A native of Shimabara, Nagasaki, Ryota Kondo, 25, visited Nagasaki City Hall ahead of September's Tokyo World Championships where he will represent Japan in the marathon. At February's Osaka Marathon Kondo set a debut marathon national record of 2:05:39, finishing 2nd overall and in the top Japanese spot to earn himself a place on the Japanese national team for the World Championships.
"I like to go hiking in Oehara, or up the steep slopes in Nagayo and Nameshi," he told city officials. "Climbing steep hills strengthens my legs and hips."
At the Tokyo World Championships the men's marathon will start at 8:00 a.m. on September 15. The race is likely to happen in lingering late-summer heat. "I tend to be pretty positive about things," Kondo said. "I think the hot conditions will prevent a lot of other athletes from performing up to their full ability. The way I see it, when things get tough it's an opportunity."
Kondo is the third athlete from the Mitsubishi Juko corporate team to make a World Championships team, following teammate Hiroto Inoue in London 2017 and Ichitaka Yamashita in Budapest 2023. Kondo plans to train with Yamashita in Boulder in the U.S.A. beginning in July. After training at altitude he hopes to make top 8 against the best in the world in just his second marathon.
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translated by Brett Larner
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