How Yuya Yoshida's 2020 started: He was a benchwarming senior at powerhouse Aoyama Gakuin University that had never made its starting lineup for the Hakone Ekiden. How his year ended: He was the Fukuoka International Marathon champion and one of the ten fastest Japanese marathoners ever. In between:
The 22-year-old Yoshida came out of nowhere at Hakone in January, planning to give up running when he graduated in March and putting it all into one single run when he got the green light to handle Hakone's Fourth Stage for AGU. And he killed it, crushing the year-old stage record set by then-future 10000 m national record holder Akira Aizawa and setting YGU up for the overall win. He said afterward that he'd done what he'd set out to do and could walk away from the sport with his conscience clear, but he decided to give it one more go and run February's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon as the last race of his career.
He crushed that too, running with almost eerie poise and self-control, actually making a late move for the win but ending up 3rd in 2:08:30, the second-fastest Japanese debut ever. With everyone telling him not to give it up Yoshida had second thoughts on his future. His run in Beppu attracted interest from the NN Running Team, but Yoshida turned them down to sign with the GMO corporate team, whose uniform he wore in Fukuoka.
The plan in Fukuoka called for an A-group led by pacer Bedan Karoki (Toyota) at 2:58/km for those who wanted a shot at the national record and a B-group paced at 3:00/km for everyone else in the field of about 100. Ten men went with the A-group in the early going, eight Japanese plus the debuting Cyrus Kingori (Hiramatsu Byoin) and Mongolian NR holder Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (NTN). Prominent in that group were Yoshida, now 23, and the favorite, last year's winner Taku Fujimoto (Toyota). Fujimoto said pre-race that he was going for 2:04:50, but while his training partner Karoki never got the pace that hot it was still steadily on track for 2:05 all the way until he stepped off at 30 km.
Along the way people fell off one by one, with Kingori, Asian marathon champion Daichi Kamino (Cell Source) and Japan's fastest cop Ryota Sato (Tokyo Police Dep't) all eventually dropping out of the race. With 10 km to go it was just Yoshida and Fujimoto, and as Yoshida applied pressure Fujimoto fell away. From there on it was just Yoshida, the road and the clock. He looked strong the whole way, but as he ran alone his pace slowed incrementally, ticking him back to just over 2:06 pace at 35 km and just under 2:07 at 40 km.
He needed a big finish to stay in 2:06, but although he picked it up it was just a tiny bit less than he needed. Yoshida crossed the finish line in 2:07:05, the second-fastest time ever by a Japanese man at Fukuoka and ninth-best Japanese time ever. His victory made it the first time Japanese men have won Fukuoka three years in a row since 1989. In his post-race interview he was as calm, mature and professional as he had been in the race, assessing his performance matter-of-factly and looking like someone with a bright road ahead of him. You can be sure he's glad he changed his mind about where his future should take him.
Only one other runner who went with Yoshida in the A-group made it into the top ten, with the large B-group working together to stay on 2:06/2:07 pace even after the pacers left at 30 km. Naoya Sakuda (JR Higashi Nihon), the top Japanese man in Lake Biwa in March in 2:08:59, was the first to break away from the B-group, surging to run down A-group straggler Yoshiki Takenouchi (NTT Nishi Nihon) early on the return trip from the 32 km turnaround. Olympic team alternate Shohei Otsuka (Kyudenko), who fell early in the race and bled from his left knee, and Kenyan Michael Githae (Suzuki) were next, with Sakuda's JR teammates Natsuki Terada and Paul Kuira pulling away from the remnants.
As they all bore down on the fading Fujimoto they overtook each other and switched order with the tides of the marathon's final 5 km, but it was Otsuka who ultimately proved the strongest, closing to within 33 seconds of Yoshida for a 2:07:38 PB in his first time going sub-2:10 and with a bloody leg to show for it. As the alternate for the Olympic team, he now has a faster PB than Trials winner Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu). If any of the top three don't make it to the main event, if there is one, today Otsuka proved that he's their equal and that the team's level won't suffer if he has to take over someone's spot.
Known for his fast closing speed, Terada was 3rd in 2:08:03, leading Githae and Sakuda under 2:09 in PB times. Takenouchi held off Kuira for 6th, 2:09:31 to 2:09:57, the first time for either to break 2:10. B-group runner Koki Yoshioka (Chuo Hatsujo), Asuka Tanaka (Hiramatsu Byoin), Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku) and Takuma Kumagai (Sumitomo Denko) all ran Fujimoto down in the final stretch, Fujimoto landing 12th in 2:11:27. There's a lesson to be had there on the effect of pacing in the marathon, but there's equally a lesson on the role of ambition, fearlessness and confidence. As in Friday's record-breaking National Track and Field Championships, the current generation of Japanese athletes has enough of all three to go around.
74th Fukuoka International Marathon
Fukuoka, 6 Dec. 2020
1. Yuya Yoshida (GMO) - 2:07:05 - PB
2. Shohei Otsuka (Kyudenko) - 2:07:38 - PB
3. Natsuki Terada (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:08:03 - PB
4. Michael Githae (Suzuki) - 2:08:17 - PB
5. Naoya Sakuda (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:08:21 - PB
6. Yoshiki Takenouchi (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:09:31 - PB
7. Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:09:57 - PB
8. Koki Yoshioka (Chuo Hatsujo) - 2:10:13 - PB (tie)
9. Asuka Tanaka (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 2:11:07
10. Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:11:09
11. Takuma Kumagai (Sumitomo Denko) - 2:11:23 - PB
12. Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) - 2:11:27
13. Jo Fukuda (NN) - 2:11:52
14. Daisuke Hosomori (YKK) - 2:12:24 - PB
15. Kento Otsu (Toyota Kyushu) - 2:12:49
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DNF - Daichi Kamino (Cell Source)
DNF - Cyrus Kingori (Hiramatsu Byoin)
DNF - Ryota Sato (Tokyo Police Dep't)
© 2020 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
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