On Thursday, two of the best distance runners in historical past, Eliud Kipchoge and Sifan Hassan, had been named headliners for the 2024 Tokyo Marathon on March 3.
The 2024 Tokyo Marathon goes to be 🔥. @EliudKipchoge and @SifanHassan will each be on the starting point ✨ #AbbottWMM %.twitter.com/TAk4Prf2ju
— Abbott WMMajors (@WMMajors) December 21, 2023
3rd time appeal for Hassan?
Hassan, who’s coming off wins in her first two occupation marathons (London and Chicago), will make her debut in Tokyo. The 30-year-old had numerous good fortune within the Jap capital on the 2020 Olympic Video games, profitable two golds and a bronze throughout 3 athletics disciplines. Hassan is unsure if she’s going to take on the quadruple on the Paris Olympics: the 1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m, and marathon, however she mentioned her purpose for this race is to “proceed her marathon adventure.”
“I wouldn’t have any time-based expectancies for Tokyo,” Hassan informed Athletics Weekly. “I wish to proceed to be told the gap and acquire extra enjoy and feature a laugh doing it.”
Even though she has no explicit purpose, Tokyo is thought of as probably the most sooner Abbott International Marathon Majors and has a identical direction profile to the London Marathon. In London final 12 months, Hassan ran a shocking 2:18:33 debut to win, in spite of preventing two times. She redeemed herself with a quick time in Chicago, surroundings a direction document and working the second-fastest marathon time in historical past (2:13:44). The time to look forward to Hassan in Tokyo could be Brigid Kosgei’s direction document of two:16:02 from 2022.
Kipchoge’s go back to Tokyo
The previous marathon international document holder will go back to Japan in preparation for his final quest to win 3 consecutive Olympic marathon titles.
Kipchoge has had numerous good fortune in Tokyo up to now, profitable the Olympic marathon there in 2021 and surroundings a direction document of two:02:40 in his most effective look on the Tokyo Marathon in 2022.
The 11-time Abbott International Marathon Majors (AWMM) champion informed Athletics Weekly that Tokyo is the “highest preparation race” towards his primary purpose of profitable his 3rd Olympic identify subsequent August in Paris.
What makes Tokyo the very best preparation race is the timing and festival. The race is nearly 23 weeks sooner than the Olympic marathon, which supplies Kipchoge numerous time to recuperate after the race and concentrate on a brand new construct. Tokyo being an AWMM, Kipchoge is certain to stand elite festival, as he additionally would in Paris.
The Tokyo Marathon and Paris Olympic marathon direction don’t percentage numerous similarities. Tokyo is somewhat flat however has a number of turns, and Paris is the other, a hilly out-and-back loop to the Palace of Versailles with over 400 metres of elevation acquire around the 42.2-kilometre distance.
Kipchoge has ruled flat lessons all the way through his occupation, profitable Berlin a document 5 instances and London 4 instances. He has proven vulnerability on hillier, extra tactical lessons, just like the 2022 Boston Marathon, the place he completed a disappointing 6th (to his requirements), struggling most effective the 3rd marathon defeat of his occupation. The 39-year-old has received 4 of the six AWMMs, and is most effective lacking wins in Boston and New York. Satirically, two of the hillier lessons.
The entire elite box for the 2024 Tokyo Marathon has no longer been launched however irrespective of who’s introduced, Kipchoge and Hassan will input because the favourites to win on March 3.