Skip to main content

31 Men Sub-2:10, 112 Sub-2:20 -- Tokyo Marathon Domestic Elite Field


A few days ago the Tokyo Marathon announced the domestic elite field for its 2021 edition being held Mar. 6, 2022, with the caveat that final decisions on whether it would go ahead and whether it would have an international field, originally slated to feature men's world record holder Eliud Kipchoge, would have to wait until Feb. 18. Yesterday the Osaka Marathon announced its field for this year's race on Feb. 27, and like Osaka, Tokyo's field gives away its history as a men-only race. The men's field is even more massive than Osaka's, and the women's field only slightly deeper.

Overall Tokyo is solid, with the men's NR holder, the women-only NR holder, both half marathon NR holders, the last three Fukuoka International Marathon winners, seven men with recent times under 2:07, 31 under 2:10, 112 under 2:20, and two debuting sub-61 half marathoners. Only three women on the list including women-only NR holder Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) have gone sub-2:30 vs. three sub-2:40 in Osaka, meaning that the field at the Nagoya Women's Marathon the week after Tokyo should be pretty good.

Especially notable people in the men's field include NR holder Kengo Suzuki (Fujitsu), two-time 2:06 man Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) who won last month's Osaka Half Marathon in PB time, 2020 Fukuoka winner Yuya Yoshida (GMO), and 2021 Fukuoka winner Michael Githae (Kenya/Suzuki). It's also notable that none of the three men who ran the Tokyo Olympics marathon is entered in Tokyo or any other domestic spring marathon. 

Along with Yoshida a large group from the GMO corporate team and other athletes are entered both here and in Osaka, so the final numbers at both races are likely to be a bit lower than what's on paper. But if the weather's good you can still expect to see massive races both weekends. And expect Ichiyama and Suzuki to give the world record for fastest combined times by a married couple in a single race, 4:27:05 by Kenyans Purity Cherotich Rionoripo and Paul Kipchumba Lonyangata in Paris 2017, a shot.

2021 Tokyo Marathon

Domestic Elite Field Highlights
Tokyo, 6 Mar. 2022
times listed are best in last 3 years except where noted

Men
Kengo Suzuki (Fujitsu) - 2:04:56 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Hidekazu Hijikata (Honda) - 2:06:26 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima) - 2:06:35 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Ryu Takaku (Yakult) - 2:06:45 (Tokyo 2020)
Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) - 2:06:47 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Yusuke Ogura (Yakult) - 2:06:51 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Daisuke Uekado (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:06:54 (Tokyo 2020)
Toshiki Sadakata (Mitsubishi Juko) - 2:07:05 (Tokyo 2020)
Yuya Yoshida (GMO) - 2:07:05 (Fukuoka Int'l 2020)
Simon Kariuki (Kenya/Togami Denki) - 2:07:18 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Masato Kikuchi (Konica Minolta) - 2:07:20 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Shin Kimura (Honda) - 2:07:20 (Tokyo 2020)
Kento Kikutani (Toyota Boshoku) - 2:07:26 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Yuta Shimoda (GMO) - 2:07:27 (Tokyo 2020)
Tadashi Isshiki (GMO) - 2:07:39 (Tokyo 2020)
Masaki Sakuda (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:07:42 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Michael Githae (Kenya/Suzuki) - 2:07:51 (Fukuoka Int'l 2021)
Atsumi Ashiwa (Honda) - 2:07:54 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Kenya Sonota (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:08:11 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Kento Otsu (Toyota Kyushu) - 2:08:15 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Naoya Sakuda (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:08:21 (Fukuoka Int'l 2020)
Daisuke Hosomori (YKK) - 2:08:28 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Keisuke Hayashi (GMO) - 2:08:52 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Kazuma Kubo (Nishitetsu) - 2:08:53 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Chihiro Miyawaki (Toyota) - 2:09:04 (Tokyo 2020)
Takumi Kiyotani (Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:09:13 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Yuki Sato (SGH Group) - 2:09:18 (Berlin 2018)
Kei Katanishi (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:09:27 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Yuki Takamiya (Yakult) - 2:09:30 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) - 2:09:36 (Fukuoka Int'l 2019)
Takamitsu Hashimoto (Komori Corp.) - 2:09:43 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Keisuke Tanaka (Fujitsu) - 2:10:07 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Kensuke Horio (Toyota) - 2:10:21 (Tokyo 2019)
Akira Tomiyasu (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) - 2:10:29 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Ryo Matsumoto (Toyota) - 2:10:32 (Lake Biwa 2020)
Ryota Komori (NTN) - 2:10:33 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Takuma Kumagai (Sumitomo Denko) - 2:10:41 (Fukuoka Int'l 2021)
Yuki Nakamura (Sumitomo Denko) - 2:10:47 (Lake Biwa 2021)
Takuma Shibata (Komori Corp.) - 2:10:48 (Hofu 2020)
Shota Saito (JFE Steel) - 2:10:50 (Beppu-Oita 2020)
Daiji Kawai (Toenec) - 2:10:50 (Lake Biwa 2019)
Junnosuke Matsuo (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:11:00 (Beppu-Oita 2020)
Asuka Tanaka (Runlife) - 2:11:07 (Fukuoka Int'l 2020)
Taiki Yoshimura (Asahi Kasei) - 2:11:13 (Hofu 2019)
Toshinori Watanabe (GMO) - 2:11:17 (Katsuta 2020)
Yoshiyuki Hara (Gotemba Takigahara SDF Base) - 2:11:21 (Hofu 2020)
Benard Kimani (Kenya/Comodi Iida) - 2:11:31 (Eindhoven 2019)

