Regarding the selection of representatives for the marathon of the Paris Olympics three years later, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations has decided to hold the MGC = Marathon Grand Championship, the selection race held at the Tokyo Games, in the fall of next year, and announced the conditions for participation.

In the selection of marathon representatives for the Tokyo Olympics, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations held the first "one-shot game" race, MGC, in an attempt to strengthen athletes and make the selection process transparent. Jie won the 6th place and Mao Ichiyama, the female player, won the 8th place.

The Japan Association of Athletics Federations will continue this selection system for the 2024 Paris Games, and on the 25th, announced the conditions for participation in the selection race, MGC, which will be held again next fall.

MGC entry conditions

The target is four Japanese athletes who set a record within 3rd place and within 2 hours and 10 minutes in four competitions called "Grade 1" such as the Fukuoka International Marathon to be held next month.



The boys have had good times in the tournament one after another, so it was one minute shorter than the standard for the Tokyo tournament.



Women are among the Japanese athletes who ran within 3rd place and within 2 hours and 28 minutes in three "grade 1" competitions such as the Osaka International Ladies Marathon to be held in January next year.



In addition, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations has newly established the Japan Marathon Championship, a marathon series "JMC" that competes based on the total points obtained from the tournament records and rankings.



Players who finished in 8th place in this series can also participate in MGC, and other conditions that were not selected for the Tokyo tournament have been added.

Toshinari Takaoka, senior director of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, said, "The goal is to raise the level of the Japanese marathon that even won the prize at the Tokyo tournament."

What is the newly established JMC?

The JMC = Japan Marathon Championship, a series newly established by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations to determine the number one marathon in Japan, is to create rankings by converting records and rankings in each tournament into points and compete for each series. 6 million yen will be issued.



"Series 1" will be until March next year, including races after December last year, and "Series 2" will be from November to March next year.



Within the specified series period, we will compete with the total points of the three target tournaments with good records and rankings among the tournaments that we participated in.



The results at JMC are related to the conditions for participation in the representative selection race of the Paris Olympics and the MGC = Marathon Grand Championship, and are directly linked to the representative selection of the world championships and Asian competitions.

Prize money for each series "To the marathon world with dreams"

In addition, prize money is set for each series, and the champion is 6 million yen for both men and women, the second place is 3 million yen, and the third place is 1 million yen.

Toshihiko Seko, Road Running Commission Leader of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, said, "Although the amount of prize money is still small, the athletes are motivated and it is not going to be a marathon world with dreams for young people who are going to run a marathon from now on. "Is it?", And he is looking forward to raising the level of the marathon world.

What tournaments are eligible to participate in MGC?

The tournaments that are eligible to participate in MGC are as follows at this stage.



"Grade 1" is expected to have a high level of


competition. And within 2 hours and 10 minutes, or 4th to 6th place and within 2 hours and 9 minutes for Japanese athletes.



▽ Women must be within 2 hours and 28 minutes for Japanese athletes within 3rd place and within 2 hours and 28 minutes at the Osaka International Ladies Marathon, Nagoya Women's Marathon, and Tokyo Marathon, or within 2 hours and 27 minutes for Japanese athletes from 4th to 6th place. ..



Next, "Grade 2" is


▽ Only for the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon held in Yamaguchi Prefecture, where the men won the championship and within 2 hours and 10 minutes, or the Japanese athletes ranked 2nd to 6th within 2 hours and 9 minutes.



▽ Women must win the Osaka Marathon and Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon within 2 hours and 28 minutes, or 2nd to 6th place Japanese athletes within 2 hours and 27 minutes.



In the future, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations will also designate a "grade 3" tournament, and among the tournaments from grade 1 to 3,


▽ boys will have a time of less than 2 hours and 8 minutes, and


▽ girls will have a time of less than 2 hours and 24 minutes. There are various conditions, such as being able to participate in the MGC if you play even once.