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2019 Tokyo Marathon Elite Field



Hot on the heels of the London Marathon field announcement, the Tokyo Marathon has put its 2019 elite field into the public sphere. With a new date a week later on March 3rd thanks to the impending Imperial succession Tokyo has at last put together a proper elite women's field at parity with the men's field, one including top-level Japanese women for the first time. Change is slow to come, but with this field it looks like it has arrived. 2:18:34 for 2nd in Berlin last year,

Ethiopian Ruti Aga leads 14 women with times 2:23 or better in the last 3 years. Half are Ethiopian, two Kenyan, two Bahraini and three Japanese, with two high-level first-timers, Kenya's Joan Chelimo Melly and Japan's Mao Ichiyama, tacked on. #2 through #4-ranked women Boru Feyse Tadese, Yebrgual Melese and Ababel Yeshaneh all ran 2:19 to 2:20 last year, making the chances of an Ethiopian sweep definitely greater than zero.

The structure of Japanese national team selection and marketing-related factors have mostly prevented Japanese women at this level from running in Tokyo in the past, but this time around three of the eight women who have qualified for September's MGC Race 2020 Olympic marathon trials, Yuka Ando, Honami Maeda and Keiko Nogami, are in the house. While the men have a shortcut to qualification due to Tokyo's historical position as a men's selection race the women have to hit the hardest standards, sub-2:24:00 or averaging sub-2:28:00 between Tokyo and one other race since the window opened. Yuka Takashima and Ando's training partner Mao Kiyota have the best chance of joining qualifiers, Takashima only needing a 2:29:47 after a good debut in Paris last spring and Kiyota needing 2:27:02.

The men's field mirrors the women's with the great Kenenisa Bekele leading 14 men 2:08 or better. Four are Ethiopian, five Kenyan, one Bahraini and four Japanese including national record holder Suguru Osako. Bekele's 2:03:03 at the 2016 Berlin Marathon is by far the best mark in the field in the last 3 years, but with more recent 2:04 times from Marius Kipserem, Birhanu Legese, El Hassan El Abbassi and Seifu Tura he'll need to make a comeback from the slump he's been through the last few years to be relevant. Defending champ Dickson Chumba will also have his hands full.

There's no question Osako is the home soil favorite, one of six MGC Race qualifiers opting to bang out a fast one ahead of September's trials. Sadly that doesn't include half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara, who set a marathon national record last year that Osako went on to break in Chicago but announced last week that he wouldn't run Tokyo after catching the flu. The other story alongside Shitara's NR last year was the depth of the Japanese men, Tokyo doing what none of the other Abbott World Marathon Majors could ever hope to with two domestic athletes going under 2:07, six under 2:09, nine under 2:10 and many more under 2:11. A lot of them are back, with enough fresh faces to see the same kind of depth again this year

One interesting addition is Chuo University's Kensuke Horio, a 1:01:57 half marathon making his debut. Horio's coach is 2:08:12 debut and collegiate marathon national record holder Masakazu Fujiwara, so look for Horio to be aiming at least for that kind of level. Another is Shitara's twin brother Keita Shitara (Hitachi Butsuryu). Keita has yet to nail it in the marathon, but a few weeks ago in a television interview Yuta said, "The only ones who can take the national record in the marathon further are Suguru Osako, me, and my brother."

While the Japanese women have to hit the hard MGC Race time standards above, the men have it easier. Not including people who have already qualified, the first three Japanese men under 2:11:00 are in. The next three under 2:10:00 are also in, along with anyone else going under 2:08:30 or averaging better than 2:11:00 between Tokyo and another eligible race. Tadashi Isshiki, Kenta Murayama, Asuka Tanaka, Daichi Kamino and Kengo Suzuki have the lowest bars to hurdle thanks to fast times last year, Isshiki needing to run 2:12:17, Murayama 2:12:10, Tanaka 2:11:47, Kamino 2:11:42 and Suzuki 2:11:39.

For the fourth year in a row JRN's Brett Larner will be hosting the Tokyo Marathon's official international broadcast produced by Nippon Television. Check back closer to race date for a more detailed race preview and additonal coverage.

2019 Tokyo Marathon Elite Field Highlights

Tokyo, 3/3/19
complete field listing
times listed are best within last 3 years except where noted

