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MGC Race Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier - Yuma Hattori

Yuma Hattori

age: 25
sponsor: Toyota
graduated from: Sendai Ikuei H.S., Toyo University

best time inside MGC window:
2:07:27, 1st, 2018 Fukuoka International Marathon

PB: 2:07:27, 1st, 2018 Fukuoka International Marathon

other PBs:
5000 m: 13:36.76 (2015) 10000 m: 28:09.02 (2015) half marathon: 1:01:40 (2018)

marathons inside MGC window (Aug. 1 2017 – April 30 2019)
1st, 2018 Fukuoka International Marathon, 2:07:27
5th, 2018 Prague Marathon, 2:10:26

other major results:
3rd, 2019 Gold Coast Half Marathon, 1:02:39
2nd, 2019 National Men’s Ekiden Seventh Stage (13.0 km), 37:50
1st, 2019 New Year Ekiden Fifth Stage (15.8 km), 45:47
6th, 2018 Usti nad Labem Half Marathon, 1:01:40
10th, 2017 National Championships 10000 m, 28:54.91
13th, 2017 Tokyo Marathon, 2:09:46
12th, 2016 Tokyo Marathon, 2:11:46
1st, 2016 Hakone Ekiden Second Stage (23.1 km), 1:07:04
1st, 2015 Hakone Ekiden Second Stage (23.1 km), 1:07:32
1st, 2014 Kumanichi 30 km, 1:28:52 – Univ. NR
3rd, 2014 Hakone Ekiden Third Stage (21.4 km), 1:03:43
3rd, 2013 Hakone Ekiden Ninth Stage (23.1 km), 1:11:02

And now we’re getting into the favorites. Hattori has been quality for a long time, graduating from Sendai Ikuei H.S., the same high school as Beijing Olympics marathon gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru, and captain of Hakone Ekiden stars Toyo University with two brilliant runs there his third and fourth years. The first clear sign of his potential in the marathon came at the 2014 Kumanichi 30 km, where he ran a collegiate record 1:28:52 at age 20.

IAAF scoring table say that was worth a 2:09:11 in the marathon. Two years later Hattori tried to pull that off at the Tokyo Marathon, surging hard at 30 km to go after Hakone rival Kenta Murayama. But it was too much too soon for a debut, and in the last 5 km Hattori slowed majorly and was run down by several Japanese men including former high school teammate Tadashi Isshiki.

Joining the Toyota corporate team post-graduation, a year later he bettered that time by two minutes with more self-control. He was slower in Prague last spring but when Fukuoka rolled around in December Hattori stepped up to the top ranks of the Olympic contenders with a 2:07:27 for the win. Notably, he did with impressive closing speed, the kind of thing he’d tried to do in Tokyo in his debut but with better timing.

That run established him as one of the clear top four favorites for the Tokyo Olympic team. Appendix surgery in the spring was a setback, but at July’s Gold Coast Half Marathon Hattori was there til the end, taking 3rd in 1:02:39 and obviously happy about it as a comeback despite losing to MGC rival Yuki Sato (Nissin Shokuhin). Hattori has almost no cracks, and if there are no lingering effects from the surgery then it’s hard to imagine him not making the top three.

Next profile: Hanami Sekine (Japan Post).

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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