Toshihiko Seko Names Honami Maeda as Gold Medal Contender for Paris Olympics Women’s Marathon

Winning is supreme for the Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes. That is why they have big sponsors and generous support. Mr. Seko continues.

In addition to the pressure of business competition, the prestige of their countries is also at stake, so they cannot afford to lose. The rivalry between the two countries is tremendous. Our strategy is to take advantage of the fact that the two women are checking each other out. It would be interesting to see Maeda run away from the field.

Maeda’s big run will be watched closely to see if she can regain her title for the first time in 20 years. Also competing are Mao Ichiyama (27), who finished 8th in Tokyo, and Yuka Suzuki (24), who shows great promise.

The men’s field consists of Akira Akasaki (26), Naoshiro Koyama (28), and Suguru Osako (33). Seko is confident in Akasaki’s spirit of challenge , saying, “He is fast and has a lot of potential.

But God is with him.

He has a glance or two at Eliud Kipchoge (39, Kenya), the absolute champion.’ In October 2007, he became the first human being to break the two-hour mark with a time of 1:59:40, although unauthorized, and he reigns as the undisputed top runner.

I’ve never seen him look so distressed. He has an aura about him.

He has now won two consecutive titles since Rio de Janeiro in 2004. If he also wins Paris, he will surpass Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia) of Rome in 1960 and Tokyo in 1964, and Waldemar Czerpinski (former East Germany) of Montreal in 1976 and Moscow in 1980 to achieve the unprecedented feat of winning gold medals at three consecutive Olympic Games.

At 39 years old, this would be his last Olympics. Kelvin Kiptam, a junior athlete in his home country and the world record holder with a time of 2 hours, 0 minutes, and 35 seconds, died in a car accident in February this year at the young age of 24. For his own successor, the marathon god will put his whole heart and soul into winning.

To be honest, there is a gap between us and the Africans,” said Kiptam. My goal is to finish in the men’s race, and three years ago, Osako did a great job of sticking with us, coming in sixth. I hope that they will have races that will lead them to the next round in Los Angeles and beyond. In order for Japan to improve, it is important for us to continue to produce results, because that is the “flow” of the sport.

This year’s marathon, which is held under the slogan of “gender equality,” swapped for the first time the day of the men’s and women’s marathons, with the men’s race running first and the women’s race serving as the finale. We look forward to Maeda’s brilliant finish and her first step toward the revival of the marathon kingdom.