After running a debut and collegiate record of 2:06:07 at Sunday's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon as the last race of his career, Aoyama Gakuin University 4th-year Hiroki Wakabayashi said on Feb. 3 that he would consider keeping it going for the half year it would take if he is named to the Japanese team for September's Tokyo World Championships. Wakabayashi plans to retire and has already accepted a job at the Nihon Seimei insurance company. "If I'm named to the team I'll have to discuss it with the company," he said cautiously.
Wakabayashi's time in Beppu-Oita was the 7th-fastest ever by a Japanese man and cleared the 2:06:30 Tokyo World Championships standard, positioning him as a candidate for the team. Having already accepted a job to start after his graduation next month, immediately post-race he said, "I ran this thinking of it as the last race of my career. I think I was able to run this kind of time because I knew it was the end of the road." But a day on from that incredible achievement he was already starting to walk that back with the possibility of continuing for a limited time.
At December's Fukuoka International Marathon Yuya Yoshida, another Aoyama Gakuin runner who had run a great debut at Beppu-Oita planning to retire afterward only to change his mind and continue on with the GMO corporate team, won in an all-time Japanese #3 2:05:16. Later this month at the Osaka Marathon other top contenders for the Tokyo Worlds team including NR holder Kengo Suzuki and Paris Olympian Naoki Koyama will run, and a week later at the Tokyo Marathon Paris 6th-placer Akira Akasaki and all-time Japanese #2 Yohei Ikeda are scheduled to race.
It's not clear that Wakabayashi's chances of making the team will survive those two races, but at this point he does have a chance. At a press conference on Feb. 2 JAAF development committee senior director Toshinari Takaoka commented, "We will select athletes who meet the eligibility requirements to represent Japan after confirming their intention to participate." Aoyama Gakuin head coach Susumu Hara said, "It's entirely up to him." But after talking it over with Hara and others, Wakabayashi says now that if he asked by the JAAF he will tell them that he does intend to participate. After his record-breaking debut at age 22, a lot of attention will be focused on what comes next for Wakabayashi.
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translated by Brett Larner
Comments
The situation make the next few marathons even more interesting.
With a very good field and the big debut of Kuroda in Osaka and then Tokyo with the debut of Aoi Ota and hopefully another elite line-up there, the rankings and momentum can change a lot in one month or so.
A very good "problem" to have for Japan Marathon world.