Marathon
The marathon is a track and field event involving running over a long distance. Participants compete for ranking and time. The race is held on a public road over a distance of 42.195 km.
The Marathon is a track and field event involving running over a long distance with participants competing for ranking and time. The race is held on a public road over a distance of 42.195 km.
Marathons have been attracting attention in Japan since their inception as a sport. At the Stockholm Olympics (1912), when Japan entered its first athletes, Shiso Kanakuri participated in the marathon.
The 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games marathon, in which Kokichi Tsuburaya won a bronze medal, is a remarkable moment in history which later turned to tragedy when he took his own life, making the achievement even more special.
From the late 1970s through to the 1990s, in memory of Tsuburaya, there was a rise in world-class Japanese runners. These included Shigeru So, Takeshi So, Toshihiko Seko, Takeyuki Nakayama and Hiromi Taniguchi.
During the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, both Koichi Morishita (men’s marathon) and Yuko Arimori (women’s marathon) won silver medals. Yuko Arimori’s achievements continued when she won a bronze medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Furthermore, Naoko Takahashi received a gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. This was followed by another amazing gold medal for Mizuki Noguchi at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Since then, the world has seen an increase in the speed of athletes, ultimately decreasing the success of Japanese athletes in international competitions. However, due to the widespread popularity of the marathon event, there is still a large number of local runners in Japan.
Related People, Things and Events
Books
Books written by famous Japanese marathoners
Related Works
Videos
External Links
世界各地で行われるワールドマラソンメジャーズの公式ウェブサイト
東京で開催されるマラソン大会。世界各地で行われるワールドマラソンメジャーズの1つ。
