Nagano Marathon Elite Field

Japanese marathoners who haven't qualified for the Sept. 15 MGC Race 2020 Olympic marathon trials have until Apr. 30 to try to squeeze out one more fast time to make the grade, sub-2:08:30 or two races inside the window averaging under 2:11:00, and sub-2:24:00 or a sub-2:28:00 average for women. Most of the people trying one last time will be headed overseas, but for a few the Nagano Marathon is their last chance to make it.

Asuka Tanaka (Hiramatsu Byoin) is the fastest man in the field with a 2:10:13 in Tokyo last year as an amateur runner. A stress fracture later in the year left him struggling in his few races since then, but after a tentative step back at Tokyo this year he is shooting for the 2:11:47 he needs in Nagano to make the cut. Shoya Osaki (Chudenko) ran a strong 2:10:48 in Beppu-Oita this favorite and will be trying to double back with a 2:11:12 in Nagano.

They're the only two people male or female who might realistically make it, the rest of the field for the most part positioned at the 2:11 to 2:13 level. 40-year-old Kenyan Alfred Kering leads the international contingent with a 2:10:27 in Lisbon three years ago, while 23-year-old Ethiopian Deresa Geleta is the freshest with a 2:12:33 in Beirut last year. Past Hakone Ekiden Fifth Stage winner Daniel Muiva Kitonyi (Kanebo), now coached by former marathon national record holder Toshinari Takaoka, will be making his debut.

No women in what looks to be a low-to-mid-2:30 race are likely to make the MGC cutoff. Kenyan Valentine Kipketer leads the list with a 2:23:41 in Chicago 2016, but since then she has been just over 2:30 and in range of the rest of the field. Serial marathoner Hiroko Yoshitomi (Memolead) is next, her PB of 2:30:09 coming at last fall's Fukuoka Marathon. Like Deresa in the men's race, 19-year-old Ethiopian Kebene Chala may be the best bet for a breakthrough victory following a 2:30:49 win in Nanjing last year.

21st Nagano Marathon Elite Field Highlights

Nagano, 4/21/19

times listed are best in last 3 years except where noted

complete field listing

Men

Asuka Tanaka (Japan/Hiramatsu Byoin) - 2:10:13 (Tokyo 2018)

Alfred Kering (Kenya) - 2:10:27 (Lisbon 2016)

Shoya Osaki (Japan/Chudenko) - 2:10:48 (Beppu-Oita 2019)

Taiga Ito (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:10:52 (Beppu-Oita 2017)

Tatsunori Hamasaki (Japan/Nanji AC) - 2:11:26 (Hofu 2017)

Ezekiel Jafary (Tanzania) - 2:11:55 (Hannover 2017)

Dejene Kelkilew (Ethiopia) - 2:12:09 (Cannes 2017)

Tadashi Suzuki (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:12:09 (Shizuoka 2017)

Deresa Geleta (Ethiopia) - 2:12:33 (Beirut 2018)

Jackson Kiprop (Uganda) - 2:12:45 (Amsterdam 2017)

Daniel Muiva Kitonyi (Kenya/Kanebo) - debut - 1:02:05 (Nat'l Corp Half 2017)

Women

Valentine Kipketer (Kenya) - 2:23:41 (Chicago 2016)

Hiroko Yoshitomi (Japan/Memolead) - 2:30:09 (Fukuoka 2018)

Kebene Chala (Ethiopia) - 2:30:49 (Nanjing 2018)

Pauline Wangui (Kenya) - 2:30:49 (Seville 2017)

Tizita Terecha (Ethiopia) - 2:31:45 (Ljubljana 2016)

Meskerem Hunde (Ethiopia) - 2:33:50 (Porto 2018)

Yumiko Kinoshita (Japan/unattached) - 2:34:19 (Osaka Int'l 2019)

Kaho Tanaka (Japan/Daiichi Seimei) - 2:34:45 (Hokkaido 2017)

Kasumi Yoshida (Japan/Nitori) - 2:35:31 (Osaka 2018)

Aki Otagiri (Japan/Takemura Seisakusho) - 2:41:26 (Nagano 2017)

Japan's First Goldless Day - Asian Athletics Championships Day Four Highlights

Day 4 of the Bangkok Asian Athletics Championships was the first without a single gold medal going to Japan, but there were still enough silvers and bronzes to go around. Robyn Lauren Brown of the Philippines outclassed the rest of the women's 400 mH final field, taking gold in 57.50. Eri Utsunomiya and Ami Yamamoto made it a Japanese 2-3, Utsunomiya running 57.73 for silver and Yamamoto 57.80 for bronze. Yusaku Kodama also scored silver in the men's 400 mH, running 48.96 behind Qatari winner Bassem Hemeida 's 48.64. Yuki Yamasaki won bronze in the heptathlon with 5696 points, Uzbekistan's Ekaterina Voronina taking gold in 6098 and Swapna Barman silver in 5840. Teammate Karin Odama was 4th in 5487. Another bronze came in the mixed 4x400 m relay, with Japan running 3:15.71 behind India's 3:14.70 and Sri Lanka's 3:15.41. Naoto Hasegawa and Ryoichi Akamatsu both cleared 2.23 m in the men's high jump, Hasegawa finishing 4th overall and Akamatsu 5th. ...

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