Now 39, Former Hakone Ekiden Star Masato Imai Putting Everything Into Last Chance for First Olympics
At Japan's Olympic marathon trials in Tokyo on Oct. 15, the top two finishers will earn places on the 2024 Paris Olympics marathon team. The oldest man on the entry list is 39-year-old Masato Imai of the Toyota Kyushu corporate team. In his days at Juntendo University Imai redefined how to run the Hakone Ekiden's legendary uphill 5th leg with multiple course records, earning him the title "God of the Mountain." Joining Toyota Kyushu after graduation ,he made the Japanese team for the Beijing World Championships but was unable to run due to illness. At the Olympic trials, he says, "I'll bring all my experience as an athlete into play." Imai qualified for the MGC, the shorthand name for the Olympic trials, when he placed 6th at last year's Osaka Marathon. At 39, almost all the other athletes from his generation have retired, but Imai continue to pursue the toughest of distances, the marathon. "The presence of the 'The Olympics' weighs h...