News

News about TOKYO MARATHON

Tokyo Marathon 2021 Wheelchair Marathon Race Report

2022/3/7

welite.png

The wheelchair race started at 9:05 am. In the men's race, Marcel Hug (Switzerland), who holds the world record and won gold at the Rio 2016 and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics showed a very strong start. Pulling ahead shortly after the start, he ran solo and continued to build up his speed. He maintained his solo lead finishing with a time of 1:22:16, winning by a wide margin of 6 minutes 56 seconds to the second place finisher.

He shared his excitement. "It was a wonderful race for me. I'm very satisfied. I could really feel my strength." Apparently, he was not counting on a solo run and glanced back during the race to check on the runner up. He spoke about maintaining control and shared his joy for the win. "I controlled and managed my pace. I was happy to be able to race through the streets of Tokyo. I'm happy to place first."

Tomoki Suzuki, who holds the Japan record and was seen as Hug's biggest rival could not keep up with Hug from the beginning, finishing second with a time of 1:29:12. Hiroki Nishida won the battle for third place against Masayuki Higuchi, placing third with a time of 1:29:55.

Wheelchair Race Director Masazumi Soejima reflected on the race. "It was a bit windy for a wheelchair race. The times were not quite what we expected for Hug and the other racers who followed. There were occasions when they couldn't pick up speed because the wind shook the wheelchairs. But it was a good race overall without any major issues."

In the women's race, Tsubasa Kina triumphed in the head-on battle against Wakako Tsuchida and won her second consecutive Tokyo Marathon with a time of 1:40:21. She gradually widened the gap from the 15km mark, leaving the 8 time summer and winter Paralympian behind with a wide margin of 4 minutes 37 seconds. Kina smiled as she commented "The race was harder than I expected. I'm relieved to have finished safely." She reflected on the race and commented about the wind being stronger than expected. "We had a head wind. It was hard to pick up speed".

  • Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd.