Skip to main content

Makau Repeats, Sasaki on the Cusp of Olympic Selection at Fukuoka International Marathon

by Brett Larner
photos by @rikujolove

Former world record holder Patrick Makau (Kenya) was back to take out tough competition and score a second-straight win at the 69th running of the Fukuoka International Marathon, with Kyushu local Satoru Sasaki (Team Asahi Kasei) emerging at the top of the home soil field to land as a candidate for the Rio Olympic team after favorite Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) ran into trouble early.


With Fukuoka featuring two pace groups, one targeting 2:06 and the other 2:08, the front group quickly shook down to Makau and fellow heavyweights Dennis Kimetto (Kenya), Getu Feleke (Ethiopia), Bernard Koech (Kenya), Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and Samuel Tsegay (Eritrea), last year’s 3rd-placer Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/NTN), Sasaki and countrymen Kawauchi, Chiharu Takada (JR Higashi Nihon), Kazuki Tomaru (Toyota) and a handful of others.

World record holder Kimetto was the first casualty, out of the lead group in the first few km and dropping out just after a stunningly lackluster 16:20 first 5 km in his second-straight marathon DNF. After having vowed not to go out at an unrealistic pace Kawauchi, the popular favorite to finish as top Japanese man even if short of the JAAF sub-2:06:30 standard for Rio auto-selection, was next, weaving and grimacing in pain just after 10 km and losing touch near 11 km.

Kawauchi continued to drop back, overtaken by the second pack near 15 km and unable to follow. Tsegay and a few other Japanese hangers-on also faded, leaving eight up front at halfway skimming just under 2:07 pace in 1:03:29. Tomaru, 2:11 in his first two marathons, was next to drop. Unexpectedly, the last two pacers, apparently scheduled to run to 30 km, both stopped at 25 km, causing some surprise and confusion for both the lead pack and the race broadcast announcers. The pace immediately slowed, the next 5 km taking 15:32 compared to the average splits of 15:04 up to that point, but despite this both Takada, 2:10 in his last two runs at Fukuoka, and 2013 winner Mathathi struggled to hang on and lost touch near the turnaround. It was down to four.

Sasaki, part of the Takeshi Soh-led powerhouse Asahi Kasei team and apart from Kawauchi the only Japanese man in the field to have broken 2:10 since 2012 with a 2:09:47 PB for 2nd at last year’s Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, looked strong and smooth, covering the first few feints from Makau, Koech and Feleke. Just before 35 km a move from Koech spurred Makau to make his own, and like that the Kenyan pair had a 3-second lead over Sasaki and Feleke. Further back, Kawauchi’s fortunes turned around when he did the same, picking up the pace to go back under 16:00 per 5 km and picking up stragglers from the front two packs one by one. Just before 35 km he caught Yoshiki Otsuka (Aichi Seiko) for 7th and, with nobody else in sight, cut back to work together with Otsuka for the rest of the race.

Makau and Feleke ran side by side for a few km, but with 5 to go Makau said goodbye with a surge that snapped Koech. Backwardly mobile, as Koech came into range Feleke surged to pass, likewise snapping the bond with Sasaki who a few seconds later overtook 2:04 man Koech for 3rd. Makau looked to have it down safely, but Feleke quickly moved up to within less than 10 seconds before Makau noticed and responded with one last surge to score the win in 2:08:18, a far cry from his best days but a 4-second improvement on last year and a return to form after his DNF in Boston in April and the unexpected mid-summer death of his manager Zane Branson.

Feleke took 2nd in 2:08:31, but the crowd’s focus was on Sasaki, already on the track for the finish and on the edge of going under 2:09. Digging down he found what he needed, 3rd in 2:08:56 and putting himself into contention for the Rio team. Koech was the only other man to break 2:10, 4th in 2:09:43, with Takada taking 5th in 2:10:55, his third-straight Fukuoka 2:10, just ahead of Brazil’s Paulo Roberto Paula.  Otsuka and Kawauchi came onto the track together, and in a rare sight Kawauchi had nothing to give to drop a Japanese rival. At 200 m to go he briefly tried to kick, but Otsuka had enough in reserve to respond over the curve and drop Kawauchi in the home straight, 2:12:46 to 2:12:48 for 7th and 8th.


Having said that this would be his only shot at the Rio team and that he does not expect to try for Tokyo 2020, Kawauchi’s Olympic dream was in tatters. Gaunt and gutted post-race, he was faced with a wall of paparazzi outside the finish area who hit him with a barrage of questions. What had happened? Would he still run Hofu in two weeks? Would he run Tokyo or Lake Biwa to try again for the Rio team? What about his plans to run April’s London Marathon? Almost in a daze, he could only say that he had experienced pain in his calves early in the race, a possible remnant of his injuries earlier in the year, before walking away through the woods with the support of two race officials, the thicket of cameras in pursuit.

For Sasaki, his Olympic hopes rest right on the knife’s edge. 2:08:56 and 3rd is a solid enough performance to get him on the team, especially with Asahi Kasei executive head coach Soh leading the JAAF men’s marathoning program and in an influential position with regard to team selection, but at the same time it’s well within range of the stronger Japanese fields expected at the remaining two Olympic selection races, February’s Tokyo Marathon and March’s Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon. In 2008 Arata Fujiwara (JR Higashi Nihon) was 2nd in Tokyo in 2:08:40 but wasn’t picked for the Beijing Olympics team after Satoshi Osaki (NTT Nishi Nihon) ran 4 seconds faster the next weekend at Lake Biwa. Sasaki has a stressful three months of waiting ahead of him.

