TOKYO, 16 March 2004 — Naoko Takahashi will not defend her Olympic marathon title in Athens later this year after she was left out of Japan’s team for the Games yesterday. The 31-year-old Takahashi had left her fate in the hands of the Japan Amateur Athletics Federation (JAAF) after suffering a shock defeat in Tokyo last November — the first time she had been beaten since 1998.
That gamble back-fired as JAAF officials selected Reika Tosa for the third and final spot in their team alongside Mizuki Noguchi and Naoko Sakamoto following Tosa’s victory in Nagoya at the weekend.
Takahashi, who won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, finished runner-up in Tokyo in the first of three Athens qualifiers for Japanese athletes. She did not run in Osaka in January — won by Sakamoto — or in Nagoya.
In a country where marathon running is almost a religion, Takahashi’s second place behind Ethiopian Elfenesh Alemu in an ordinary time of two hours, 27 minutes and 21 seconds sparked national debate. Her shell-shocked coach blamed everything from her dietary habits to the size of her shoes after Takahashi had faded badly in her first competitive race in over a year.
Japanese selectors subsequently felt they were left with little option but to drop Takahashi after she failed to appear in Osaka or Nagoya.
“Of course, we know Takahashi is a quality athlete but (in Tokyo) she went out very fast and struggled at the end,” JAAF official Keisuke Sawaki told reporters. “It was a very tough decision to make but stamina is an important factor to consider in major competitions.”
Takahashi, who subjects herself to tortuous training routines at her Colorado camp and swills a drink made from the stomach juice of giant killer hornets before races, became the first woman to break 2:20 at the Berlin Marathon in 2001.
Noguchi qualified for the Japanese Olympic team by virtue of her silver medal at the World Championships in Paris last August. Masako Chiba, who took bronze behind Noguchi, was named reserve for Athens by the JAAF.
Former World Champion
Buss to Miss Olympics
Former high jump world champion Martin Buss of Germany will miss this year’s Athens Olympics because of a recurrent knee injury.
The German Athletics Federation (DLV) said in a statement in Berlin yesterday that the 27-year-old, who is struggling to recover from three operations on his left knee, would not compete at all in 2004.
Buss, the 2001 world champion, could not defend his title in Paris last year because of the injury.
