The Dec. 1 Fukuoka International Marathon is the first of this winter season's big selection races for the home soil team for next year's Tokyo World Championships, and the domestic field is a great one. Kenya Sonota, 2:05:59 in Tokyo last year, and 2:06 men Yusuke Nishiyama, Yuya Yoshida, Kazuya Nishiyama and Daisuke Doi make up the main contenders to get a spot, with internationals Lemeck Too, Jie He, Bethwel Yegon, Vincent Raimoi, last year's winner Michael Githae, and Shaohui Yang perfectly positioned to add momentum to the shot at the 2:06:30 Worlds standard that they'll all be taking. 8 other Japanese men in the 2:07 to 2:09 range make it one of the most competitive Fukuoka editions in a long, long time.
Last year Githae outkicked Yang by 1 second to win 2:07:08 to 2:07:09, Yang with a Chinese NR that was broken a few months later by He in Wuxi. Chinese men's marathoning has momentum right now too, and it wouldn't be surprising to see either He or Yang become Fukuoka's first Chinese winner. Jianhua Peng, 2:09:59 last year in Seoul, and Bo Li, 2:11:23 in Nanchang, are also in the race.
JRN will be on-site in Fukuoka on race weekend. Check back closer to race date for streaming and tracking info.
Fukuoka International Marathon Elite Field Highlights
Fukuoka, 1 Dec. 2024
times listed are athletes' best in last 3 years except where noted
Kenya Sonota (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:05:59 (Tokyo 2023)
Lemeck Too (Kenya) - 2:06:29 (Rotterdam 2024)
Yusuke Nishiyama (Toyota) - 2:06:31 (Tokyo 2024)
Yuya Yoshida (GMO) - 2:06:37 (Osaka 2024)
Kazuya Nishiyama (Toyota) - 2:06:45 (Osaka 2023)
Daisuke Doi (Kurosaki Harima) - 2:06:54 (Osaka 2024)
Jie He (China) - 2:06:57 (Wuxi 2024)
Bethwel Yegon (Kenya) - 2:06:57 (Vienna 2023)
Vincent Raimoi (Kenya/Suzuki) - 2:07:01 (Fukuoka Int'l 2022)
Michael Githae (Kenya/Suzuki) - 2:07:08 (Fukuoka Int'l 2023)
Shaohui Yang (China) - 2:07:09 (Fukuoka Int'l 2023)
Koki Yoshioka (Kyudenko) - 2:07:28 (Osaka 2023)
Shin Kimura (Honda) - 2:07:34 (Tokyo 2024)
Derese Workneh (Ethiopia/Hiramatsu Byoin) - 2:07:58 (Beppu-Oita 2024)
Bedan Karoki (Kenya/Toyota) - 2:07:59 (Tokyo 2024)
Kazuya Azegami (Toyota) - 2:08:29 (Osaka 2023)
Kiyoshi Koga (Yasukawa Denki) - 2:08:30 (Beppu-Oita 2022)
Ryu Takaku (Yakult) - 2:08:38 (Fukuoka Int'l 2021)
Naoki Aiba (Chudenko) - 2:08:44 (Beppu-Oita 2022)
Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) - 2:09:00 (Osaka 2024)
Kohei Futaoka (Chudenko) - 2:09:14 (Fukuoka Int'l 2021)
Jianhua Peng (China) - 2:09:59 (Seoul 2023)
Tesema Moges (Israel) - 2:10:31 (Rotterdam 2023)
Takumi Kumagai (Sumitomo Denko) - 2:10:41 (Fukuoka Int'l 2021)
Yusuke Tobimatsu (Hioki City Hall) - 2:10:47 (Hofu 2021)
Luka Musembi (Kenya/Tokyo T&F Assoc.) - 2:10:49 (Hokkaido 2022)
Asuka Tanaka (Runlife) - 2:11:09 (Tokyo 2022)
Bo Li (China) - 2:11:23 (Nanchang 2023)
Tadese Getahon (Israel) - debut - 1:00:47 (Copenhagen Half 2024)
© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
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