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Spectacular signing for the 32nd. real,- BERLIN MARATHON 2005: Japan’s Olympic Champion Mizuki Noguchi will run Berlin
Registration for the marathon will be closed
2005-07-14
Mizuki Noguchi
Japan’s Olympic Champion Mizuki Noguchi will run the 32nd real,- BERLIN MARATHON on 25th September. Berlin’s race director Mark Milde confirmed the spectacular signing this Thursday. At the same time the gold medal winner from Athens 2004 declared at a press conference in Tokyo Narita-Airport, before leaving for St. Moritz, that her next marathon will be the real,- BERLIN MARATHON.
We are happy ...
“We are very happy to be able to have signed Mizuki Noguchi for the real,- BERLIN MARATHON. We will have Japan’s sports superstar in our event which will generate worldwide interest”, race director Mark Milde said. His excellent relationships to Japan have once again paid off for the real,- BERLIN MARATHON.
In tremendous heat, Mizuki Noguchi had won the Olympic Marathon in Athens in August 2004 in sensational style. Beating the big favourite, marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain/2:15:25), and World Champion Catherine Ndereba (Kenya), she clocked 2:26:20 on the hilly course.
First race since the Olympic triumph
The real,- BERLIN MARATHON will be Mizuki Noguchi’s first race over the classic distance of 42.195 k since her Olympic triumph, which made her an idol in Japan. The small runner (1.50 m / 41 kilos) had shown no interest in qualifying for the World Championship’s marathon in Helsinki and instead intends to clearly beat her personal best and the Japanese record on a flat and fast course. That was the reason to opt for the real,- BERLIN MARATHON. At present she has a PB of 2:21:18 with which she had won the Osaka Marathon in 2003. The race on September 25th will be broadcasted live in Japan by Fuji TV.
Five times in a row
Starting in the year 2000 Japanese women have won the real,- BERLIN MARATHON five times in a row. The biggest highlight so far was Naoko Takahashi’s world record performance in 2001, when she became the first woman to break 2:20 (2:19:46). Last year Yoko Shibui improved the course record by five seconds to 2:19:41, at the same time setting a new Japanese record and the world best time for the year. The other Japanes winners were: Kazumi Matsuo in 2:26:15 on september 10, 2000 , Naoko Takahashi again in 2:21:49 on September 29, 2002 and Yasuko Hashimoto in 2:26:32 on September 28, 2003.
But the japanese men have run big races in Berlin, too. The best performances were Takayuki Inubushi on September 26, 1999, when he placed second in 2:06:57, setting a new Asian and Japanes record. On september 10, 2000 Takahiro Sunada came in fourth in 2:10:08, and on September 30, 2001, Tsuyoshi Ogata also placedfourth with a time of 2:10:06. Berlin has legendary statusfor Japanese runners and tv-viewers.
Field will be closed for runners
The field for he 32nd real,- BERLIN-MARATHON 2005 will be closed for runners, handcaclists, wheelchair athletes and power-walkers at midnight on July 15th. SCC-RUNNING has received more than 40,000 entries. Only a few international travel agencies will still have some remaining spots available for participation in the German running highlight of the year.
More information is available online:
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