2013 Tokyo Marathon

7th Tokyo Marathon
Costumed fun runners at the 2013 race
Venue Tokyo, Japan
Dates 24 February
Medalists
 Dennis Kimetto (2:06:50 CR)
Aberu Kebede (2:25:34)

The 2013 Tokyo Marathon (Japanese: 東京マラソン 2013) was the seventh edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, Japan and was held on Sunday, 24 February. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event to be held that year and represented the first occasion that the Tokyo race was part of the elite-level marathon series.[1]

The 2013 Tokyo Marathon featured marathon races for runners and wheelchair racers. A 10-kilometre race was also held for the disabled and runners under eighteen years.[2]

Dennis Kimetto won the men's race in a course record time of 2:06:50 hours. The women's winner, Aberu Kebede, had a time of 2:25:34 hours, which was six seconds off the women's course best.[1] The mass races set a new participation record with a total of 28,721 runners entering the race over 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), and 36,676 people taking part in the day's races as a whole.[3]

Pre-race build up

A day prior to the race, the International Friendship Run was held with a distance of roughly 4 km. The non-competitive race between athletes, organisers and registered marathon entrants began with warm-up radio exercises and took place in Shiokaze Park and Odaiba Seaside Park.[4] The 2013 Tokyo Marathon EXPO was also hosted that day.[5] Organisational changes improved the charity fun running aspect of the race: 3000 entries were reserved for charity runners, tax relief was given to charitable donations, and role of sponsors and corporations in raising funds was expanded. An estimated 1.7 million people were spectators to the city race.[6]

Building on the race's inclusion with the World Marathon Majors circuit, race director Tadaaki Hayano invited numerous elite international marathon runners with fast personal bests. In the men's race Dennis Kimetto, James Kwambai, Dino Sefir, and Jonathan Maiyo all entered the race with personal bests below two hours and five minutes – a first for a Japanese race.[7][6] Irina Mikitenko was the fastest entrant among the elite women, following by Bezunesh Bekele, Aberu Kebede and Caroline Kilel.[7]

The men's race was also of domestic interest because it doubled as the trials for the Japanese men's marathon team at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. Arata Fujiwara, Kazuhiro Maeda, Yoshinori Oda and Takayuki Matsumiya were the foremost Japanese men, all having bests below two hours and ten minutes. Yoshimi Ozaki and Azusa Nojiri were the most prominent female domestic entrants.[7]

Results

Men

Position Athlete Nationality Time
Dennis Kimetto Kenya2:06:50 CR
Michael Kipyego Kenya2:06:58
Bernard Kipyego Kenya2:07:53
4Kazuhiro Maeda Japan2:07:59
5James Kwambai Kenya2:08:02
6Gilbert Kirwa Kenya2:08:17
7Feyisa Bekele Ethiopia2:09:05
8Dino Sefir Ethiopia2:09:13
9Takayuki Matsumiya Japan2:09:14
10Jonathan Maiyo Kenya2:10:18

Women

Position Athlete Nationality Time
Aberu Kebede Ethiopia2:25:34
Yeshi Esayias Ethiopia2:26:01
Irina Mikitenko Germany2:26:41
4Albina Mayorova Russia2:26:51
5Yoshimi Ozaki Japan2:28:30
6Helalia Johannes Namibia2:29:20
7Mika Yoshikawa Japan2:30:20
8Nastassia Staravoitava Bulgaria2:30:45
9Azusa Nojiri Japan2:31:15
10Hiroko Yoshitomi Japan2:31:28

References

  1. 1 2 Nakamura, Ken (2013-02-24). Kimetto clocks course record 2:06:50 at Tokyo Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  2. ↑ Race Information Archived 4 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine.. Tokyo Marathon. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  3. ↑ Participation data (in Japanese). Tokyo Marathon. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  4. ↑ International Friendship Run Archived 18 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine.. Tokyo Marathon. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  5. ↑ Expo 2013 Archived 4 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine.. Tokyo Marathon. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  6. 1 2 2013 LOC Press Conference. Tokyo Marathon. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
  7. 1 2 3 Nakamura, Ken (2013-01-24). Best field ever assembled for Tokyo Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.
Race results
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