Folders |
Boston Marathon Defending Champion: Yuki KawauchiPublished by
Yuki Kawauchi Returns to Boston Marathon to Defend His 2018 WinBy Adam Kopet Yuki Kawauchi is set to return to the Boston Marathon where he won in 2018. He upset the form charts last year to become the first runner from Japan to win an Abbott World Marathon Majors race. The past year has been one of change for Kawauchi. Despite his success as a runner, he was not a fully professional athlete. He accepted prize money, but did not have a shoe contract. He took time off from his day job to travel for races, including last year's Boston Marathon. Kawauchi travels a lot for races as he races so frequently. He raced nine marathons in 2018, according to the IAAF. He won four of them, including Boston. This year, Kawauchi has already competed in two marathons and a 30K race, all in Japan. His best time came from an eighth place finish in 2:09:21 at the Lake Biwa Marathon. Since that race, Kawauchi has left his day job and turned pro, signing with Asics. He has also signed deals with Jaybird and MS&AD Insurance Group. Kawauchi has also joined Twitter and started his own website, which includes information about his upcoming race schedule. His schedule includes seven more marathons after Boston, as well as several half marathons. When Kawauchi won last year's Boston Marathon, he was the athlete best able to tackle the weather conditions. The cold, wet and windy conditions dramatically affected the athletes. Race organizers allowed the elite athletes to wear their jackets to help them keep warm. Kawauchi ignored that option, choosing instead to wear his singlet with arm warmers, a hat and glasses. This year's weather report appears similar, if not more mild. Extreme weather seems like it would be Kawauchi's best chance to repeat again this year. First, however, Kawauchi will need to get to Boston. He is experiencing flight delays.
|
