Coens wrote:
man, fujitu only once under 2:10, never broken 28min for 10k and this guy runs a 2:06...very strange, inubushi never broke 28min and has a 2:06, a 2:08 no other performance under 2:10, i dont want to say that they were on drugs but thats atleast very strange.
If the 3 Japanese guys are on such great drugs, then WHY aren't they continuing to run great marathons?
After Inubushi ran his 2:06 in Berlin, he was appointed to the Olympic Team, and did not finish the race due to injury. If the Japanese were on drugs then why didn't they give him HGH and Roids to build his connective tissues and muscles?
After Fujita ran his 2;06 in Fukuoka, he was put on the 2001 Worlds team, and finished in the top 10. After that, he won the 2002 Seoul Marathon in 2:11 and hasn't run a marathon since. He ran 1:02 or 1:03 at the Sapporo Half this year, and might be gearing up for Fukuoka again. I have seen his training schedules as reported in a Japanese track magazine, and they are just BRUTAL. He is beating himself up something terrible.
After Takaoka ran his 2:06 in Chicago, he ran 2:07:59 for 3rd place at Fukuoka, a borderline FAILURE for a runner of his standards. He was going to try to run Biwa-ko in March 2004 in order to try to make the Japanese olympic team but he was injured.
HERE IS MY CONCLUSION ABOUT THIS DATA. The Japanese are clean and this is evidenced by the lack of consistency. They run just AWESOME FOR 1-2 Marathons in their careers, but their bodies are just toast from the training and racing.
The only Asian runner who has remained fairly consistent is Bong-Ju Lee from South Korea, with over 10 sub 2:10's in his career.
Takahashi is probably the next most consistent, with 4-5 really sharp races in her career, 2:21 at Bangkok, 2:22 at Nagoya, the Olympic Victory, 2:19 at Berlin and then 2:21 at Berlin.
Jason