Three Japanese men ran Sunday's Amsterdam Marathon, Yuki Sato (SG Holdings) in pursuit of a faster time than his 2:08:17 best, and Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei) and Akira Tomiyasu (Aisan Kogyo) looking for times that would get them inside the cut for next year's 2024 Olympic marathon trials.
text and photos © 2022 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
Sato went out with the lead group on 2:04 pace through 15 km before falling off, hitting halfway in 1:03:10 and 30 km in 1:33:33. Just past 40 km he dropped out after hitting it in 2:14:19.
Dairokuno, who needed to run 2:09:49 to score trials qualification, went through halfway in 1:04:33 before overtaking Sato and clocking 1:31:49 at 30 km. Unable to sustain that, he finished 21st in 2:12:38.
Tomiyasu had the most modest goal, only needing to run 2:11:05 to clear the trials standards. 1:04:56 at halfway and 1:31:59 at 30 km, he briefly caught up to Dairokuno before struggling after the lefthand turn into the strong headwind at 35 km. He ultimately finished 24th in 2:15:21, over a minute faster than his performance at last year's New York City Marathon but far off what he needed to secure a place at the trials. Both Dairokuno and Tomiyasu will now refocus on hitting their qualification times at a domestic marathon early next year in advance of the end of May deadline.
Tsegaye Getachew won the men's race in 2:04:49, with Almaz Ayana debuting in 2:17:20 for the win. Complete results are available here.
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