Beijing Olympic marathoner and former team member Atsushi Sato , 43, has been named head coach of the Chugoku Denryoku men's corporate team as of the beginning of this month. Coming back to the team after 8 years, Sato is a strong choice to succeed Yasushi Sakaguchi and return it to its previous position as a leading producer of top-level athletes. "I'm very happy to be a part of helping the team I belonged to develop," Sato said. "I want it to evolve and grow, not just make a comeback." Sato is a native of Fukushima. A graduate of Aizu H.S. and Waseda University , he joined Chugoku Denryoku in 2001. With his main focus on the marathon he ran 2:07:13 at the 2007 Fukuoka International Marathon , at the time the 4th-fastest ever by a Japanese man. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he finished in last place in 76th, but a year later he came back and made 6th at the 2009 Berlin World Championships . He retired following the 2013 Fukuoka International Marathon , ...
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