OSAKA -- Up-and-coming Atsushi Sato is staking Japan's final marathon berth for this summer's World Athletics Championships in Paris on next Sunday's Biwako (Lake Biwa) Mainichi Marathon in Shiga Prefecture.
The feisty 24-year-old marathoner, who has been active in ekiden road-relay races this season to increase his speed, has to become the top Japanese finisher by running under 2 hours, 10 minutes -- the condition set by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations to get the third ticket for Paris.
Already, Sato's teammates in Chugoku Electric Power Co. -- Tsuyoshi Ogata and Shigeru Aburaya -- have already secured places in the World Championships.