The Tokyo 2020 Olympic marathon selection race "Marathon Grand Championship (MGC)" on the 15th was quite a battle. In the men's race Shogo Nakamura (Fujitsu) took first and Yuma Hattori (Toyota) second; in the women's Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) took first and Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post Group) second, each earning an Olympic place.
The race was run on almost the same course as the Games a year later. Did you know they passed the "Hirakawa-mon" crossing by the Palaceside Building? Coming back from Asakusa they came down Hakusan-dori from Jimbocho to Hirakawa-mon, turned left on Uchibori-dori, turned at Nijubashi-mae, returned to Hirakawa-mon, turned right onto Hakusan-dori and back toward Jimbocho — so they passed the Hirakawa-mon crossing twice between 30 and 35 kilometers.
The photo above is Maeda (pink kit, front right) just about to turn from Uchibori-dori onto Hakusan-dori. Just short of 35 km, she was already running alone.
The photo below is Yuta Shitara (Honda) = red circle = passing Hirakawa-mon in the lead. Fatigue already showed; soon after, around 36 km, he was swallowed by the second pack, faded and finished 14th — a shame.
We stared at the television wondering if we would appear, but perhaps because it was right at the crossing and just before 35 km, we hardly did. Among the shots, photo left = from TBS Television = is
Nakamura, Hattori and third-place Suguru Osako (Nike) in the second group about to catch leader Shitara. They are seen from behind heading for the Hirakawa-mon crossing after the water station near the Japan Meteorological Agency. Ahead is the Marubeni head-office rebuild site, and to the front left you can just see the brick on the east side of the Palaceside Building.
The Mainichi Shimbun, an official newspaper partner of Tokyo 2020, ran "HITOTSUBASHI CLIMAX" for the big race, dyeing part of the course roadside a vivid blue to cheer the athletes. The stretch is about 600 meters of Hakusan-dori from Jimbocho crossing to the Palaceside Building, home of the Mainichi head office. People writing messages such as "Fight" and "Last spurt!" on blue-printed Mainichi MGC special pages at crossings were introduced in the Mainichi morning edition of the 16th =photo below.
