Skip to main content

Noguchi Begins Preparation for Beijing Olympic Gold

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/top/sp200711/sp2007112002.html

translated by Brett Larner

The morning after winning the Tokyo International Women`s Marathon in a course record time of 2:21:37, Mizuki Noguchi (29, Team Sysmex), was still in Tokyo for interviews about her plans for becoming the first woman to repeat as Olympic gold medallist.

Noguchi achieved victory in large part thanks to the strength of her muscular thighs. The day before, Noguchi became the first woman to break 17 minutes on the course`s severe uphill from 35 km to 40 km, running 16:56. She showed the strength and spirit which will be necessary for a win in Beijing. She said, "I want to do the kind of training that will help me find a new level."

The night before winning her first full marathon after 2 years away from the event, Noguchi was in a bar drinking champagne with her coach Nobuyuki Fujita. Noguchi doesn`t drink much, but said, "This alcohol reminds me of the feeling I had after [setting the Japanese national record in Sept. `05 at] the Berlin Marathon. Next up is my ticket to Beijing." The champagne is by way of an early celebration of her impending Olympic trip.

Noguchi intends to stay outside the Athlete Village in Beijing in her own `gold medal territory.` Noguchi`s staff are planning to visit Beijing in December to scout for a place for Noguchi to stay. Fujita explained, "At the Athens Olympics we spent around 12,000,000 yen ($120,000 U.S.) on private accomodations. It`s probably going to be the same in Beijing."

Noguchi believes in keeping things the same throughout her training. Even this morning, the day after the marathon, Noguchi woke up at 6:00 to run for 50 minutes around the Imperial Palace, saying "Today I`m going to a famous onsen with my own bath in my room. It`s pretty amazing so I want to get going early."

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Chien Breaks TPE NR, Iwata Betters ID-Class WR - Weekend Track Roundup

The last weekend of the academic and fiscal year saw at least 5 meets with good results domestically and abroad. Kicking things off Friday was the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, where Tomohiro Shinno and Naoto Hasegawa took 1st and 3rd in the men's high jump, both of them only clearing 2.18 m along with 2nd-placer Roman Anastasios . 12 other Japanese athletes were in action on the second day of the meet on Saturday, where 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura ran 3:42.84 for 6th in the men's 1500 m. Nagiya Mori had a better one in the men's 3000 m with a 7:45.40 for 4th. Both Yota Mashiko and Rui Suzuki cleared 8:00 too, Mashiko's 7:53.84 the 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese-born high schooler. Abigail Fuka Ido and Nagisa Takahashi both placed 3rd in their events, Ido going 23.85 (-0.9) in the women's 200 m and Takahashi clearing 1.82 m in the women's high jump. 8 Japanese men were at The TEN in California to run 10000 m. In the B-heat won by Edward Marks in ...

JAAF Announces World Road Running Championships Half Marathon Team

The JAAF announced the men's and women's half marathon teams today for this fall's World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen: Women Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon) - 1:09:14 (1st, 2026 Osaka Half) Wakana Kabasawa (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:09:20 (1st, 2026 Nat'l Corp. Half) Rina Shimizu (Noritz) - 1:09:22 (2nd, 2026 Osaka Half) Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) - 1:09:23 (3rd, 2026 Osaka Half) Men Tomoya Ogikubo (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 1:00:22 (4th, 2026 Marugame Half) Yuma Nishizawa (Toyota Boshoku) - 1:00:26 (5th, 2026 Marugame Half) Neo Namiki (Subaru) - 1:00:29 (6th, 2026 Marugame Half) Daisuke Sato (Chuo Univ.) - 1:00:40 (7th, 2026 Marugame Half) Mile and 5 km teams, if any, will be decided after June's National Track and Field Championships. © 2026 Brett Larner , all rights reserved

Updates on Transfers

April 1 is the start of Japan's new academic and fiscal year, and there's always a wave of transfer announcements to go with it. Some notable ones yesterday: 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo skipped university to go straight to 2023 Queens Ekiden national champion Sekisui Kagaku after her graduation from Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. Multiple NR holder Nozomi Tanaka rejoined the Toyota Jidoshokki women's team after having left it to pursue a solo pro career as a New Balance athlete. Already on the team for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games in the 10000 m, Ririka Hironaka announced a switch from her longtime home at Japan Post to the Uniqlo women's team. Collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda joined the 2026 national champion GMO corporate team after graduating from 2026 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University last week. Hakone Ekdien First Stage CR holder Rui Aoki joins the Sumitomo Denko corporate team after running his final race for 2025 Izumo Ekiden w...