On the men's side, Japan is fielding Yuya Yoshida (PB 2:05:16) and Kazutaka Yamashita (PB 2:05:51), among the Chinese athletes,Feng Peiyouhas a PB of 2:05:58, a maximum gap of only 42 seconds — on paper this is a contest between athletes of the same level.

At the 2026 Tokyo Marathon, Feng Peiyou's decisive surge after the 30-kilometer mark changed the course of the race and ultimately saw him defeat Japan's two long-distance legends Suguru Osako and Kengo Suzuki. This victory undoubtedly gave many people confidence, but we need to point out that,athletes' goals and strategies at the Asian Games and at the Tokyo Marathon are very different.

In a World Marathon Major such as the Tokyo Marathon, most Asian athletes focus on PBs and national records — time matters more than placing, whereasin national-team events like the Asian Games, it's the opposite: placing is far more valuable than time.

So athletes will watch each other closely. At Tokyo, 大迫杰 let the then-unfamiliar challenger 丰配友 go — a scene that is unlikely to repeat in Nagoya.

Qitian Jianye and Shanxia Yigui are not strangers to Feng Peiyou; three years ago, at the Budapest World Championships, he competed alongside the two of them.At the time the young Feng Peiyou lacked experience in major competitions and ultimately finished only 48th. However, Qitian Jian also produced an unremarkable performance in that race, placing only 34th.

By contrast, 山下一贵's 11th place was a relatively stable performance, but if you review the race he was once in the lead group (5th) and then suffered muscle cramps after 38 km, sliding down the standings; his participation in the Budapest World Championships was also considered an important factor in his selection.

However, Feng Peiyou is currently on the rise in his professional career, while Kenya Sonota's and Ichitaka Yamashita's personal bests were both set in 2023 — Sonota was selected as the MGC Series 2025–26 champion, and Yamashita, with his 2:06:18 in Osaka, was the second Japanese runner to break through — but neither has been able to run faster than Feng Peiyou's 2:05:58 since 2024.

On paper, in a one-on-one duel 丰配友 may have a chance, but if it turns into a rotation tactic by the two Japanese runners, it would be less favorable for 丰配友.

A particularly instructive example is Sifan Hassan at the 2025 New York City Marathon. At that race, Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, Sharon Lokedi and Sheila Chepkirui formed a small team, taking turns surging to wear Hassan down early and prevent the race from coming down to a final sprint, and Feng Peiyou wanted to avoid that happening.Another Chinese competitor, Jia Erenjia (PB2:08:32), is therefore particularly important.。

As the first non-system athlete to take part in the Asian Games, 贾俄仁加 finally realized his dream of wearing the national team kit; to some extent whether Chinese men have a chance on the marathon podium is closely tied to his performance. As in the Asian Games marathon trials in Lanzhou this May, if 贾俄仁加 and 丰配友 can share the lead for longer—not necessarily to break away entirely—at least one of them could contest the final sprint.

Jia Erenjia's advantage is his extensive experience competing overseas.having raced in Berlin, Osaka, New York, Chicago and Boston; Boston and New York are both known for their toughness. He ran 2:10:22 in Boston, which happens to suit Nagoya in September.

Weather will be another factor shaping the race: after 6 a.m. on September 26 in Nagoya temperatures will be above 20℃, making a hot struggle unavoidable. 山下一贵 prepared for the heat in advance by taking part in the Japanese team's heat-acclimation training in Chitose, Hokkaido.Another runner, 吉田祐也, prepared for the Asian Games with a closed training block on the Sugadaira Plateau, at one point exceeding 1,000 km in monthly mileage.。

The women's field looks more uneven on paper, but it's a mix of mid-career athletes and marathon rising stars. Japan has sentSayaka Sato and Miku Yada, both around 2:20 runners. China'sCiren Cuomu and Wu Binghave PBs around 2:26, a paper gap of roughly 5–6 minutes.

In this race,there are 10 men under 2:10 and 10 women under 2:27(according to the latest national entry lists for the Nagoya Asian Games so far).The China–Japan duel is the clearest storyline of this edition, but there are several other forces on the course that can't be ignored.

All four athletes sent by Bahrain are naturalized runners.Hassan Abbas holds the Asian record at 2:04:43 and has the fastest PB in the field.He was embroiled in a suspension controversy after the Tokyo Olympics, and three years later, in 2025, he returned to competition, winning the Ibiza Half with 1:02:20. Now 42, does he still have a chance to claim the Asian Games title again after twelve years?

His teammate Shumi Dechasa also has a 2:06:43 PB; he ran sub-2:07 twice in 2025, and at Barcelona in 2026 the 37-year-old posted 2:10:50.

The two women are 36-year-old Shitaye Eshete and 37-year-old Rose Chelimo. Shitaye ran 2:23:22 in Rotterdam in 2026; Chelimo ran 2:22:52 in Osaka in 2026.

Although these four Bahraini athletes are on the older side, they remain a force to be reckoned with.

Marathon event schedule at the Nagoya Asian Games (Beijing Time):

Men's marathon final — September 26, 06:30 (Beijing Time)

Women's marathon final — September 26, 06:50 (Beijing Time)

Let's cheer on Team China together!