Former Japanese record holder Atsushi Fujita has pulled out of this December's Fukuoka International Marathon after failing to regain full fitness following a niggling thigh injury, Fujitsu team officials said Friday.
Fujita, who set a national record of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 51 seconds at the 2000 Fukuoka race, has been unable to practice sufficiently due to a left thigh injury sustained during training in July.
Fujita was set to race against current record holder Toshinari Takaoka in the Dec. 7 marathon, which also serves as a qualifier for a place on the Japanese team for next year's Athens Olympics.