is a Japanese

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. He won the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

gold medal at the

2011 Summer Universiade The 2011 Summer Universiade ( zh, c=2011年夏季世界大学生运动会, p=Èr líng yī yī Nián xiàjì shìjiè dàxuéshēng yùndònghuì), the XXVI Summer Universiade ( zh, c=第二十六届夏季世界大学生运动会, p=Dì Èrshíl ...

in Shenzhen and holds the Asian junior record for the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

. He held the Japanese National Record for the marathon of 2:05:29 set 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 ...

, where he finished fourth. Born in

Machida, Tokyo is a Cities of Japan, city located in West Tokyo, the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 428,851, and a population density of 6,000 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography ...

, he attended Saku Chosei High School and began to establish himself nationally in 2010. He was the fastest in his stage at the Japanese High School Ekiden Championship and came second in the junior race at the Chiba Cross Country. This gained him a place on the Japanese junior team for the

2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw i ...

, where he went on to finish in 32nd place. On the track that year he set a personal best of 28:35.75 minutes in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

then finished eighth at the

2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes under the age of 20 which was held at the Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada from 19 to 25 July 2010. A total of 44 athletics ...

.Osako Suguru
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-03-05. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

in late 2010. In November he ran at the Ageo City Half Marathon and set a Japanese and Asian junior record time of 1:01:47 hours to win the race. In 2011 he ran a

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

track best of 13:31.27 minutes and came second over

at the Hyogo Relays. Osako was chosen to represent his country at the

, where he defeated

Stephen Mokoka Stephen Mokoka (born 31 January 1985) is a South African long-distance runner who competes in races ranging from 3000 metres to the 50 km distance. He formerly held the 50 km world record. He is a four-time medalist at the Universiade a ...

in the 10,000 m to take the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

, becoming the first Japanese since to win that title. At the start of the 2012 season he was the top Japanese finisher at the Chiba Cross Country (fourth overall) and had a narrow win at the Fukuoka Cross Country, beating Yuki Sato. Osako improved his track bests in 2012, running 3:42.68 minutes for the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

, 7:54.68 minutes for the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

and 27:56.94 minutes for the 10,000 m. He was runner-up to Charles Ndirangu at the 2013 Fukuoka Cross Country. He finished third in the 2018 Chicago Marathon with the national record at the time of 2:05:50 h, earning him 100 Million Yen. He finished fourth in the

where he broke his own national record with a time of 2:05:29. He is formerly a member of the

Nike Oregon Project The Nike Oregon Project was a group created by the American corporation Nike, established in Beaverton, Oregon in 2001. The team folded on October 10, 2019 after an investigation resulted in a four-year ban of longtime coach Alberto Salazar. Fa ...

2021 Home Olympics and planned retirement

Osako's first race of the year came on 28 May at the Portland Track festival, where he competed in back-to-back 10000m races, winning the first in 27:56.44 and placing 2nd in the next race in 29:04.28."Athlete Name Suguru Osako." World Athletics
www.worldathletics.org/athletes/ japan/suguru-osako-14335060
Accessed 11 Aug. 2021. Before competing in the

Olympic marathon The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the pro ...

Osako announced he would retire after the race."Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge retains men's Olympic marathon title." the japan times, 8 Aug. 2021
www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2021/08/08/olympics/ summer-olympics/olympic-athletics/eliud-kipchoge-marathon-olympics/
Accessed 8 Aug. 2021. At the

2020 Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

men's marathon Suguru Osako placed 6th in 2:10:41, the race was won by

Eliud Kipchoge Eliud Kipchoge ( ; born 5 November 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized at the 5000 metre distance. Widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 ...

Achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Osako, Suguru Living people 1991 births People from Machida, Tokyo Athletes from Tokyo Japanese male long-distance runners Japanese male cross country runners Olympic male long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Japan Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade World Athletics Championships athletes for Japan Japan Championships in Athletics winners Waseda University alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Japanese people