, clocking 2:09:03.
The fastest among entrants this year is Spaniard Julio Rey, who won the Hamburg Marathon in 2:07:38. A solid championships performer - eighth this year in Helsinki, second at the 2003 World Championships and third at the 2002 European Championships - Rey’s personal best is 2:07:27, from an earlier (2003) win in Hamburg.
Kenyan fortunes rest with Paul Biwott, Eric Wainaina and James Wainaina (no relation to Eric). Biwott raced to a 2:08:17 personal best at this year’s Paris Marathon, and was seventh at this year’s World Championships, the top Kenyan finisher. Eric Wainaina, who runs for Konica-Minolta, a Japanese corporate track team, is a two-time Olympic Marathon medallist, having won the bronze in 1996 and silver in 2000. He couldn’t continue his Olympic podium streak in Athens, where he finished seventh.
Berhanu to make debut
For some fans the most intriguing runner in the field is Dejene Berhanu of Ethiopia, who will be making his debut over the distance. Among the world’s best Half-marathoners, Berhanu was second to Zersenay Tadesse at this year’s Great North run, where he clocked 1:00:44. he won the race in 2004 with a 59:37 performance. Can the 25-year-old make a shocking debut?
Another Ethiopian, 2000 Olympic champion Gezhegne Abera, was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Invited Runners, with personal bests:
Abdelkader El Mouaziz (MAR), 2:06:46, 3rd, Chicago 2002
Julio Rey (ESP), 2:07:27, 1st, Hamburg, 2003
Paul Biwott (KEN), 2:08:17, 2nd, Paris, 2005
Eric Wainaina (KEN), 2:08:43, 1st, Tokyo, 2002
Guidisa Shentema (ETH), 2:09:46, 4th, Rotterdam, 2005
Lee Troop (AUS), 2:09:49, 7th, Lake Biwa, 2003
James Wainaina (KEN), 2:11:00, 7th, Tokyo, 2004
Shadrack Hoff (RSA), 2:11:51, 2nd, Enschede, 2005
Dmitri Baranovski (UKR), 2:11:57, 5th, Hamburg, 2005
Dejene Berhanu (ETH), 59:37 (half), 1st, Great North, 2004
Japanese:
Atsushi Fujita, 2:06:51, 1st, Fukuoka, 2000
Tomoaki Kunichika, 2:07:52, 1st, Fukuoka, 2003
Michitane Noda , 2:09:58, 9th, Fukuoka, 2003
Tadakatsu Mukae, 2:11:01, 9th, Lake Biwa, 2004
Ken Nakamura for the IAAF
