2017 World Championships Top F: 16th, Top M: 9th (and 10th)
2016 Olympic Games Top F: 14th, Top M: 16th
Six top-10 finishers since Rio. No countries have the pedigree of Ethiopia and Kenya in this event, but for a nation with fewer people than Ethiopia, I would argue Japan has been punching above their weight class in global championships.
Japan has a higher population than Ethiopia. A three second search would have shown you that. If you wanted to be smart about it though, you'd point out that Ethiopia has a much high number of people under age 30 than Japan due to birthrates.
To put a bow on it, Japan has a high number of very good marathoners. But no world beaters. In the most recent 100 big marathons (Olympics and majors), how many have been won by a Japanese runner?
Boston is the obvious and I believe only answer to your last question. But of those most recent 100, how many have not been won by East Africans. Yes, if you compare Japan's results with Ethiopia's or Kenya's they fare very poorly. But it's another story when you compare their results to those of the other 190 countries on earth they do really, really, well.
Japan has a higher population than Ethiopia. A three second search would have shown you that. If you wanted to be smart about it though, you'd point out that Ethiopia has a much high number of people under age 30 than Japan due to birthrates.
To put a bow on it, Japan has a high number of very good marathoners. But no world beaters. In the most recent 100 big marathons (Olympics and majors), how many have been won by a Japanese runner?
Boston is the obvious and I believe only answer to your last question. But of those most recent 100, how many have not been won by East Africans. Yes, if you compare Japan's results with Ethiopia's or Kenya's they fare very poorly. But it's another story when you compare their results to those of the other 190 countries on earth they do really, really, well.
Yes, a Japanese man won Boston in 2018 in 2:15 in the worst weather conditions in decades. East Africans don't do so well in extreme cold. Otherwise, the list of Boston winners this century is Kenya, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ethiopia... Meb! (relax, that's Eritrea) and one Korean dude in 2001.
Hard work only works up to a point. Beyond that, it's genetics or drugs.
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