2:07:39 Marathoner Masato Imai Out of Beijing World Championships With Meningitis – translated by Brett Larner – Japan Running News

In a statement released through the JAAF Imai said, "For myself, I am devastated after all my training for the World Championships has gone perfectly with the single goal of finally being competitive on the world level.  But this doesn't mean that the road to the top is closed now.  I want to get better as soon as I can and make a fresh start toward my next marathon with a refreshed and reinspired mind and body."

Imai's coach, 1992 Barcelona Olympics silver medalist Koichi Morishita, 47, commented, "Imai has overcome many setbacks up to now and always come out stronger.  I fully believe that he will also overcome this one and return even stronger."

Imai finished 2nd at this February's Tokyo Marathon in 2:07:39, making him the sixth-fastest Japanese marathoner ever.

JRN wishes Imai, who we interviewed in 2011 about his former training partner Samuel Wanjiru, a quick recovery.  His withdrawal has strong implications for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic team. 

The JAAF has established that it will give one of the three places on the Rio team to the top-placing Japanese marathoner inside the top 8 in Beijing, a bafflingly low bar considering that Japanese men have made the top 8 at the World Championships every time since 1999, when they placed 3rd, 6th and 7th. 

As the top man on this year's Japanese team in Beijing Imai was generally considered a lock for a spot on the Rio team, with the remaining two spots to be decided between the top Japanese men at this year's Fukuoka and next's year's Tokyo and Lake Biwa selection races. 

While it's possible that the other two members of the Beijing team, Kazuhiro Maeda (Team Kyudenko, 2:08:00) and Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda, 2:08:12), could still make the top 8 it is now likely that the Rio team will be decided between the three domestic selection races, hopefully reducing room for the kind of under-the-table decision making that went into the selection for the Beijing team and in particular the women's marathon team.

translated by Brett Larner – Japan Running News 

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