Eliud Kipchoge leads the men’s field after a thrilling women’s race at Tokyo 2020 won by his compatriot Peres Jepchirchir.
And Kipchoge will hope to make it a double gold for Kenya in the marathon to defend his Olympic title and dispel any suggestion that the legendary marathoner is showing signs of vulnerability.
While Kipchoge has nothing left to prove at this level or in this event after such a glittering career, a win here will add a new chapter to his story, joining another exclusive club of just two men to defend their Olympic title: Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia (1960 and 1964) and East German Waldemar Cierpinski (1976 and 1980).
His world record (2:01:39) still stands and will likely be out of reach here in hot, humid conditions, but his 10-race win streak is over after the 2020 London Marathon, finishing eighth in 2:06:49 - the slowest of his career.
The 36-year-old quickly resumed his winning ways in Enschede, coming home in 2:04:30.
This race is especially hard to predict due to the conditions and the fact the road-racing calendar has been sparse due to Covid-19 over the past 18 months, which could lead to a surprise contender taking a medal.
Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono, the 2019 Boston and Chicago Marathon winner and a with 2:03.04 at Valencia last December, is another contender, though the Ethiopians will challenge with world champion Lelisa Desisa, Shura Kitata and Sisay Lemma on the start line. While the host nation, famous for its love for the 26.2 mile race, will hope Suguru Osako can bring home a medal for Japan.
Great Britain’s contingent includes Ben Connor, Callum Hawkins and Chris Thompson, with Abdi Abdirahman, Jacob Riley and Galen Rupp running for the United States.
The women’s race, which started at 5am local time, produced a thrilling spectacle with world record-holder Brigid Kosgei, of Kenya, upset by her compatriot Peres Jepchirchir, who came home in 2:27:20.
While there was a shock bronze medalist with Team USA’s Molly Seidel just 26 seconds back of the winner and 16 behind silver.
Stephanie Davis (2:36:33) was best on Team GB, finishing 39th, while Stephanie Twell (2:53:26) finished 68th and Jess Piasecki (2:55:39) came 71st.
The men’s race is in Sapporo, more than 1,100km north of Tokyo, starting at 11pm BST on 7 August and 7am local time on 8 August.
Top 10 entrants for men’s race based on 2020/21 performances
- 2:03:04 Lawrence Cherono KEN Valencia 6 Dec 20
- 2:03:30 Amos Kipruto KEN Valencia 6 Dec 20
- 2:04:30 Eliud Kipchoge KEN Enschede 18 Apr 21
- 2:04:49 Bashir Abdi BEL Tokyo 1 Mar 20
- 2:04:51 Sisay Lemma ETH Tokyo 1 Mar 20
- 2:04:55 Gabriel Gerald Geay TAN Milan 16 May 21
- 2:05:29 Suguru Osako JPN Tokyo 1 Mar 20
- 2:05:41 Tola Shura Kitata ETH London 4 Oct 20
- 2:05:53 Oqbe Kibrom Ruesom ERI Valencia 6 Dec 20
- 2:06:18 Othmane El Goumri MAR Ampugnano 11 Apr 21
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