Nagai Park

This guide to Nagai Park in Osaka centers on the brutal 2007 World Championships in Athletics, held at Nagai Stadium in nearly thirty-degree heat and thick humidity that thinned the marathon fields. It follows Kenya's Luke Kibet to a winning time far slower than usual, then turns to Japan's Reiko Tosa closing a two-second gap in the race's final kilometer. Along the way it traces the stadium's own history, from its 1964 Olympic opening to its later World Cup matches, and the botanical garden and natural history museum tucked behind its walls.