Olympic marathon representative selection "MGC" Toshihiko Seko commentary "Men's" September 11th 13:44

The Tokyo Olympic Marathon representative selection race, MGC (= Marathon Grand Championship) will be held on 15th of this month. About 31 men who are scheduled to participate, Toshihiko Seko Marathon Strengthening Strategy Project Leader of the Japan Athletics Federation races around “4 strong” with the best personal best around Japanese record holder Jie Osako I expect it to go.

Osako is “No. 1 ability”

MGC is a race in which two men and women are determined by one shot. Among the 31 male players who passed the strict standards, Mr. Seko acknowledged that “No. 1 ability” is Osako with a Japanese record of 2 hours 5 minutes 50 seconds.

Seko said about Osako: “The strength is in the pace distribution that I can put out my power firmly at 42 km. I am not feeling bad and mental is strong. In addition, there is speed enough to have a Japanese record at 5000 meters. Long distances are also strong, so if you think from common sense, it ’s stronger than anyone. ”

“4 strong” race development

Mr. Seko says that there will be no doubt that it will be a race centered on Osako.
On the other hand, seeing it as having the power to compete
▽ The previous Japanese record holder Yuta Shigaraki,
▽ Dr. Hitoshi Inoue who won the Asian Games last year,
▽ These are the three Yuma Hattori who won the Fukuoka International Marathon last year.

Mr. Seko talks about Shigaraki players, saying, “Osako is regretted by breaking the Japanese record, so if you do not want to lose, you will come to the race. Did.

As for Inoue, “It was a big win in the Asian Games in midsummer.

As for Hattori, “There is a stamina that can increase the pace in the second half, and the last increase will be a threat to Osako and Shibata”. I expect the race to go to the center.

“Crushing” 31 people

This MGC is attended by a total of 31 people.
Mr. Seko says that there is no pacemaker, so it is common to tend to slow pace without using extra power, but for players other than “4 strong”, there will be a chance to move forward depending on the tactics. I see.

Mr. Seko said, “If you go all the way to the end, you will naturally have speedy players, so there will be a player called Saseji. I think that it will be really crushed. There are some players who try to get away from the stamina of leading players by swaying or shaking, saying, “You can't win if you fight properly” and try to escape to the point where you escape in one or eight matches. We want to see a new star player here. "

MGC to the Olympics

The men's marathon was recorded 2 hours, 1 minute, 39 seconds last year.
Seko thinks that the MGC's experience with a one-off game is “great for the Olympics”, although it is more than 4 minutes apart from the Japanese record.

Mr. Seko said, “MGC is almost as hot as it is, and it runs on the same course as the production, so the representatives can greet the Olympics in one or two more favorable situations than overseas players. This is a great strength. I hope that people who have won this MGC in the pressure of the world will fight on the world stage. "