Top 5 Finishers at Olympic Trials to Earn Olympic Qualification Regardless of Time

On July 3 the JAAF announced that the IAAF has agreed to grant the top five finishers at Japan's Olympic trials marathon, the Sept. 15 MGC Race, Olympic qualification status. The IAAF had previously set time marks of 2:11:30 for men and 2:29:30 for women as the standards necessary for participation in the Olympic marathon, but it will now be possible for the top two finishers at the MGC Race to be named Japan's national representatives regardless of their times.

The Olympic qualifying times need to have been achieved since Jan. 1, 2019. Many of Japan's leading athletes, including men's national record holder Suguru Osako (Nike), have not meet the standards despite having easily cleared them prior to Jan. 1 this year. Due to the expected hot conditions at the MGC Race and the likelihood of a tactical race there were concerns that people may not achieve the standards in the MGC Race itself and as a result would not be able to be confirmed as national representatives. 31 men and 12 women are entered in the MGC Race.

Translator's note: The top two finishers in both the women's and men's races at the MGC Race will be named to the 2020 Olympic team. The 3rd through 5th-place finishers will provisionally be the third member on the team and the two alternates. If anyone runs faster than 2:05:50 or 2:22:23 at one of the six major Japanese marathons during the winter 2019-20 season, the fastest person to do so will pick up the third spot on the Olympic team. In that case the 3rd and 4th-place finishers at the MGC Race will be named alternates and the 5th-place finisher cut.

source article:
https://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20190703/ath19070318510001-n1.html
translated by Brett Larner