Fukuoka Marathon

The Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship (福岡国際マラソン, Fukuoka Kokusai Marason) was an IAAF Gold Label international men's marathon race held in Fukuoka, Japan since 1947. It was usually held on the first Sunday in December, and had its 75th and final race in 2021.[2]

Fukuoka Marathon
The Fukuoka Marathon monument at Hakata Station with footprints of past winners
DateEarly December
LocationFukuoka, Japan
Event typeRoad
DistanceMarathon
Established1947 (1947)
Course records2:05:18 (2009)
Tsegaye Kebede
Official siteFukuoka Marathon
Participants80 finishers (2021)[1]
67 (2020)
370 (2019)
291 (2018)

The course record is held by Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia, running 2:05:18 in 2009 to best his own record from the previous year.[3]

History

In its early years, the race had a rotating venue format, but these races are contained within the Fukuoka history as they all shared a common organiser and sponsor (the Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese national newspaper). The inaugural edition was launched in 1947 as the "Kanaguri Prize Asahi Marathon" (金栗賞朝日マラソン, Kanaguri-Shō Asahi Marason) and was held in Kumamoto. The 1951 was the first of the race series to be held in Fukuoka. Foreign runners were invited for the first time in 1954 and Reinaldo Gorno of Argentina subsequently became the first non-Japanese winner. The competition was renamed as the "Asahi International Marathon" (朝日国際マラソン, Asahi Kokusai Marason) the following year and Finland's Veikko Karvonen became the first European victor. In 1956 the race reverted to a national race between Japanese men, but foreign runners were reintroduced for later editions.[4]

The 1959 edition saw Fukuoka instated was the permanent host city for the marathon race and Japanese runner Kurao Hiroshima became the first two-time winner that year. Water stations for runners were introduced along the course for the first time in 1961. The last race to be held outside of Fukuoka came in 1963, when a special pre-Olympic edition was held in Tokyo as a way of testing the marathon course for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Recognising the Fukuoka Marathon's increasingly international nature, the event was renamed in 1966 to the "International Marathon Championship" (国際マラソン選手権, Kokusai Marason Senshuken).[4] A year later, the course saw its first world record performance as Australian Derek Clayton knocked over two minutes off the previous record to win the race in 2:09:36.4 hours.[5] Frank Shorter had three straight wins in 1971 to 1973 and a fourth win came in 1974, the same year that the race took on its current title of the "Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship" (福岡国際マラソン選手権, Fukuoka Kokusai Marason Senshuken).[6]

In 1980, Toshihiko Seko won in a time of 2:09:45 hours, just four seconds ahead of Takeshi So. This represented the first time that two men had completed the marathon distance under two hours and ten minutes at the same competition.[7] The second world record of the competition's history came in 1981 and it was again an Australian runner, this time Robert de Castella, whose time of 2:08:18 hours became the new world standard.[5]

In 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers restricted the number of participants to about 100 runners.[8][9][lower-alpha 1]

On March 26, 2021, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, newspaper Asahi Shimbun, and broadcast partners Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting and TV Asahi announced that the 75th Fukuoka International Marathon would be its last edition citing difficulties in continuing the event such as increasing operating costs and the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]

The Fukuoka Marathon was the third-longest running competition of its type in Japan, being established two years after the Lake Biwa Marathon and one year after the Kochi Marathon. This made it the tenth longest running annual marathon race in recorded history.[11] The competition had hosted the men's marathon championship race numerous times: it first held the event in 1955 and then hosted the race on a biennial basis from 1963 to 1997. It later hosted the national championship race once every three years, on a rotational basis alongside the Lake Biwa and Tokyo Marathons.[12]

Qualification

Male runners who achieved the following times in an official event of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) or a race for members of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) in a certain period, and who were aged 19 years or older on the day of the race could apply for the race.[13]

Group A:

  1. Marathon: under 2 hours 27 minutes
  2. 30 km road race: under 1 hour 35 minutes
  3. Half-marathon: under 1 hour 05 minutes

Group B:

  1. Marathon: under 2 hours 35 minutes
  2. 30 km road race: under 1 hour 45 minutes
  3. Half-marathon: under 1 hour 10 minutes

Winners
Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede is the current course record holder.
Samuel Wanjiru won in 2007 and went on to take the 2008 Olympic marathon title.
Gezahegne Abera is a three-time race winner
Robert de Castella (right) of Australia set a world record at the 1981 edition.
Frank Shorter had a record four straight wins in Fukuoka from 1971 to 1974.

