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MGC Race Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier Profile - Kohei Ogino

Kohei Ogino

age: 29
sponsor: Fujitsu
graduated from: Chiben H.S., Koku Gakuin University

best time inside MGC window:
2:09:36, 12th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon

PB: 2:09:36, 12th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon

other PBs:
5000 m: 14:14.12 (2011) 10000 m: 28:56.00 (2010) half marathon: 1:03:18 (2011)

marathons inside MGC window (Aug. 1 2017 – April 30 2019)
9th, 2019 Hamburg Marathon, 2:10:15
DNF, 2019 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon
18th, 2018 Fukuoka International Marathon, 2:16:04
12th, 2018 Tokyo Marathon, 2:09:36
41st, 2017 Fukuoka International Marathon, 2:24:55

other major results:
10th, 2019 Niigata Half Marathon, 1:03:27
16th, 2017 Beppu-Oita Marathon, 2:15:10
21st, 2016 Lake Biwa Marathon, 2:17:14
3rd, 2015 Nagano Marathon, 2:11:42
3rd, 2015 Ome 30 km Road Race, 1:33:42

Repping Shibuya's Koku Gakuin University, Ogino’s marathon career started off well enough with a 3rd-place finish at the 2015 Ome 30 km as a tune-up for that year’s Nagano Marathon, where he was also 3rd in 2:11:42. He had his ups and downs for the next two years, but when he dropped a 2:09:36 at the 2018 Tokyo Marathon he looked like a lock to make the MGC Race on the two-race sub-2:11 qualifying option, needing to run 2:12:24 and having over a year to do it.

But in Fukuoka last year he ran only 2:16:04, and when he got into trouble at the Beppu-Oita Marathon two months later he made the choice to drop out. The problems proved relatively minor, and he quickly turned it around to run just off his half marathon PB at March’s Niigata Half and then 2:10:15 in Hamburg in April.

And with that he was in alongside Fujitsu corporate teammates Shogo Nakamura and Kengo Suzuki to make Fujitsu one of the best-represented teams in the MGC field with three qualifiers. Ogino spent time this summer training on the MGC and Olympic course with Suzuki at the exact time the Olympic marathon will be held next year, so while it’s a long shot that he’d be in the real running for the team you know that he is going there as well-prepared as he can be.

next profile: Hayato Sonoda (Kurosaki Harima).

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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