Skip to main content

Toyo University Star Yuma Hattori, 21, Going for Sub-2:10 in Debut at Tokyo Marathon

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20150203/ath15020312070002-n1.html
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/sports/athletic/all/2015/columndtl/201502030003-spnavi
www.daily.co.jp/newsflash/general/2015/02/03/0007710595.shtml

translated and edited by Brett Larner
photo by rikujouove

In preparation for his marathon debut at the Feb. 22 Tokyo Marathon, the third selection race for August's Beijing World Championships, Toyo University third-year Yuma Hattori, 21, held an open practice session for members of the media at the Toyo campus in Kawagoe, Saitama.  In anticipation of the Tokyo Olympics still five years distant, last February at the Kumanichi 30 km Hattori, then 20, set the Japanese collegiate national record of 1:28:52, the third-best time ever over 30 km by a Japanese man.  "My ultimate goal is to medal in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," Hattori said.  "Working backwards from that goal, this is the year for me to take up the challenge."

In November Hattori scored a win on the Second Stage at the National University Men's Ekiden.  At last month's Hakone Ekiden he won a spectacular race over Kenta Murayama (Komazawa Univ.) and other rival universities' ace runners on Hakone's most competitive stage, the Second Stage, but although that victory crowned him as the best university runner in Japan it cost him a strain to his left thigh.  Since then he has run two 40 km training runs at Toyo's training camp in Futsu, Chiba, but following those he has experienced pain in his right achilles tendon that is currently preventing him from fulfilling his original training plan.  Nevertheless, his enthusiasm for his debut remains the same.  "This is one of the few races where I can experience running against a top-class international field, not just other Japanese people," he said.  "My goal is sub-2:10.  I want to run in a selection race for the Rio Olympics next year, so this marathon will be the first step."  The Japanese collegiate record and debut marathon record are 2:08:12 set by Masakazu Fujiwara (then Chuo Univ.) at the 2003 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.

Supporting Hattori's desire for an early marathon debut and optimistic about his star athlete's chances, Toyo University head coach Toshiyuki Sakai, 38, commented, "The foundation for running a marathon is already laid, so we don't want things to stop just with Hakone.  We want to take it back to the original concept of Hakone as a springboard to the world level.  I think he has the mindset to become internationally competitive and I want this marathon to be a stepping stone that will help lead him to the Olympics."

photo (c) 2015 M. Kawaguchi, all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Ninja Runner Yuka Ando Leads Japanese Women's Marathon Team in London: "I Want to Go For It"

Her form has been dubbed "ninja running." Both arms held straight down with almost no movement. That idiosyncratic style carried Yuka Ando , 23, to the fastest-ever marathon debut by a Japanese woman, 2:21:36, at March's Nagoya Women's Marathon to land at #4 on the all-time Japanese lists. All at once Ando found herself catapulted to the top level of women's marathoning, a candidate for Japan's next great marathoner. When she was younger Ando ran moving her arms like other runners, but she had a bad habit of moving robotically, her upper body and lower body not working in sync. The turning point came in 2014 when she joined Suzuki Hamamatsu AC . Working there with coach Masayuki Satouchi to eliminate the faults in her form, the pair arrived at the ninja running style that let her run relaxed. "Other people keep asking me, "Isn't it hard to run like that?" but for me it's comfortable," she said. The efficient form helped her mai

Yamaguchi 10th at United Airlines NYC Half - Weekend Overseas Results

2024 national cross-country champion Tomonori Yamaguchi was the top Japanese finisher in the men's race at the United Airlines NYC Half , taking 10th in 1:04:36. A 2nd-year at Waseda University , Yamaguchi was one of three collegiate runners running New York in the 11th year of JRN's development program collaboration between the Ageo City Half Marathon and the New York Road Runners, a program that has seen people like future half marathon and marathon NR breaker Yuta Shitara and Paris Olympic team member Akira Akasaki make their international debuts. Yamaguchi's Waseda teammate Taishi Ito started fast, going with the leaders through 5 km in 14:29 before losing touch. Hosei University senior Rei Matsunaga went through in 14:42 in his last race before joining the JR Higashi Nihon corporate team in April. Yamaguchi, who caught COVID after winning last month's National Cross-Country Championships, started more conservatively with a 15:11 first 5km. But where both Ito

Rui Aoki Wins National University Men's Half Marathon - Weekend Results

Yuka Ando 's win at the Nagoya Women's Marathon was the big news of the weekend, but there were other high-level races happening, even in Nagoya. Held in parallel with the marathon, the Nagoya City Half Marathon saw Australians Natalie Rule and Ed Goddard take easy wins by about 2.5 minutes each, Rule in 1:13:57 and Goddard in 1:04:01. The new Biwako Marathon also had a non-Japanese winner, China's Yousheng Guan scoring 1st in 2:14:58 with Japan's Hirohito Sugai next in 2:16:40. Mikiko Ota won the women's race in 2:50:44. The Shizuoka Marathon returned for its first running in five years, with club runner Shumpei Oda leading the top 7 men under 2:20 in 2:15:36. Women's winner Remi Tanaka ran 2:41:23, beating runner-up Ayumi Sano by exactly 7 minutes. And in Tokyo, Rui Aoki continued what has been a great season so far for Koku Gakuin University with a win at the National University Men's Half Marathon . Aoki and Hiro Konda of Chuo Gakuin Unive