Skip to main content

DeNA Team Holds Press Conference Announcing Seko's Comeback and Plans to Make 2020 Olympic Marathon



On March 30, the Tokyo-based DeNA corporate team held a press conference to announce new members Kenta Murozuka and Hiroki Sugawa.  Team management also announced that legend Toshihiko Seko will make a comeback to competitive marathoning after a 26-year absence in hopes of making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics marathon team, switching roles from his current position as the team's head coach to becoming one of its twelve athletes.

With the start of the new fiscal year today the team's roster page was updated to include the new team members and reflected Seko's new position on the team.

Seko's athlete profile includes the following:

Profile
Born July 15, 1956 in Kuwana, Mie.  During his career he won ten out of his fifteen domestic and international marathons.  On the track he was also dominant, giving the Japanese national records a beating over an impressive range from 5000 m to the marathon and setting then-world records over 25,000 m and 30,000 m.

 In April, 2013 he became head coach of the DeNA Running Club corporate team, but, resolving to "make Japanese marathoning #1 in the world again," he has chosen to return to competitive running.  His goal is to make the 2020 Tokyo Olympics team.

 Height, weight: 170.6 cm, 73.5 kg
Blood type: O
Favorite word: passion
Hobby: golf
Most redeeming characteristic: I'll be friends with anybody.
Message to fans: It's going to take a while, but please cheer me on over the long haul.  I will definitely be ready in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

 PBs
5000 m: 13:24.29
10000 m: 27:42.17
30 km: 1:28:52
marathon: 2:08:27

 Achievements
Ten wins in fifteen marathon starts
Four-time Fukuoka International Marathon winner, 1978-1980, 1983
Two-time Boston Marathon winner, 1981, 1987
Tokyo International Marathon winner, 1983
London Marathon winner, 1986
Chicago Marathon winner, 1986
Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon winner, 1988
Two-time Olympic marathoner, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988
Labels:

Comments

Karl W said…
I like your work!
April 1, 2014 at 5:15 PM
Anonymous said…
Good one! Question: Do Japanese do April Fools?
April 1, 2014 at 5:46 PM
Brett Larner said…
No joke on my part. This is translated as presented on the DeNA website.
April 1, 2014 at 9:36 PM
Unknown said…
FANTASTIC !!! Running the Olympic marathon at 64 would be amazing. Just do it, impossible is nothing.
April 1, 2014 at 9:54 PM
TokyoRacer said…
Ha ha ha....

I guess that answers the question of whether the Japanese do April Fool's jokes.
April 1, 2014 at 11:59 PM
Unknown said…
Glad to see Japan Inc., maintaining some sense of humor :)
ちょっとDeNAへの好感度アップ。
April 2, 2014 at 8:47 AM
Metts said…
And in Korea too. University students wore their old high school uniforms for April Fool's day.
April 2, 2014 at 10:09 AM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

World Marathon Majors Japanese Entries

We're back from a short summer break. A week and a half out from the first race of the season's four World Marathon Majors races, here's a look at Japanese athletes scheduled to run. Everything right now is about qualifying for the MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to be held in the fall of 2027 in Nagoya. The JAAF makes no mistake about wanting to keep its top people racing domestically where it can get a share of revenue from the TV broadcast and race operations, so anyone who decides to race overseas has to do it in a WA platinum label race and hit either 2:06:30 or 2:23:30, regardless of place, course or weather if they want to make the trials. At the same time concessions are make for domestic races, like for example the late-August Hokkaido Marathon where up to 3 men and 3 women can qualify if they go 2:12:00 or 2:32:00. As a result, you get things like last year where amateur runner Yudai Fukuda made the trials by finishing 3rd Jap...
1 comment
Read more

Nakajima Breaks 100 mH NR Twice, Kitaguchi Returns - August Track Roundup

Catching up on what's been happening in track and field this month during our summer break: Men's 3000 m NR holder Nagiya Mori was just off his 5000 m PB at the IFAM Oordegem meet in Belgium on Aug. 1, taking 16th in 13:15.01. Shota Nakano was 26th of 28 in 13:35.02. This year's national champion Ryoma Aoki ran the 3000 mSC but didn't finish. Naoto Hasegawa was the only Japanese athlete at Mutaz Essa Barshim 's What Gravity Tour stop at the Monaco Athletics Festival meet on Aug. 5. Having cleared 2.30 m for the first time earlier this year Hasegawa only managed 2.18 m in Monaco, taking 7th of 10. There were a lot of good performances at the Fuji Hokuriku World Trial meet in Fujiyoshida on Aug. 9, but the one that got the headlines was a 12.62 (-0.2) NR in the women's 100 mH by Hitomi Nakajima . Nakajima actually did it twice, running 12.62 (+2.0) in the heats before repeating in the final. Masumi Aoki also ran big in the heats, with a 12.68 (+2.0) for al...
1 comment
Read more

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more