69th Fukuoka International Marathon
Fukuoka, 12/6/15
click here for complete results

1. Patrick Makau (Kenya) - 2:08:18
2. Getu Feleke (Ethiopia) - 2:08:31
3. Satoru Sasaki (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 2:08:56 - PB
4. Bernard Koech (Kenya) - 2:09:43
5. Chiharu Takada (Japan/JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:10:55
6. Paulo Roberto Paula (Brazil) - 2:11:02
7. Yoshiki Otsuka (Japan/Aichi Seiko) - 2:12:46
8. Yuki Kawauchi (Japan/Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 2:12:48
9. Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/NTN) - 2:14:19
10. Jose Amado Garcia (Guatemala) - 2:15:25
11. Masamichi Shinozaki (Japan/Hitachi Butsuryu) - 2:16:45
12. Kenichi Shiraishi (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 2:17:36
13. Hayato Sonoda (Japan/Kurosaki Harima) - 2:17:40 - PB
14. Cuthbert Nyasango (Zimbabwe) - 2:17:58
15. Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:18:00
16. Kazuki Tomaru (Japan/Toyota) - 2:18:39
17. Hiroki Kadota (Japan/Kanebo) - 2:19:37
18. Makoto Harada (Japan/JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:20:06
19. Josh Harris (Australia) - 2:20:27
20. Toru Higashi (Japan/Yamato RC) - 2:20:32
-----
51. Koki Kawauchi (Japan/Monteroza) - 2:24:55
54. Saeki Makino (Japan/DNPL Ekiden Team) - 2:25:05
-----
DNF - Taiga Ito (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC)
DNF - Dennis Kimetto (Kenya)
DNF - Serhiy Lebid (Ukraine)
DNF - Amanuel Mesel (Eritrea)
DNF - Rui Yong Soh (Singapore)
DNF - Samuel Tsegay (Eritrea)
DNF - Dylan Wykes (Canada)

text, videos and Kawauchi post-race pic (c) 2015 Brett Larner, all rights reserved 
all other photos (c) 2015 M. Kawaguchi

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Staffan said…
I missed the race Brett what happend to Kimetto?
December 6, 2015 at 8:04 PM
Metts said…
Looking at the overall results, Japan continues to thrive seemingly with a large amateur base of runners. I did notice they cut the finishers off at 2:48. I guess its good to maintain some marathons with a higher finish quality than the mass participation events.
December 7, 2015 at 12:20 PM
Samurai Running said…
Great report As usual Brett. Fingers crossed Kawauchi can rally and try again.
December 7, 2015 at 7:07 PM
trailblazer777 said…
Hopefully Kawauchi has another go at it and his calves play nice.
December 8, 2015 at 9:36 AM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Matsumoto Marathon Canceled After Fraudulently Hiding Past Financial Losses

On Apr. 23 the city government of Matsumoto, Nagano announced that it was canceling this fall's Matsumoto Marathon after discovering accounting fraud in the event's operation. "We are going to conduct a review of how the race has been conducted up to now," a statement from the city read. Mayor Yoshinao Gaun apologized at a press conference, saying, "We sincerely apologize for letting down everyone involved in putting the event together." The Matsumoto Marathon is run by an executive committee made up of representatives from the city, the Matsumoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Shinano Mainichi Newspaper, and the relevant track and field associations. According to city officials, financial records for the November, 2023 edition of the race were fraudulently manipulated. Income from participants' entry fees was lower than expected, and although the city managed to get the Shinano Mainichi, to which it had outsourced overall event management, to r...
Post a Comment
Read more

Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon

On Apr. 9 the Kinki Region Bureau of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Division arrested Matthew Inglis Fox , 38, an Australian business owner of no known fixed address, on charges of violating the importation regulations of the Narcotics Control Act by smuggling tablets containing marijuana elements from the United States. The suspect had entered Japan in February to run in the Osaka Marathon . The suspect was arrested on suspicion of smuggling approximately 12 pills containing marijuana by sending them from a U.S. airport to Osaka's Kansai Airport using an international courier service on Feb. 19. The Osaka branch of the Customs Service discovered the tablets in arriving cargo and suspected them to be narcotics. Customs contacted the Narcotics Control Division, which then began its investigation of the case. According to the Narcotics Control Division, the suspect denies the charges.  Translator's note: Fox, who received a lifetime ban from the Ageo City Half Mara...
2 comments
Read more

Nyiva and Wolde Win Gifu Seiryu Half

Two good races happened Sunday at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon . The women's race was a head-to-head race between 2022 marathon world champion Gotytom Gebreslase and debuting Japan-based Janet Nyiva . Side-by-side through 15 km, Nyiva shattered Gebreslase with a massive surge over the last 5 km that ultimately put 52 second between them, Nyiva wining in 1:07:37 and Gebreslase next in 1:08:29. 2023 Asian marathon champion Eunice Chebichii Chumba held off the up-and-coming Kana Kobayashi , a member of Japan's marathon team for September's Tokyo World Championships, with a 1:09:07 for 3rd. Kobayashi's 1:09:09 for 4th was a PB by almost 5 minutes and the fastest time ever on the rolling Gifu course by a Japanese woman. Yumi Yoshikawa was 5th in 1:10:51. Five men went out front on mid-59 pace. Dawit Wolde , debuting Kiprono Sitonik , Vincent Yegon and veteran Bedan Karoki all took turns leading, with only Richard Kimunyan tucking in and declining to share the load. ...
Post a Comment
Read more