The "Fukuoka International Marathon," which ended at last year's tournament due to tight financial conditions, will be revived in December, saying that it was possible to build a new management system.
The Fukuoka International Marathon, a winter tradition in Fukuoka that began in 1947, has produced a number of great competitions such as the battle between Toshihiko Seko and the three brothers of the sect, but the number of top players has decreased and attention has declined. As the financial situation became tighter, the race ended in December last year.
The Japan Association of Athletics Federations, one of the host organizations, will be revived as a successor tournament on the 14th, saying that Fukuoka Prefecture and the Fukuoka Athletics Association have joined the organizer as the tournament executive committee, and that a new management system has been established. Was announced.
The name of the event is the same as the Fukuoka International Marathon, and it is a conventional course that departs from and arrives at the Heiwadai Athletics Stadium in Fukuoka City, and is scheduled to be held on December 4th.
Participants are limited to top-level men's athletes, and Mitsugi Ogata, chairman of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, said, "I am very pleased to be able to hold the event in a new way while inheriting history and tradition. I would like to ask all of you for your continued support. "
To be held on the same day as the "Hofu Yomiuri Marathon"
The Japan Association of Athletics Federations announced that the Fukuoka International Marathon will be held on December 4, but along with this, top-level athletes will also participate in the "Hofu Yomiuri Marathon" to be held in Hofu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. It was the same schedule.
Originally, the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon was held on the 3rd Sunday of December, but in response to the closing of the Fukuoka International Marathon last November, it will be changed to the 1st Sunday of December. I was announcing.
However, as the Fukuoka International Marathon will be revived on the first Sunday of December as before, an unusual situation has occurred in which the race schedules for top-level athletes overlap.
The Japan Association of Athletics Federations said, "I thought it was not desirable for us to have two tournaments in which top-level athletes compete on the same day, but due to the overall circumstances of the tournament, it became difficult to make adjustments, so it was held on the same day. Could not be avoided. "