Skip to main content

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview


Last weekend's Tokyo Marathon sealed up the Japanese men's Paris Olympics marathon team lineup when top Japanese man Yusuke Nishiyama came 41 seconds short of the 2:05:50 he needed to take the spot away from marathon trials 3rd-placer Suguru Osako. Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon officially closes the window for Japanese women, but really it was pretty much slammed shut by Honami Maeda with her 2:18:59 national record in Osaka at the end of January. That was almost 3 minutes faster than what she needed to take trial 3rd-placer Ai Hosoda's place in Paris. Is there any chance anyone lining up in Nagoya could run 2:18:58 or better? There are some good people on the list, but basically no.

Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia has run faster than that with a 2:18:11 for gold at the 2022 Oregon World Championships, but she's the only one. Eunice Chumba and Delvine Meringor are both at the 2:20 level, and out of the top tier of Japanese women Ayuko Suzuki and Rika Kaseda both have recent 2:21 performances, Yuka Ando a 2:22, and Momoko Watanabe a 2:23. Suzuki and Ando both have good half marathons this season, Suzuki with a 1:08:51 in Marugame and Ando a 1:08:18 a week earlier in Osaka, and Watanabe trains with Maeda. But it's a big jump to go from having to target 2:21:40 to 2:18:58, and even though weather conditions look as good as in Tokyo and pacing is bound to be as good as it usually is in Nagoya, there's just not much chance anyone can land it.

Which isn't to say it isn't going to be a good race. If everyone really goes it for and puts everything on the line it could be a classic. And there are a lot of internationals further down the field for which Nagoya will have a big part in their Olympic hopes, like Italian Giovanna Epis, Australia's Eloise Wellings, Kiwi Camille French, Chinese duo Zhixuan Li and Yuyu Xia, and Puerto Rican Beverley Ramos. Fuji TV has the broadcast starting at 9:00 local time, with streaming on TVer and Locipo if you're using a VPN. Live results will be here, and we'll cover it on @JRNLive. 

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field Highlights

Nagoya, Aichi, 10 Mar. 2024
times listed are athletes' best in last 3 years except where noted

Gotytom Gebreslase (Ethiopia) - 2:18:11 (Oregon WC 2022)
Eunice Chebichii Chumba (Bahrain) - 2:20:02 (Seoul 2022)
Delvine Relin Meringor (Romania) - 2:20:49 (Barcelona 2023)
Ayuko Suzuki (Japan/Japan Post) - 2:21:52 (Nagoya 2023)
Rika Kaseda (Japan/Daihatsu) - 2:21:55 (Berlin 2022)
Yuka Ando (Japan/Wacoal) - 2:22:22 (Nagoya 2022)
Violah Cheptoo (Kenya) - 2:22:44 (New York 2021)
Momoko Watanabe (Japan/Tenmaya) - 2:23:08 (Osaka 2023)
Giovanna Epis (Italy) - 2:23:46 (Hamburg 2023)
Eloise Wellings (Australia) - 2:25:10 (Nagoya 2022)
Hikari Onishi (Japan/Japan Post) - 2:25:54 (Berlin 2022)
Camille French (New Zealand) - 2:26:08 (Valencia 2023)
Zhixuan Li (China) - 2:26:28 (Nagoya 2023)
Yuri Karasawa (Japan/Kyudenko) - 2:27:27 (Osaka 2023)
Honoka Tanaike (Japan/Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:27:30 (Nagoya 2023)
Sakiho Tsutsui (Japan/Yamada Holdings) - 2:27:38 (Hofu 2023)
Yuyu Xia (China) - 2:28:57 (Beijing 2022)
Kaena Takeyama (Japan/Senko) - 2:29:20 (Osaka Women's 2023)
Beverly Ramos (Puerto Rico) - 2:31:10 (Oregon WC 2022)
Yuri Mitsune (Japan/18 Ginko) - 2:31:10 (Nagoya 2023)
Yuki Nakamura (Japan/Panasonic) - debut - 1:46:47 (Ome 30 km 2023)

© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels:

Comments

Stefan said…
I'm hoping Ayuko Suzuki has a good race even if she cannot achieve the goal of a National record and Olympic qualification. A PB would be wonderful and given last year's performance it isn't out of the realms of possibility. Can she or anyone else hold fast to the pacemakers for 30km and then switch up a gear and go a little faster to beat the National Record? Nagoya is full of surprises so I won't say it is impossible. I'll be watching closely.
March 10, 2024 at 4:59 AM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Keita Satoh Running New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile

1500 m U20 NR holder Keita Satoh (Nike Swoosh TC) is running this weekend's New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile , the first time that a Japanese man has been invited in the race's 45-year history. In university Sato had to change focus away from middle distance to the half marathon-scale lengths of the Hakone Ekiden stages, but since graduating in March and relocating to Flagstaff he has refocused on the 1500 m, going from 3:43.19 in April in his first 1500 m in almost 4 years to 3:38.30 over the course of 5 races. Fifth Avenue will be his last race before heading back to Japan for one more track 1500 m and some down time. Men's entries with best 1500 m times in last 3 years: Stefan Nillessen (NED) - 3:29.23 (2025) Flavien Szot (FRA) - 3:30.74 (2025) Oliver Hoare (AUS) - 3:31.07 (2024) Jake Heyward (GBR) - 3:31.18 (2026) Titouan Le Grix (FRA) - 3:31.46 (2026) Romain Mornet (FRA) - 3:31.62 (2025) Adam Spencer (AUS) - 3:31.83 (2026) Pieter Sisk (BEL) - 3:31.85 (2025) Gary Martin (...
2 comments
Read more

Multiple National Records This Weekend

Olympic and World champion Haruka Kitaguchi got the biggest headlines among Japanese athletes this weekend, overcoming a rough last year and a half that included injury and a coaching change to break her own javelin throw NR by over a meter and a half to win the inaugural WA Ultimate Championship in Budapest. U20 WR and Asian AR holder Ziyi Yan opened with a big 68.05, 0.67 m further than Kitaguchi's best-ever from back in 2023. That could have been the end, but Kitaguchi came back from a 61.15 m first attempt to throw a massive 68.92 m NR on her next one, ultimately enough for the win. She still has a long way to go to match the 18-year-old Yan's 71.74 m from May, but it was a clear statement that Kitaguchi is back. Back home at the National Corporate Track and Field Championships in Kyoto, women's pole vault NR holder Misaki Morota continued a solid comeback season of her own, bettering her NR from May by 1 cm with a 4.51 m on her first attempt. Morota took another 3...
Post a Comment
Read more