Former world championship bronze medalist Kayoko Fukushi headlines Japan's marathon squad for this summer's Rio de Janeiro Olympics as the Japan Association of Athletics Federations revealed its six representatives on Thursday.
Satoru Sasaki, Hisanori Kitajima and Suehiro Ishikawa will head to Brazil on the men's team, while Mai Ito and Tomomi Tanaka will team up with Fukushi on the women's side.
The JAAF has designated four races each for the men (Fukuoka International Marathon, Tokyo Marathon and Lake Biwa Marathon) and women (Saitama International Marathon, Osaka Women's Marathon and Nagoya Women's Marathon), plus last summer's IAAF World Championships in Beijing, as the Olympic trials. The JAAF, track and field's national governing body, held a board meeting on Thursday and chose the top six that met its criteria.