Debut / Do-Over
Nicholas Kosimbei (Kenya/YKK) - 1:00:20 (Lisbon Half 2019)
Masashi Nonaka (Osaka Gas) - 1:00:58 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2020)
Tomoya Ogikubo (Yakult) - 27:44.74 (Hachioji LD 10000 m 2021)
Naoki Koyama (Honda) - 27:55.16 (HDC Fukagawa 10000 m 2021)

Women
Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) - 2:20:29 (Nagoya 2020)
Natsuki Omori (Daihatsu) - 2:28:38 (Nagoya 2021)
Shiho Kaneshige (GRlab Kanto) - 2:28:51 (Osaka Int'l 2020)
Hitomi Niiya (Sekisui Kagaku) - 2:30:58 (Nagoya 2009)
Miharu Shimokado (SID Group) - 2:32:48 (Osaka Int'l 2020)
Yui Okada (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:32:00 (Nagoya 2020)
Hitomi Mizuguchi (Uniqlo) - 2:32:33 (Osaka Int'l 2020)
Mai Fujisawa (Hokkaido Excel AC) - 2:35:52 (Kanazawa 2021)
Tomomi Sawahata (Sawahatters) - 2:36:45 (Osaka Int'l 2022)

Debut / Do-Over
Kaori Morita (Panasonic) - 1:10:28 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2021)
Rika Kaseda (Daihatsu) - 31:39.86 (Nat'l Championships 2020)

© 2022 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Stefan said…
How exciting! I didn't realize Hitomi Niiya had entered this event. I knew she was training for a race based on Youtube videos posted recently but this is excellent news. Her training efforts looked very promising too. I wouldn't be surprised to see her make MGC qualification. If she can recapture the form she displayed when she broke the national half marathon record and then the 10000m on the track in 2020 then anything is possible for her. I'm really hoping Mao Ichiyama has a solid race. For me, Mao Ichiyama, Hitomi Niiya and Mizuki Matsuda are the big 3 who can challenge for the national record if they are in their best form and have good conditions. Its been a long time since Hitomi Niiya has challenged the full marathon distance. I hope she can endure it well.
February 8, 2022 at 12:00 PM
Andrew Armiger said…
Suzuki v Yoshida is exciting!

With Osako unretiring, where is he anticipated to race next?
February 11, 2022 at 10:31 PM
Brett Larner said…
I received a copy of the international field list a few days ago. You're all going to be happy.
February 12, 2022 at 1:09 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Saku Chosei H.S. Makes It 2 In a Row - National High School Ekiden Boys' Race

While the girls' race was a blowout by 2022 champ Nagano Higashi H.S. , the boys' race at Sunday's National High School Ekiden was a tense battle of turnover that saw all of the final top four teams take a stab at leading. 2023 3rd-placer Yachiyo Shoin H.S. handled the first 2 of the 7 stages in the 42.195 km race, with lead runner Rui Suzuki delivering a bold run on the 10.0 km First Stage that produced the fastest-ever time by a Japanese runner on the stage, 28:43, and put Yachiyo Shoin 29 seconds out front. Last year's Fifth Stage CR breaker Tetsu Suzuki ran Yachiyo Shoin down to put 2023 champ Saku Chosei H.S. into 1st on the 8.1075 km Third Stage, but Genta Sugano of last year's 8th-placer Sendai Ikuei H.S. had other plans and took the lead on the 8.0875 km Fourth Stage. Smiling and fist pumping to the crowd almost the entire way, Taketo Tsukada of last year's 6th-placer Omuta H.S. moved up from 3rd to 1st by 2 seconds over Saku Chosei on the 3.0 k...
Post a Comment
Read more

Japan Post Holds Off Sekisui Kagaku to Win Queens Ekiden National Title

  Japan Post  was back on top at the Queens Ekiden corporate women's national championships Sunday in Sendai, holding off last year's winner Sekisui Kagaku  over the second half of a race that came as close as 1 second to take 1st with a final margin of victory of 27 seconds. Sekisui Kagaku was out fast with a win on the 7.0 km opening leg by Erika Tanoura  and a new CR for the 12:56 second leg by Yuma Yamamoto , 17 seconds better than her own CR from last year. Last year's 4th-placer Shiseido  briefly led on the 10.6 km third leg with an excellent 33:17 stage win from Rino Goshima , but behind her Japan Post's Ririka Hironaka  returned from her latest injury problems to pass Sekisui Kagaku's Sayaka Sato  and hand off 6 seconds ahead. New recruit Caroline Kariba  ran Shiseido down on the 3.6 km fourth leg and put Japan Post 22 seconds ahead of Sekisui Kagaku, but a duel of marathoners between JP's  Ayuko Suzuki  and Sekisui's Hitomi Niiy...
1 comment
Read more

Nagano Higashi Girls Lead Start to Finish to Win National High School Ekiden

2022 National High School Ekiden girls' champion Nagano Higashi H.S. was back in force after a 5th-place finish last year, leading start to finish to win this year's national title Sunday in Kyoto. Lead runner Airi Mashiba kicked it off with a 19:30 stage win on the 6.0 km opening leg, something that head coach Fumio Yokouchi said later that he hadn't been expecting. That ended up being Nagano Higashi's only individual stage win in the 5-leg, 21.0975 km race, but the rest of its team ran well enough to hold a lead that was never less than 11 seconds but never more than 21. Last year's 4th-placer Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. spent most of the race in 2nd, but over the second half of the race Sendai Ikuei H.S. , 2nd last year by just 1 second, came from further back to run Kunei down on the anchor stage thanks in big part to a critical stage win on the 4th leg by Tsubomi Tezuka that put anchor Aoi Hosokawa in position to catch Kunei's Mizuki Oda . Nagano Higashi ...
Post a Comment
Read more