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Tokyo Marathon Post-Race Quotes

http://journal.mycom.co.jp/articles/2008/02/18/tm03/index.html
http://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/sports/news/CK2008021802088341.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Click names for photos from the post-race press conference.

"I'm very happy to have won in the land of the marathon, Japan. Setting a PB by a minute was also not bad. The secret of why I always race well in Japan is that I use made-in-Japan shoes."
--Viktor Rothlin, winner, 2:07:23 (PB, NR)

"This was my first race after being injured. My time was so-so. The cheering along the course was fantastic, though. Thank you to everyone who supported me."
--Claudia Dreher, women's winner, 2:35:35

"The pacemakers were fast but I just wanted to go with them as far as I could even though everything after 30 km was a new world for me. When I was training for this race I tried a lot of different things, but I've figured out what works the best for me and what doesn't. In practice I also visualized running in the Olympics and that helped me to run this fast. Before the race I thought I might have a chance to be the top Japanese runner today, but to be honest I was lucky. I'll be overjoyed if I'm selected for the Olympics and will do my best."
--Arata Fujiwara, 2nd place and 1st Japanese, 2:08:40 (PB)

"Fujiwara was an absolute no-name. He ran a perfect race and his time was very, very respectable."
--Keisuke Sawaki, Rikuren official

"I'm very disappointed by the half-baked race I ran today."
--Toshinari Suwa, pre-race favorite; 4th place and 2nd Japanese, 2:09:16
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