Women
Ruti Aga (Ethiopia) - 2:18:34 (2nd, Berlin 2018)
Boru Feyse Tadese (Ethiopia) - 2:19:30 (2nd, Dubai 2018)
Yebrgual Melese (Ethiopia) - 2:19:36 (3rd, Dubai 2018)
Ababel Yeshaneh (Ethiopia) - 2:20:16 (1st, Abu Dhabi 2018)
Bedatu Hirpa (Ethiopia) - 2:21:32 (3rd, Frankfurt 2018)
Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 2:21:32 (1st, Chicago 2016)
Yuka Ando (Japan/Suzuki AC) - 2:21:38 (2nd, Nagoya Women's 2017)
Shure Demise (Ethiopia) - 2:22:07 (4th, Tokyo 2018)
Mimi Belete (Bahrain) - 2:22:29 (1st, Toronto Waterfront 2018)
Helen Tola (Ethiopia) - 2:22:48 (6th, Berlin 2018)
Rose Chelimo (Bahrain) - 2:22:51 (2nd, Boston 2017)
Ruth Chebitok (Kenya) - 2:23:29 (3rd, Toronto Waterfront 2018)
Mao Kiyota (Japan/Suzuki AC) - 2:23:47 (3rd, Nagoya Women's 2017)
Honami Maeda (Japan/Tenmaya) - 2:23:48 (2nd, Osaka Int'l 2018)
Yuka Takashima (Japan/Shiseido) - 2:26:13 (8th, Paris 2018)
Keiko Nogami (Japan/Juhachi Ginko) - 2:26:33 (5th, Nagoya Women's 2018)
Kaori Yoshida (Japan/Team RxL) - 2:28:24 (7th, Nagoya Women's 2017)
Yurie Doi (Japan/Fujitsu) - 2:29:49 (11th, Nagoya Women's 2018)

Debut
Joan Chelimo Melly (Kenya) - 1:05:04 (1st, Prague Half 2018)
Mao Ichiyama (Japan/Wacoal) - 1:09:14 (3rd, Sanyo Ladies Half 2017)

 Men
Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) - 2:03:03 (1st, Berlin 2016)
Marius Kipserem (Kenya) - 2:04:04 (1st, Abu Dhabi 2018)
Birhanu Legese (Ethiopia) - 2:04:15 (6th, Dubai 2018)
El Hassan El Abbassi (Bahrain) - 2:04:43 (2nd, Valencia 2018)
Seifu Tura (Ethiopia) - 2:04:44 (7th, Dubai 2018)
Norbert Kigen (Kenya) - 2:05:13 (2nd, Amsterdam 2017)
Dickson Chumba (Kenya) - 2:05:30 (1st, Tokyo 2018)
Suguru Osako (Japan/Nike Oregon Project) - 2:05:50 (3rd, Chicago 2018)
Gideon Kipketer (Kenya) - 2:05:51 (2nd, Tokyo 2017)
Deme Tadu Abate (Ethiopia) - 2:06:47 (7th, Amsterdam 2018)
Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA) - 2:07:41 (3rd, London 2017)
Ryo Kiname (Japan/MHPS) - 2:08:08 (7th, Tokyo 2018)
Shogo Nakamura (Japan/Fujitsu) - 2:08:16 (4th, Berlin 2018)
Yuki Sato (Japan/Nissin Shokuhin) - 2:08:58 (10th, Tokyo 2018)
Takuya Fukatsu (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 2:09:31 (5th, Lake Biwa 2016)
Tadashi Isshiki (Japan/GMO) - 2:09:43 (13th, Tokyo 2018)
Kenta Murayama (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 2:09:50 (2nd, Gold Coast 2018)
Jo Fukuda (Japan/Nishitetsu) - 2:09:52 (3rd, Gold Coast 2018)
Simon Kariuki (Kenya/Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 2:10:00 (15th, Tokyo 2018)
Shohei Otsuka (Japan/Kyudenko) - 2:10:12 (3rd, Beppu-Oita 2018)
Asuka Tanaka (Japan/Hiramatsu Byoin) - 2:10:13 (16th, Tokyo 2018)
Daichi Kamino (Japan/New Balance) - 2:10:18 (18th, Tokyo 2018)
Kengo Suzuki (Japan/Fujitsu) - 2:10:21 (19th, Tokyo 2018)
Taiga Ito (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:10:52 (5th, Beppu-Oita 2017)
Yuki Takamiya (Japan/Yakult) - 2:10:57 (8th, Tokyo 2016)
Masato Imai (Japan/Toyota Kyushu) - 2:11:02 (14th, Tokyo 2017)
Shoya Osaki (Japan/Chudenko) - 2:11:03 (6th, Gold Coast 2017)
Tsukasa Koyama (Japan/Subaru) - 2:11:20 (5th, Beppu-Oita 2018)
Hiroaki Sano (Japan/Honda) - 2:11:24 (7th, Berlin 2017)
Tatsunori Hamasaki (Japan/Nanji AC) - 2:11:28 (2nd, Hofu 2017)
Yuta Shimoda (Japan/GMO) - 2:11:34 (10th, Tokyo 2016)
Ryu Takaku (Japan/Yakult) - 2:11:45 (6th, Gold Coast 2018)
Paul Kuira (Kenya/Konica Minolta) - 2:11:58 (2nd, Hokkaido 2018)
Takuya Fujikawa (Japan/Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:11:59 (6th, Beppu-OIta 2018)
Matt Llano (U.S.A.) - 2:12:59 (2nd, California Int'l 2018)
Keita Shitara (Japan/Hitachi Butsuryu) - 2:18:39 (26th, Lake Biwa 2018)

Debut
Kensuke Horio (Japan/Chuo University) - 1:01:57 (6th, Yosenkai Half 2018)
Kazuya Azegami (Japan/Teikyo University) - 1:02:30 (1st, Niigata Half 2018)
Fuminori Shimo (Japan/Komazawa University) - 1:02:36 (4th, Nat'l Univ. Half 2017)

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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