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Olympic Marathoners Ogata and Sato Speak at Chugoku Denryoku Headquarters

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/osaka/ser2/200808/30/ser2214571.html

translated by Brett Larner

Beijing Olympics men's marathon competitors Tsuyoshi Ogata (35) and Atsushi Sato (30), along with table tennis Olympian Haruna Fukuoka (24), appeared at the Hiroshima headquarters of their team sponsor, Chugoku Denryoku on Aug. 29 for their official post-Olympics press conference.

Asked to give one reason why they were so utterly defeated in the men's marathon, which was run at an unthinkably fast pace for a summer race, the two runners said they were simply afraid to run so fast right from the start. The race's leaders went through the first 5 km split in under 15 minutes. Ogata offered his view, saying, "I shouldn't have been so suprised and cautious when they went so fast at the beginning. I'll remember this and will be up there in the future." Sato likewise discussed the implications for his future, saying, "Next time I want to run a completely reckless speed marathon without worrying about it."

Team Chugoku Denryoku head coach Yasushi Sakaguchi agreed with his runners. "That's the kind of thing I want to see from them." In track races and other upcoming events these star Chugoku Denryoku runners plan to launch a program of racing with reckless speed without any concern for the end results.

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