Suguru Osako to skip Tokyo Marathon in order to compete in Boston Marathon

Paris Olympic hopeful Suguru Osako revealed Thursday he will skip the March 3 Tokyo Marathon in favor of competing in the Boston Marathon the following month.

Osako, who was sixth at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, is currently on track to claim the third and final Japanese men’s marathon slot for Paris by virtue of his third-place finish in October’s Marathon Grand Championship.

Another Japanese runner must clock 2 hours, 5 minutes, 50 seconds or faster, the time set by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, at either February’s Osaka Marathon or the Tokyo Marathon to move ahead of Osako in the Olympic qualification standings.

In a video message posted to Instagram, Osako indicated he wanted to avoid the intense focus in Japan on qualifying for the games and said his heart was set on running in Boston.

“The bigger the fuss being made around me, the less enthusiasm I tend to feel,” the 32-year-old Tokyo native said. “The race that I really felt like I wanted to run was the Boston Marathon.”

“Of course, the Olympics are important, but I don’t think it’s necessary to obsess about them as much as some people do.”

Two Japanese runners, Naoki Koyama and Akira Akasaki, have already earned their Olympic berths by finishing first and second, respectively, in the MGC.