NOGUCHI OUT OF OLYMPIC MARATHON
By David Monti
(c) 2008 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

BEIJING (13-Aug) -- Defending Olympic Marathon champion, Mizuki Noguchi of Japan, has withdrawn from the Beijing Olympics due to injury.  The announcement was made by Japan's Olympic committee here yesterday.

After returning to Japan from her high altitude training in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in advance of the Games, Noguchi complained of both fatigue and pain in her left upper leg.  She received injections to treat the problem locally, but it was apparently not enough to allow her to be ready for Sunday morning's race.

"I've tried everything I can to recover, but when I run I'm still in a lot of pain and I can't take my training to the next level," Noguchi said in a prepared statement.  "Everything I've done in the last four years has been for Beijing so my desire to run has never disappeared, but considering my current situation I have to give it up.  Because of my withdrawal there's going to be much heavier expectation of (teammates) Tosa and Nakamura so I worry that the pressure on them is going to be even stronger, but I sincerely hope they do well in Beijing."

Noguchi, 30, who has a personal best time of 2:19:12, was Japan's top hope for a gold medal in athletics here.  At last summer's IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan's only medal came from Reiko Tosa, who took the bronze in the women's marathon.  Noguchi did not compete in that event.

Noguchi's withdrawal leaves Kenya's Catherine Ndereba is the likely gold medal favorite.  The two-time world champion, who is in excellent form after winning the New York City Half-Marathon on July 27, won the world title last summer in Osaka in similar hot and humid conditions as the athletes will face here on Sunday.  Britain's Paula Radcliffe, the world record holder, could still be a factor in the race, despite not being able to do a complete preparation because of a stress fracture in her femur and, more recently, a poisonous spider bite. The 2004 Athens bronze medalist, Deena Kastor, is also in the field, and Ethiopia has entered a very strong team led by two-time Chicago Marathon champion Berhane Adere and reigning World Marathon Majors champion, Gete Wami.

Japanese women have won the last two Olympic Marathons and, since the event was introduced in Los Angeles in 1984, they have won four Olympic Marathon medals out of the 18 which have been awarded.