Key:

   Course record
   Japanese championship race
Ed. Date Winner Country Time[lower-alpha 2] Notes Rf.
75 2021.12.05 Michael Githae  Kenya 2:07:51 [1][14]
74 2020.12.06 Yūya Yoshida  Japan 2:07:05
73 2019.12.01 Taku Fujimoto[lower-alpha 3]  Japan 2:09:36 [15][17]
72 2018.12.02 Yuma Hattori  Japan 2:07:27
71 2017.12.03 Sondre Nordstad Moen  Norway 2:05:48
70 2016.12.04 Yemane Tsegay  Ethiopia 2:08:48
69 2015.12.06 Patrick Makau  Kenya 2:08:18
68 2014.12.07 Patrick Makau  Kenya 2:08:22
67 2013.12.01 Martin Mathathi  Kenya 2:07:16
66 2012.12.02 Joseph Gitau  Kenya 2:06:58
65 2011.12.04 Josephat Ndambiri  Kenya 2:07:36 [18]
64 2010.12.05 Jaouad Gharib  Morocco 2:08:24
63 2009.12.06 Tsegaye Kebede  Ethiopia 2:05:18
62 2008.12.07 Tsegaye Kebede  Ethiopia 2:06:10
61 2007.12.02 Samuel Wanjiru  Kenya 2:06:39
60 2006.12.03 Haile Gebrselassie  Ethiopia 2:06:52
59 2005.12.04 Dmytro Baranovskyy  Ukraine 2:08:29
58 2004.12.05 Tsuyoshi Ogata  Japan 2:09:10
57 2003.12.07 Tomoaki Kunichika  Japan 2:07:52
56 2002.12.01 Gezahegne Abera  Ethiopia 2:09:13
55 2001.12.02 Gezahegne Abera  Ethiopia 2:09:25
54 2000.12.03 Atsushi Fujita  Japan 2:06:51 NR
53 1999.12.05 Gezahegne Abera  Ethiopia 2:07:54
52 1998.12.06 Jackson Kabiga  Kenya 2:08:42
51 1997.12.07 Josia Thugwane  South Africa 2:07:28
50 1996.12.01 Lee Bong-ju  South Korea 2:10:48
49 1995.12.03 Luíz Antônio  Brazil 2:09:30
48 1994.12.04 Boay Akonay  Tanzania 2:09:45
47 1993.12.05 Dionicio Cerón  Mexico 2:08:51
46 1992.12.06 Tena Negere  Ethiopia 2:09:04
45 1991.12.01 Shuichi Morita  Japan 2:10:58 Current course layout introduced
44 1990.12.02 Belayneh Dinsamo  Ethiopia 2:11:35
43 1989.12.03 Manuel Matias  Portugal 2:12:54
42 1988.12.04 Toshihiro Shibutani  Japan 2:11:04
41 1987.12.06 Takeyuki Nakayama  Japan 2:08:18
40 1986.12.07 Juma Ikangaa  Tanzania 2:10:06
39 1985.12.01 Hisatoshi Shintaku  Japan 2:09:51 Course layout changed
38 1984.12.02 Takeyuki Nakayama  Japan 2:10:00
37 1983.12.04 Toshihiko Seko  Japan 2:08:52
36 1982.12.05 Paul Ballinger  New Zealand 2:10:15
35 1981.12.06 Robert de Castella  Australia 2:08:18 WR
34 1980.12.07 Toshihiko Seko  Japan 2:09:45
33 1979.12.02 Toshihiko Seko  Japan 2:10:35
32 1978.12.03 Toshihiko Seko  Japan 2:10:21
31 1977.12.04 Bill Rodgers  United States 2:10:56
30 1976.12.05 Jerome Drayton  Canada 2:12:35
29 1975.12.07 Jerome Drayton  Canada 2:10:09
28 1974.12.08 Frank Shorter  United States 2:11:32
27 1973.12.02 Frank Shorter  United States 2:11:45
26 1972.12.03 Frank Shorter  United States 2:10:30
25 1971.12.05 Frank Shorter  United States 2:12:51
24 1970.12.06 Akio Usami  Japan 2:10:38
23 1969.12.07 Jerome Drayton  Canada 2:11:13
22 1968.12.08 Bill Adcocks  United Kingdom 2:10:48
21 1967.12.03 Derek Clayton  Australia 2:09:37 WR
20 1966.11.27 Mike Ryan  New Zealand 2:14:05
19 1965.10.10 Hidekuni Hiroshima  Japan 2:18:36
18 1964.12.06 Toru Terasawa  Japan 2:14:49
17 1963.10.15 Jeff Julian  New Zealand 2:18:01 Held in Tokyo
16 1962.12.02 Toru Terasawa  Japan 2:16:19
15 1961.12.03 Pavel Kantorek  Czech Republic 2:22:05
14 1960.12.04 Barry Magee  New Zealand 2:19:04
13 1959.11.08 Kurao Hiroshima  Japan 2:29:34 Fukuoka becomes permanent host
12 1958.12.07 Nobuyoshi Sadanaga  Japan 2:24:01 Held in Utsunomiya
11 1957.12.01 Kurao Hiroshima  Japan 2:21:40 Held in Fukuoka City
10 1956.12.09 Keizo Yamada  Japan 2:25:15 Held in Nagoya [6]
9 1955.12.11 Veikko Karvonen  Finland 2:23:16 Held in Fukuoka/Koga [6][19]
8 1954.12.05 Reinaldo Gorno  Argentina 2:24:55 Held in Kamakura/Yokohama [6][20]
7 1953.12.06 Hideo Hamamura  Japan 2:27:26 Held in Nagoya [6]
6 1952.12.07 Katsuo Nishida  Japan 2:27:59 Held in Ube [6]
5 1951.12.09 Hiromi Haigo  Japan 2:30:13 Held in Fukuoka/Maebaru [6][21]
4 1950.12.10 Shunji Koyanagi  Japan 2:30:47 Held in Hiroshima [6]
3 1949.12.04 Shinzo Koga  Japan 2:40:26 Held in Shizuoka [6]
2 1948.12.05 Saburo Yamada  Japan 2:37:25 Held in Takamatsu [6]
1 1947.12.07 Toshikazu Wada  Japan 2:45:45 Held in Kumamoto [6]

Notes
  1. The size of the field is normally around 400 runners.[9]
  2. h:m:s
  3. El Mahjoub Dazza crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified for using a prohibited substance.[15][16]

References
  1. "Archived copy". www.fukuoka-marathon.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Johnson, Len (2021-12-06). "Farewell to Fukuoka".
  3. Nakamura, Ken (2009-12-06). 2:05:18 course record and personal best for Kebede in Fukuoka. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-12-06.
  4. Nakamura, Ken (2010). Marathon - A history of the Fukuoka International Marathon Championships by K. Ken Nakamura - Part 1 1947-1966. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  5. Butler, Mark (2011). 13th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook Archived 2012-08-18 at the Wayback Machine (pgs. 595, 612, 614–615, 705, 707). Daegu 2011. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  6. Heyworth, Malcolm et al (2010-12-05). Fukuoka Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  7. World Marathon Rankings for 1980. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  8. "Archived copy". www.fukuoka-marathon.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. https://runningmagazine.ca/sections/runs-races/fukuoka-international-marathon-set-to-be-held-with-limited-field/
  10. "福岡国際マラソン、今年で終了へ 継続開催は困難と判断：朝日新聞デジタル" [Fukuoka International Marathon to end this year, judging it will be difficult to continue]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 2021-03-26. Archived from the original on 2021-09-04. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  11. Longest Running Marathons. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  12. Ota, Shigenobu et al (2010-03-27). National Marathon Champions for Japan. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  13. http://www.fukuoka-marathon.com/en/entry.html
  14. https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/kenya/michel-githae-14644141
  15. https://web.archive.org/web/20211124051503if_/http://www.fukuoka-marathon.com/pdf/20210511en.pdf
  16. "Archived copy". www.japantimes.co.jp. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. "Archived copy". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. Nakamura, Ken (2011-11-04). Running in his debut, Ndambiri triumphs in Fukuoka. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  19. http://www.fukuoka-marathon.com/playback/1955.html
  20. http://www.fukuoka-marathon.com/playback/1954.html
  21. "福岡国際マラソン プレーバック｜第5回（1951）".
List of winners
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