Sho Watanabe ( ja, 渡辺翔) is a Japanese wheelchair racer, who won the

2017 Tokyo Marathon The 2017 Tokyo Marathon ( ja, 東京マラソン 2017) was the eleventh edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, Japan and was held on Sunday, 26 February. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event to be held ...

, came second at the

2020 Tokyo Marathon The 2020 Tokyo Marathon ( ja, 東京マラソン2020) was the fourteenth edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, and was held on Sunday, 1 March. A World Athletics Platinum Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event he ...

, and came third at the

2017 New York City Marathon The 2017 New York City Marathon was the 47th running of the annual marathon race in New York City, United States, which took place on November 5, 2017. The women's race was won by Shalane Flanagan, the first American woman to do so since Miki Gorm ...

and the

2023 Tokyo Marathon The 2023 Tokyo Marathon was the 16th edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, held on Sunday, . A Platinum Label marathon, it was the first of six annual World Marathon Majors events to be held in 2023, and the only one of the six that has ...

Personal life

Watanabe is from

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

, Japan.

Career

Watanabe came second in the 10,000 metres T54 race at the

2013 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 July. Around 1,100 athletes competed, ...

. Watanabe won the

, beating race favourite

Marcel Hug Marcel Eric Hug (born 16 January 1986) is a Paralympian athlete from Switzerland competing in category T54 wheelchair racing events. Hug, nicknamed 'The Silver Bullet', has competed in four Summer Paralympic Games for Switzerland, winning two ...

. In the same year, Watanabe finished third at the

. At the

2017 World Para Athletics Championships The 2017 World Para Athletics Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held at London Stadium in London from 14 to 23 July 2017. It wa ...

in London, Watanabe, Tomoki Suzuki,

Yuki Nishi is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league. He formerly pitched for the Orix Buffaloes from 2009 to 2018. Early Baseball Career He started playing baseball in his 2nd ...

, and

Hitoshi Matsunaga Hitoshi (written: , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese politician *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese photographer *, Japanese baseba ...

won the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...

T53/ T54 race, by virtue of being the only finishers. He finished second at the 2019

Singapore Marathon The Singapore Marathon is an annual international marathon race which is held on the first Sunday of December in the city of Singapore. It is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race. History The first competitive marathon in Singapore was held o ...

behind countryman Kota Hokonuie. Watanabe came second at the

behind fellow Japanese competitor Tomoki Suzuki. At the

2020 London Marathon The 2020 London Marathon was the 40th running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 4 October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from 26 April and only allowed elite participants; th ...

, Watanabe was involved in a six-person sprint finish for the victory, and finished fourth. Watanabe finished in 1:36:08, exactly the same time as Marcel Hug who finished third. The next year, he finished seventh at the London Marathon, and ninth at the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

New York City Marathons New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. Watanabe finished third at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Sho Year of birth missing (living people) Japanese marathon runners Tokyo Marathon male winners Sportspeople from Fukuoka (city) Living people 21st-century Japanese people