■ Para Athletes (wheelchair T53/T54)The theme of Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon 2025, now in its fourth year, is □TOKYO AUTHENTIC." Weʼve invited Japanʼs top racers to ensure that this is a truly AUTHENTIC wheelchair race. The three men's guest racers will be Tomoki Suzuki (Toyota Motor Corporation), who holds the T54 class half marathon world record (38:32) and won the bronze medal in the marathon at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Ryota Yoshida (SUS), who finished in 8th place in the same marathon, and Hiroki Kishizawa (Hitachi Solutions), who has been in excellent form this season, recording new personal records in track events. Eight other racers will be competing, but all will be Japanese racers who have demonstrated a great deal of ability, so it will be hard to predict just how the race will turn out. Suzuki, who is now in the midst of a three-race win streak, is a particular standout, and his approach to the race will determine the direction it takes. I expect to see an exciting race, so I hope Kishizawa will use his momentum to gain ground, and racers like Yoshida and Rinpei Sasaki (ANAORI.A.C), who has been posting even better times lately, will form a pack and compete with each other. I donʼt think theyʼll be getting tangled up near the finish line, but instead it will probably all come down to the first half of the race. Falling behind the other racers before the Tomihisacho intersection in the earlier part of the race would make the rest a struggle, so ■ Para Athletes (T11/T12 vision impairment)This yearʼs race comes right after events like the World Para Athletics Championships, so in this yearʼs competition, weʼll be seeing a diverse group of para athletes thatʼs a little different than the usual lineup. This year there will be a larger number of first-time competitors, and I truly feel that the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon has cemented its position as a place where even more para athletes can expand their possibilities. Six male and four female athletes have entered to compete in the visual impairment class (T11/T12). The invited athlete with a proven track record is Yutaka Kumagai (Mitsui Direct General Insurance), one highlight will be seeing how the racers compete for positions shortly after the start of the race, led by Suzuki. There will be five female racers, three of whom are invited athletes: Wakako Tsuchida (Will Raise), Tsubasa Nakamine (Misato Swimming School), and Kazumi Takimura (Oracle Corporation Japan). Both Tsuchida and Nakamine are half marathon Asian record holders (47:55), but the previous champion Tsuchida has the more stable record. She is a powerful uphill racer, so the question is where she will be putting on speed and how much Nakamine can gain on her. The half marathon is a great step toward a full marathon, so this race will provide a precious opportunity to race alongside world-class athletes like Suzuki and Tsuchida. I also hope to see some bold efforts by younger racers like K a t s u m o t o To y a m a ( M i t s u b i s h i Corporation) and Kaede Masaki (Kanto Para Athletics). Iʼm looking forward to watching some AUTHENTIC wheelchair racing by this yearʼs diverse competitors.who took his first 1st place victory last year in the T12 class while also setting a new world record for the half marathon (1:09:33). Kumagai, who aims for consecutive victories and broke a personal best record at a marathon held in February this year, has been in excellent form. I also have high expectations for a good race by a younger athlete, Kosuke Oishi (Japan Blind Marathon Association), who has been showing rapid improvement. The womenʼs racers will likely be led by Manami Waki (IMV), who holds the fastest personal best among the entrants in her fourth consecutive appearance, but Iʼm excited to see the racing by Haruka Abe, who will be taking on the half marathon for the first time. 32TOKYO LEGACY HALF MARATHON 2025Tokyo Legacy Half MarathonWheelchair Race DirectorSOEJIMA, MasazumiOutlook Para AthleteRace Outlook and Highlight Para Athlete / EliteRACE DIRECTOR'SAND RACE INFORM
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