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Olympic Marathon Trials Winner Nakamura Scratches from Wednesday's Test Event

On May 1 the organizers of the May 5 Sapporo Marathon Festival 2020 Olympic marathon test event announced that Tokyo Olympics men's marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) has withdrawn from the half marathon. According to Fujitsu, Nakamura is experiencing some pain on the inside of his left foot. A statement on the team's official website stated, "He is currently recovering and expects to get back to training next week."

Nakamura had been schedule to run February's Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon but withdrew due to tendonitis issues in his left leg. His withdrawal from the Olympic test event marks his second-straight DNS. The Olympic test event half marathon covers a large section of the course for this summer's Olympic marathon. Olympic team members scheduled to compete include men's marathoner Yuma Hattori (Toyota) and all three members of the women's marathon squad, Honami Maeda (Tenmaya), Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) and Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal).

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translated by Brett Larner

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