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With No Word on Olympic Status, Fukushi Looking at Running Final Selection Race in Nagoya

A post-race tweet by Fukushi's agent Brendan Reilly.

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/1599606.html

translated by Brett Larner

Despite having won Sunday's Osaka International Women's Marathon in all-time Japanese #7 2:22:17 to seemingly mark herself a lock for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic team, Kayoko Fukushi (33, Team Wacoal) revealed on Feb. 1 that she is considering running the final selection race at the Mar. 13 Nagoya Women's Marathon as well.

Despite having cleared the JAAF's sub-2:22:30 Olympic standard with a win, depending on what other athletes do in Nagoya there is a slight chance Fukushi could be cut out of contention, and with the additional problem of a lack of clarity in the JAAF's Olympic selection criteria Fukushi may make the unprecedented move of running a second selection race.

A day after she shouted, "I gots Rio in my pocket y'all!" from the victory podium in Osaka, her possible change of plans came to light.  Fukushi's coach at the Wacoal team, Tadayuki Nagayama, 55, told reporters, "The JAAF hasn't said a single word to us to indicate, 'You're in.'  We thought she had earned her place on the team, so if she hasn't yet then we have to enter her in Nagoya despite the risks."
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yuza said…
Seriously, this has to be a joke!

Two people are going to have to beat her time and even if they do, only one of them can win the race. Maeda is the only Japanese runner who could possibly beat her time and she is running Nagoya, but there really is nobody else, or have I forgotten somebody?

Ideally, Maeda will win Nagoya in a good time and together with Fukushi give the medals a shake in Rio. Of course Fukushi would not be so anxious about her position if Mai Ito (no disrespect to her) had not been given a position for finishing seventh at last year's World Championships.

Good run by Fukushi, though. I think she and her coach have finally figured out the marathon, because she has not run a bad marathon in four years.
February 3, 2016 at 1:50 PM
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