In the usual competition between Tokyo and Hong Kong on what will be the first race of the year 2020, the complicity of the time zone plays little in favor of the capital of Japan.
Also this year the program of the 68th edition of the Tokyo Athletics Championships of race walk on January 1, 2020 is very large.
This is the timetable:
- 8:50: U18 of middle school will start (both boys and girls)
- 9:20: start of the most important race scheduled, that of the men's 20km reserved to university athletes and seniors.
- 11:20: start of the 10km women reserved to university and senior athletes and U20 men of high school
- 12:30: start of the 5km of the high school athletes
The number of entry is reasonably beyond expectation for a European race over this distance.
For more than fifteen years, the growth in numbers in Japanese races has shown no signs of stopping, and the results worldwide are in their favor.
In 20km men we are talking about 118 athletes entered. It is no wonder, with this promotional movement of lower, high schools and universities, combined with the clubs one, to see in the list of 20km men 8 athletes from Japan in the top 15 in the World (and 6 in the 50km).
In 10km women we are talking about 48 entries.
Some athletes from China Taipei and China Hong Kong and Malaisia will also participate
In 20km men last January 1, 2019 the race had been won by Yuya Suganami (born 23.10.1995) in 1:23:22 who had thus earned the call-up for Nomi (17.3.2019) at the 20km Asian Championships where had established the new personal best in 1:22:31. We will see it at the start with bib number 152 also this year.
But the big favorite, if he will be at the start, is certainly Tomohiro Noda (born 24.1.1996) who was not present last year, but who in Kobe on 17.2.2019 obtained the 5th place with a very high time level: 1:19:00
In 10km women the names of Asada Chiaki and Kaori Kawazoe stand out.