Fukuoka International Marathon, Japanese runners look forward to qualify for 2012 London Olympics
With the 2012 London Olympics just around the corner, athletes around the world have started preparing to qualify for the biggest athletic event in the world. Japanese athletes are no exceptions to the phenomenon.
Japanese are strong contenders for the Olympic medals, as dozens of them are looking forward to live up to IAAF’s standards in the IAAF Gold Label Road Race, that is regarded as the second oldest marathon in Japan.
The Fukuoka International Marathon, which will observe its 65th edition this year, will commence on Sunday, December 4.
Among the strongest domestic runners looking forward to prevail in the race, the spectators will observe Yuki Kawauchi, Chiharu Takada, Satoshi Irifune, Ken-ichiro Setoguchi, Tomoyuki Sato, Masato Imai and Kazuhiro Maeda lining up against each other.
The benchmark, in terms of finishing time for Olympic qualification, has not been set for the race as yet.
However, with two of the biggest road running events, namely, the Tokyo Marathon and Lake Biwa Marathon in February and March, respectively, still to go, it is imperative for the athletes to mark their dominance in the meet being organized day after tomorrow.
Although the star studded race is bound to produce unexpected results, however, Kawauchi, with a personal best of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 37 seconds is among the local favourites.
The promising runner, who works as an administrator at a school, finished the World Athletics Championships for an 18th position.
For a runner, who is not a professional full-time athlete, but who runs and trains during off times, such running acumen and an under 2:10 PB constitute a splendid profile.
Given his professional constraints, if he makes it to the World Olympics in London, it will definitely make headlines for the world sport media.
Another outstanding performer who may create headlines on Sunday evening is Irifune. The veteran athlete boasts of a wide experience of running some of the top marathon races in the world, including two World Championships, in 2005 and 2009.
His personal best, which stands at two hours, nine minutes and twenty three seconds, was observed in Fukuoka’s 2008th edition. However, he could not observe an under 2:10 performance since then.
Among other Japanese marathon runners, Maeda, who ran in the World Championships twice, will also be in the limelight, this Sunday morning.
The star performer, who also occasionally runs for 10,000m, has a personal best of two hours, ten minutes and twenty nine seconds.
This race will be the last chance for the athletes to mark their presence at the London Olympics. Irifune, Maeda and Sato expressed similar views while saying, “This is my last realistic chance to make the Olympic team. I would like to make the best of it”.
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