Tsuyoshi Ogata wins the 2004 Fukuoka Marathon (© Kazutaka Eguchi)
Japan’s Tsuyoshi Ogata surged away from compatriot Satoshi Osaki and Sammy Korir of Kenya at 35Km to win today’s 58th annual Fukuoka International Marathon in Japan in a time of 2:09:10.
Finishing second a minute and 46 seconds behind was Osaki, with Korir, the second fastest marathon runner in history, only third in 2:11:45. The finishing time was generally slow because of the windy weather, which hampered runners during the first 7Km, as well as the last 10Km.
Ogata, whose best placing in his previous eight marathon starts was a second place finish at the Fukuoka two years ago said, “The head wind was tough after 31Km, but the fans along the course helped me keep on going…. I have not won a marathon race before, so I am happy to win one here.” He also said, “This was my first marathon race since my son was born, so I am happy to run well here. I didn’t want him to see me run a lousy race.”
The 2003 Fukuoka Marathon was Ogata’s last marathon, where he had attempted to make the Olympic team but had failed, finishing sixth a year ago. Since then Ogata has been working on his speed, and improved his 10,000m personal best to 28:05.76 in the spring.
The win and the sub-2:09:30 clocking means that Ogata has met the Japanese Federation’s requirement for the 2005 World Championships and so is automatically selected for the marathon team for Helsinki. Having finished twelfth in Paris, Helsinki will be his second World Championships.
The race unfolds…
Because of the windy weather, the race started very slow. The split for the first 5Km was 15:34, which was over 30 seconds slower than the planned pace (15:00 to 15:05). After 7Km the course turns 90 degree and the wind was no longer against the runners. The pace thus picked up and the lead pack passed the 10Km in 30:46.
The first major casualty was 2:08 marathon runner Koji Shimizu who lost contact with the lead pack early, at 13Km.
At the half-way point, two of the pace setters – Joseph Kariuki and Luis Jesus – dropped out of the race. Next Kenya’s 2:06 marathon runner Michael Rotich was left behind by the leaders.
So by 25Km, the lead pack has reduced to seven runners – Korir, Osaki, Ogata, Gert Thys (RSA), Kurao Umeki (JPN), Haile Negussie (ETH), and the final pacemaker Isaac Macharia (KEN).
The next casualty was Negussie at 26Km followed by Umeki at 27Km and Thys at 29Km, and so only four runners – Korir, Ogata, Osaki and the pace setter Macharia – were left at 30Km, and as Macharia dropped out of the race at the 31.6Km turn-around point, the real racing was about to begin with the wind against the runners.
35km surge as promised
The eventual winner had believed that at “35Km…the real racing would start”, and he fulfilled that promise by surging away from Korir and Osaki at 35Km. While Osaki lost contact with Ogata, Korir was able to stay with the leader for a while but eventually after being dropped was also reeled in by Osaki. Therefore by 40Km (2:02:21) Ogata was running alone, nearly a minute ahead of the second place runner Osaki.
While other runners were slowed by the head wind, Ogata kept on pushing at nearly 3 minutes per Km pace, and came home in 2:09:10, a relatively fast time considering less than ideal condition.
“Ever since I missed making the Olympic Marathon team a year ago, I have been training with a medal at Helsinki in mind. So I will continue to train with the same mindset,” concluded Ogata, who is the first Japanese to be guaranteed the marathon team spot for the World Championships.
Ken Nakamura for the IAAF
with assistance by Akihiro Onishi
Cloudy Temperature 13C, Humidity 48%, Wind 5.4m/s
Results (JPN unless otherwise noted):
1) Tsuyoshi Ogata 2:09:10
2) Satoshi Osaki 2:10:56
3) Sammy Korir (KEN) 2:11:45
4) Gert Thys (RSA) 2:14:27
5) Tadakatsu Mukae 2:15:27
6) Mohamed Ouaadi (FRA) 2:15:33
7) Haile Negussie (ETH) 2:16:12
8) Kurao Umeki 2:16:17
9) Yukiyasu Nagao 2:16:30
10) Tatsuya Hoshi 2:16:43
Leader’s Splits:
5Km 15:34
10Km 30:46 (15:12)
15Km 46:06 (15:20)
20Km 1:01:19 (15:13)
25Km 1:16:24 (15:05)
30Km 1:31:26 (15:02)
35Km 1:46:50 (15:24)
40Km 2:02:21 (15:31)
Goal 2:09:10 (6:49)
