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 stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. 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 ...

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, labels=no), also known as the XXVI Summer Universiade ( zh, c=, s=第二十六届夏季世界大学生运动会, labels=no) and Shenzhen 2011, was hosted in Shenzhen, Gua ...

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 () was the 14th edition of the annual Tokyo Marathon, marathon race in Tokyo, and was held on Sunday, 1 March. A World Athletics Label Road Races, World Athletics Platinum Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon ...

, where he finished fourth. Born in

Machida, Tokyo is a Cities of Japan, city located in West Tokyo, the western portion of the 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 . Due to ...

, 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 in ...

, 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, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

then finished eighth at the

2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to s ...

. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

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 sta ...

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 b ...

, 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 1500-metre run 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 Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

, 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 3000 m sho ...

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.

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. Before competing in the Olympic marathon Osako announced he would retire after the race. At the

2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

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 in the 5000 metres. Kipchoge is the Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon, 2016 and Athletics at th ...

Achievements

References

External links

* *
Suguru Osako – Paris 2024
at JAAF
Suguru Osako – Tokyo 2020
at JAAF * *
Suguru Osako
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Osako, Suguru 1991 births Living people Japanese male long-distance runners Japanese male cross country runners Olympic male long-distance runners Olympic male marathon runners Olympic athletes for Japan Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 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) FISU World University Games gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade World Athletics Championships athletes for Japan Japan Championships in Athletics winners Waseda University alumni People from Machida, Tokyo Athletes from Tokyo 21st-century Japanese sportsmen