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Fukushi Likely to Target Marathon at London Olympics

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/f-sp-tp0-20110420-764021.html

translated by Brett Larner

According to a statement by Rikuren director of women's marathoning Yutaka Taketomi on Apr. 20, Japan's #1 long distance woman Kayoko Fukushi (29, Team Wacoal) is likely to aim for the marathon at next year's London Olympics. According to Taketomi, Fukushi, who was training in Christchurch, New Zealand at the time of February's earthquake, said, "If I run [a marathon] I think it'll be at one of the Olympic selection races."

At this summer's National Track and Field Championships Fukushi will be focusing on qualifying for the Daegu World Championships on the track. Fukushi's marathon debut came at the 2008 Osaka International Women's Marathon, a selection race for the Beijing Olympics, but she faded badly over the later stages of the race and finished 19th.

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