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MGC Race Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier - Kengo Suzuki

Kengo Suzuki

age: 24
sponsor: Fujitsu
graduated from: Uwajima Higashi H.S., Kanagawa University

best time inside MGC window:
2:10:21, 19th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon

PB: 2:10:21, 19th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon

other PBs:
5000 m: 13:57.88 (2016) 10000 m: 28:30.16 (2016) half marathon: 1:01:36 (2017)

marathons inside MGC window (Aug. 1 2017 – April 30 2019)
13th, 2019 Hamburg Marathon, 2:11:36
DNS, 2019 Tokyo Marathon
19th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon, 2:10:21

other major results:
4th, 2018 Hakone Ekiden Second Stage (23.1 km), 1:07:26
3rd, 2017 Taipei Universiade Half Marathon, 1:06:56
1st, 2017 National University Half Marathon, 1:01:36 – CR
1st, 2017 Hakone Ekiden Second Stage (23.1 km), 1:07:17
3rd, 2016 Hakone Ekiden Qualifier 20 km Road Race, 58:43
3rd, 2016 National University Half Marathon, 1:03:08

Suzuki’s breakthrough to the top level of Japanese distance running came early in 2017 with a win on the Hakone Ekiden’s most competitive stage and two months later with a 1:01:36 to win the National University Half Marathon Championships. He followed up with a bronze medal at the 2017 World University Games and another stellar Hakone run before capping his university career with a 2:10:21 debut at last year’s Tokyo Marathon.

Since graduating and moving to the Fujitsu corporate team he has had his share of setbacks, including a DNS in Tokyo this year, but with two days until the MGC Race qualifying window Suzuki got it done at the Hamburg Marathon. With his 2:10:21 debut falling inside the qualifying window Suzuki needed to run 2:11:39 in Hamburg to hit the two-race 2:11:00 wildcard standard for MGC qualification. He ran 2:11:36. That last kilometer must have been pretty stressful.

From the way he ran his last two years of university Suzuki looks to have a lot of potential in the marathon. Whether he’ll be ready to take things up a level come Sept. 15 is a bit doubtful, which isn’t to say that he’s not preparing. On Aug. 2 JRN saw Suzuki out on the Olympic and MGC marathon course with teammate Kohei Ogino running exactly a year and a week out from the Olympic marathon. But at only age 24 he still has plenty of room to develop for Paris 2024 even if he misses out here.

Next profile: Kensuke Horio (Toyota).

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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