Chumba among stars expected to line up at start of Tokyo Marathon
By Ericson Kiprono
Dickson Chumba will be among a galaxy of stars lined up for the 14th edition of the Tokyo Marathon on March 1.
Chumba cruised to victory in the 2018 Tokyo Marathon cutting the tape in a time of 2:05.30 to win the men’s race in the Japanese capital.
It was his second win in the marathon after his exploits in 2014 after finishing third in the last three editions.
“My training has been hard and progressive and am now ready for the challenge of Tokyo marathon course,” said Chumba.
Chumba is the only man to have won the title twice. Chumba became the first man to run under two hours and six minutes with a course record victory time of 2:05:42.
This was only the second time a runner ran below 2:06 in Japan after Tsegaye Kebede in Fukuoka Marathon on December 6, 2009. His runner-up, Tadese Tola did also run below 2:06 in a time of 2:05:57.
Chumba would reclaim the title in 2018 when he triumphed in 2:05:30, the second fastest time on the course after fellow countryman’s Wilson Kipsang’s course record time of 2:03:58 in 2017.
The trailblazing Wilson Kipsang shattered Chumba’s previous course record time by a massive two minutes and 44 seconds with his time of 2:03:57, being the fastest time on the Asia soil and 11th all-time best.
Viktor Röthlin from Switzerland is the only European to have won the marathon, the second edition in 2010 in 2:07:23, with Salim Kipsang becoming the second Kenyan to claim victory in 2011 in 2:10:27.
Masakazu Fujiwara is so far the only Japanese to have won the race during the fourth edition in 2010 in 2:12:19, which is the slowest time in the race’s history.
Chumba will be challenged by five athletes holding record time under 2:05.
Birhanu Legese defending champion will be joining. He missed the win at Berlin Marathon in September last year, but he finished with an incredible time of 2:02:48.
