Skip to main content

MGC Race Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier - Suguru Osako

Suguru Osako

age: 28
sponsor: Nike Oregon Project
graduated from: Saku Chosei H.S., Waseda University

best time inside MGC window:
2:05:50, 3rd, 2018 Chicago Marathon – NR

PB: 2:05:50, 3rd, 2018 Chicago Marathon – NR

other PBs:
5000 m: 13:08.40 (NR, 2015) 10000 m: 27:38.31 (2013) half marathon: 1:01:13 (2017)

marathons inside MGC window (Aug. 1 2017 – April 30 2019)
DNF, 2019 Tokyo Marathon
3rd, 2018 Chicago Marathon, 2:05:50 – NR
3rd, 2017 Fukuoka International Marathon, 2:07:19

other major results:
1st, 2019 Hot Trot Half Marathon, 1:02:23 – CR
3rd, 2019 HDC Abashiri 10000 m, 27:57.41
2nd, 2019 Payton Jordan Invitational 5000 m, 13:40.48
24th, 2018 Valencia World Half Marathon Championships, 1:01:56
1st, 2018 National Cross Country Championships 10 km, 29:53
1st, 2017 National Championships 10000 m, 28:35.47
3rd, 2017 Boston Marathon, 2:10:28
6th, 2017 Marugame Half Marathon, 1:01:13 – PB
12th, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics 5000 m Heat 2, 13:31.45
17th, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics 10000 m, 27:51.94
1st, 2016 National Championships 5000 m, 13:37.13
1st, 2016 National Championships 10000 m, 28:07.44
7th, 2015 Beijing World Championships 5000 m Heat 1, 13:45.82
6th, 2015 Night of Athletics 5000 m, 13:08.40 – NR
2nd, 2015 National Championships 5000 m, 13:37.72
1st, 2015 New Year Ekiden First Stage (12.3 km), 34:47
2nd, 2013 Hakone Ekiden Third Stage (21.5 km), 1:04:44
1st, 2012 Hakone Ekiden First Stage (21.4 km), 1:02:03
1st, 2011 Hakone Ekiden First Stage (21.4 km), 1:02:22
1st, 2010 Ageo City Half Marathon, 1:01:47 – Asian U20 AR

Osako has been at the top of the game in Japan since high school, along with Akinobu Murasawa part of the best-ever all-Japanese high school team at Saku Chosei H.S., then going on to set an Asian U20 area record in his half marathon debut his first year at Waseda University and win the Hakone Ekiden’s Frist Stage his first two years there.

His third year at Waseda Osako was beaten by Yuta Shitara in a classic Hakone battle, and when he started training with the Nike Oregon Project while still at Waseda he began a string of national records on the track that peaked with a 13:08.40 5000 m record in 2015. That didn’t translate to international championship success, as he came up short of making the final in either the 2015 Beijing Olympics or 2016 Rio Olympics, so the next season it was time to move up.

In early 2017 Osako returned to the half marathon distance with a 1:01:13 PB at the Marugame Half. Two months later, a 2:10:28 debut for 3rd at the Boston Marathon. A 2:07:19 in Fukuoka later that year to qualify for the MGC Race. And then a 2:05:50 national record, again for 3rd, at last year’s Chicago Marathon. With that his position was solidified, but at this year’s Tokyo Marathon he suffered his first setback in the marathon, dropping out early in the second half after going through halfway in 1:02:05 lurking behind Yuki Sato (Nissin Shokuhin) and Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu).

Track season post-Tokyo saw Osako regroup and qualify for the Japanese National Championships in the 5000 m, lash out at the JAAF on Twitter for not letting him into the Nationals 10000 m without the standard, then not run the 5000 m. Despite that, he ran a good 27:57.41 for 3rd in the Abashiri 10000 m in July, beating Sato, Shitara and MGC qualifier Daiji Kawai (Toenec) among others. A couple of weeks later he dropped the biggest indication of where he’s at in his MGC prep, soloing a 1:02:23 for the win in hot conditions at the Hot Trot Half Marathon in Texas.

There’s never been much doubt that Osako was one of the favorites to make the 2020 Olympic team, the only real ones arising with his DNF in Tokyo which was ascribed to the cold and rainy conditions even though he had some snags coming into the race. The real question is can he win it.

The DNF aside, Osako has run all three marathons exactly the same way, exerting minimum effort at the back of the lead pack until the real action happens, then pushing on to take 3rd as the contenders for the win recede into the distance. He hasn’t shown much inclination to lead races since his second-year Hakone Ekiden stage win, and throughout his track career he’s over-estimated his closing speed, even in Abashiri this summer. To be sure, he doesn’t need to win. 2nd place will get him to the Olympics. 3rd will almost definitely be good enough. A long push will probably be the move that makes that happen, but everybody else knows it and will for sure be anticipating it. Will Osako stick to the playbook even so, or pull something different out of his hat? Just about the only thing he could do that would really surprise would be to break character and lead from the start.

Next profile: Mizuki Matsuda (Daihatsu).

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

World Marathon Majors Japanese Entries

We're back from a short summer break. A week and a half out from the first race of the season's four World Marathon Majors races, here's a look at Japanese athletes scheduled to run. Everything right now is about qualifying for the MGC Race, the official trials race for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to be held in the fall of 2027 in Nagoya. The JAAF makes no mistake about wanting to keep its top people racing domestically where it can get a share of revenue from the TV broadcast and race operations, so anyone who decides to race overseas has to do it in a WA platinum label race and hit either 2:06:30 or 2:23:30, regardless of place, course or weather if they want to make the trials. At the same time concessions are make for domestic races, like for example the late-August Hokkaido Marathon where up to 3 men and 3 women can qualify if they go 2:12:00 or 2:32:00. As a result, you get things like last year where amateur runner Yudai Fukuda made the trials by finishing 3rd Jap...
1 comment
Read more

Nakajima Breaks 100 mH NR Twice, Kitaguchi Returns - August Track Roundup

Catching up on what's been happening in track and field this month during our summer break: Men's 3000 m NR holder Nagiya Mori was just off his 5000 m PB at the IFAM Oordegem meet in Belgium on Aug. 1, taking 16th in 13:15.01. Shota Nakano was 26th of 28 in 13:35.02. This year's national champion Ryoma Aoki ran the 3000 mSC but didn't finish. Naoto Hasegawa was the only Japanese athlete at Mutaz Essa Barshim 's What Gravity Tour stop at the Monaco Athletics Festival meet on Aug. 5. Having cleared 2.30 m for the first time earlier this year Hasegawa only managed 2.18 m in Monaco, taking 7th of 10. There were a lot of good performances at the Fuji Hokuriku World Trial meet in Fujiyoshida on Aug. 9, but the one that got the headlines was a 12.62 (-0.2) NR in the women's 100 mH by Hitomi Nakajima . Nakajima actually did it twice, running 12.62 (+2.0) in the heats before repeating in the final. Masumi Aoki also ran big in the heats, with a 12.68 (+2.0) for al...
1 comment
Read more