Tosa puts pressure on Japan's golden girls

OSAKA, Japan, Sept 3 (Reuters) World championship bronze medallist Reiko Tosa promised to ''toughen up'' before next year's Olympics after booking a spot on Japan's Beijing marathon team.

Tosa pushed past the gold medallists from the last two women's Olympics -- 2004 champion Mizuki Noguchi and 2000 winner Naoko Takahashi -- in making the Japanese women's team.

''I'm so happy to make it into the team a year before the Olympics,'' Tosa told reporters on Monday after allowing herself a celebratory beer. ''It will give me time to prepare properly.'' The 31-year-old battled to third place in Osaka yesterday, sparing Japan the embarrassment of failing to win a single world championship medal.

Kenya's Catherine Ndereba won gold with China's Zhou Chunxiu taking silver. Tosa never seriously challenged for the gold medal in sweltering conditions in the western Japanese city.

''Beijing will be hot too so I will have to toughen up my body,'' Tosa said. ''This is my second Olympics so I want to be able to run my race in Beijing and not be overawed.'' Tosa finished fifth at the 2004 Olympics in a race won by Noguchi. Tosa's qualification for Beijing means there are just two spots left open on Japan's team.

Both Noguchi and Takahashi opted to skip the world championships to step up their preparations for Beijing.

REUTERS SSC RK1718