Suguru Osako broke his Japan record in taking fourth place in the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday, finishing in 2 hours 5 minutes 29 seconds. The men's race was won by defending champion Birhanu Legese of Ethiopia.
Legese finished with a time of 2:04:15. All times are preliminary.
Osako made great strides toward securing his ticket to the Tokyo Olympics while beating his Japan record by 21 seconds. He ran a 2:05:50 in Chicago in 2018, which became the time to beat for the final spot on Japan's 2020 Olympic marathon team.
The Tokyo Marathon also served as a Marathon Grand Championship Final Challenge for the Japan men's team for the Tokyo Olympics. Osako was the only runner to post a time faster than the qualifying mark. If no runner surpasses Osako's record in the MGC Final Challenge's last race, the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, on March 8, Osaka will be selected for the national team.
The Yomiuri Shimbun is one of the co-organizers of the Tokyo Marathon 2020. The race started at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and finished in front of Tokyo Station. This year's marathon was held only for elite runners and elite wheelchair participants due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
