On March 3, 2019, the Tokyo Marathon started with a bang. This year's Tokyo Marathon is not only the first of the six major marathons but also serves as the selection trial for Japanese athletes for the 2019 Doha World Athletics Championships and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Tokyo Marathon gathered many top athletes from Japan.

After more than 2 hours of intense competition, the champion was Berhanu Legese from Ethiopia, who finished in 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 48 seconds. The highly anticipated Suguru Osako, who aimed to break the Asian record, unfortunately withdrew at the 28-kilometer mark.

Suguru Osako's unfortunate withdrawal, 6 Japanese runners finished in the top ten

According to official data, the highest perceived temperature during the race was only 8 degrees Celsius, with the lowest reaching 4 degrees Celsius. This low temperature posed a significant challenge for all participants.

The 2019 Tokyo Marathon was Suguru Osako's fourth full marathon. In his previous three races, his performance had steadily improved. Competing in his hometown this year, Osako was determined to break the Asian record. However, after 28 kilometers, he withdrew due to physical discomfort.

Despite Osako's withdrawal, Japanese runners still surprised the local audience. 22-year-old university student Kensei Horio, participating in his first marathon, defeated many top Japanese runners and finished fifth with a time of 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 21 seconds (pace of 3 minutes, 5 seconds). Horio is a fourth-year university student, and this was his first professional marathon.

Like last year, six Japanese runners finished in the top ten of the 2019 Tokyo Marathon. However, unlike last year, when all six runners finished under 2 hours and 9 minutes, no one managed to finish under 2 hours and 10 minutes this year. The cold weather had a noticeable impact on the runners.

Li Wei finished in 2:19:32,The gap between Chinese and Japanese marathon runners is evident

In this Tokyo Marathon, the best performance by a Chinese male runner was Li Wei's 2 hours, 19 minutes, and 32 seconds, placing him 43rd.He was also the only Chinese runner in this Tokyo Marathon to finish under 2 hours and 20 minutes.

According to the International Association of Athletics Federations, Li Wei was born on March 11, 1989. His personal best in a full marathon is 2 hours, 18 minutes, achieved on November 25, 2012, in Beijing. Last year, Li Wei finished the Shanghai Marathon in 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 16 seconds, placing 19th.

In this year's men's full marathon top 10, six were Japanese runners, and among the 47 runners who finished under 2 hours and 20 minutes, 40 were Japanese.Last season, the best performance by a Chinese male marathon runner was 10 minutes slower than the Asian record set by Suguru Osako in October.

If Japan can be considered the third strongest marathon nation in the world, it's hard to say where Chinese male marathon runners rank in Asia.

The Tokyo Marathon is a major marathon event. While there are numerous marathon events in China, none have yet achieved major marathon status. It is said that some domestic marathons may be upgraded to major marathon status in the coming years, but our competitive results are still far from that level.

We need to work harder to catch up with Japanese marathon runners.