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Fukushi Pulls Out of Nagoya Women's Marathon

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160301-00000065-dal-spo

 translated by Brett Larner

On Mar. 1, the organizers of the Nagoya Women's Marathon, the final selection race for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics team, announced general division entrant Kayoko Fukushi (33, Team Wacoal) has withdrawn from the race, saying, "This was the overall judgment after case studies done by team management."

Fukushi won January's Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2:22:17, clearing the JAAF's Olympic standard of 2:22:30.  Her position on the Rio team was virtually assured, but because the JAAF refused to confirm it she entered the final selection race in Nagoya.

An unheard-of unwilling entry of a top-level prospective Olympian into a race, subsequent events like JAAF Strengthening Chairman Kazunori Asaba's unusual statement, "We do not want her to run. We want to see her do rock-solid preparation for going after a medal," caused a swelling uproar in popular opinion.

In response to the announcement JAAF executive director Mitsugi Ogata issued a statement welcoming the news, saying, "Considering the physical damage from Osaka, I think this judgment is correct.  We'd like to have her recover first, then start on toward the next goal in a state of perfection."
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