Skip to main content

Former 10000 m National Record Holder and Olympic Marathoner Izumi Maki Dies of Breast Cancer at Age 49



On Oct. 24 it was learned that 1996 Atlanta Olympics marathoner and former 10000 m Japanese national record holder Izumi Maki died of breast cancer Oct. 18 at her home in Mino, Osaka. She was 49 years old.

Her coach during her days at the Globally and Wacoal corporate teams, Nobuyuki Fujita, 78, said that he last saw Maki in July at a reunion event for Wacoal alumni. "She didn't seem well at the time," he recalled. "I had heard that she was anti-cancer drug treatment, but it is still a shock."

Hisakazu Hirose, 53, assistant coach to Maki in those days and currently head coach of the Iwatani Sangyo team, visited to mourn her death on the day she passed away. Hirose last saw her in March, but at that time, he said, "She seemed totally normal. She wasn't the sort of person who would have just given up. When I saw her after she passed away it looked as though she was only sleeping, that if you called out to her she would answer. I couldn't believe it was true."

Maki married in 2003 and is survived by her husband Shigeyuki Yamaoka, 52, a director for Kansai TV, and their son. Yamaoka told reporters, "I planned to only have family at her funeral, but 60 or 70 people came to pay their respects. She was widely loved in our town and area."

Maki had been receiving outpatient treatment for her cancer, but since the beginning of the year her condition had declined. She was hospitalized on Oct. 7 for examination, but, telling the doctors, "I love my home," she was discharged on Oct. 13 to return to be with her family. On Oct. 14 she had dinner surrounded by her loved ones, but four days later left them for the final time.

"She truly loved her home and family," Yamaoka said. Maki had told him from early on, "When I go I want to leave from home." Respecting her wishes, Yamaoka decided to have the funeral and wake and their home, but because it was not big enough to receive large numbers of people made it a family-only service.

After retiring from her career as an athlete Maki was very active with her local schools and in the local community, serving as a PTA officer at her son's kindergarten and elementary school. The last time she was invited to a race as a guest runner was at the local Mino Marathon three years ago, but she remained active in the sport by teaching running and training clinics until last year.

Maki's local friends and the parents of her son's classmates knew her in a different way from the general public, saying, "She didn't seem like she had been an Olympian." One friend commented, "She never said a single word about that kind of thing." Yamaoka as well said, "There are probably people around here who didn't even know my wife had been an Olympian."

source articles:
https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/201810240000784.html
https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/201810240000651.html
translated and edited by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Wanjiru Breaks Own MR, Fuwa and Ishida Return - Kanto Regionals Day 1 Highlights

Japan's best college meet kicked off Thursday at Tokyo's National Stadium at the 103rd Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships . Looking like she was doing a controlled tempo run, 2nd-yr Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) lapped the entire field to win the women's 10000 m in a meet record 32:02.87, almost 15 seconds under the record she last year in her debut. 3rd-yr Aoi Takahashi (Josai Univ.) was 2nd in 33:29.22 and 2nd-yr Nana Nagashima (Josai Kokusai Univ.) 3rd in a PB 33:30.28, but the other main news alongside Wanjiru's new record was the return of collegiate 10000 m record holder Seira Fuwa (Takushoku Univ.) in her first 10000 m in 19 months. Fuwa hung at the back of the chase pack for the first half, made a move to lead it in the second half, and ultimately faded to 9th in 33:40.20. Every comeback has to start somewhere. The D1 men's 10000 m had a tight group up front with the top 6 all finishing within 6 seconds and under 28:10. 3rd-yr Jam
1 comment
Read more

Two-Time Olympic Marathon Medalist Erick Wainaina Referred to Prosectors on Suspicion of Assault

  According to investigators, two-time Olympic marathon medalist Erick Wainaina has had his case referred to prosecutors after allegedly injuring a railway employee by striking him in the face at a station in Setagaya, Tokyo. Wainaina, 50, was the bronze medalist in the marathon at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and won silver in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Wainaina is suspected of assaulting a woman in her late teens and a male Tokyo Denentoshi Line employee by hitting them in the face during an altercation at Komazawa University Station in March this year, resulting in minor injuries to the man's face. According to investigators, the incident began on the train between Wainaina and the woman, and after getting off at Komazawa University Station he hit her in the face when she asked him to go to the station office with her to report it. When the male railway employee responded to the situation Wainaina reportedly hit him too. In response to questioning Wainaina is said to have answered,
Post a Comment
Read more

Police Arrest 20-Year-Old Man Charged With Assaulting Female Runner at Popular Tokyo Running Spot

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a female runner along the banks of the Tama River in Ota Ward, Tokyo. "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go for a walk and move my body a bit," the man told police. Local resident Hirai Muroyama , 20, of no known occupation, was arrested on charges of sexual assault. He is accused of acts including grabbing the breasts of a woman in her 20s at around 10 p.m. on May 31 along the banks of the Tama River. According to police, the woman was taking a break in her run when Muroyama approached her silently from behind and grabbed her breasts before running away. Under police interrogation Muroyama told investigators, "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go out for a walk and move my body. I'd had a few drinks and was feeling pretty hype. She was totally my type." source article: https://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newsey
Post a Comment
Read more