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MGC Race Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier - Mao Ichiyama

Mao Ichiyama

age: 22
sponsor: Wacoal
graduated from: Izumi Chuo H.S.

best time inside MGC window:
2:24:33, 7th, 2019 Tokyo Marathon

PB: 2:24:33, 7th, 2019 Tokyo Marathon

other PBs:
5000 m: 15:24.17 (2017) 10000 m: 31:49.01 (2017) half marathon: 1:08:49 (2019)

marathons inside MGC window (Aug. 1 2017 – April 30 2019)
15th, 2019 London Marathon, 2:27:27
7th, 2019 Tokyo Marathon, 2:24:33

other major results:
1st, 2019 Hakodate Half Marathon, 1:08:49 – PB
6th, 2019 National Women’s Ekiden Ninth Stage (10.0 km), 32:12
3rd, 2018 National Corporate Women’s Ekiden First Stage (7.0 km), 22:20
1st, 2018 National Corporate Women’s Ekiden Qualifier Third Stage (10.7 km), 34:23
19th, 2018 World Half Marathon Championships, 1:11:02
3rd, 2017 Sanyo Ladies Half Marathon, 1:09:14
39th, 2017 World Cross Country Championships, 35:53

The next big thing? Part of the Wacoal group with MGC Race qualifiers Kayoko Fukushi and Yuka Ando, Ichiyama took to the longer distances almost right out of high school, running 31:49.01 at age 19 and 1:09:14 at age 20 before making her marathon debut at age 21 in Tokyo this year in 2:24:33. That was one of the best Japanese debuts ever, but due to the setup of the MGC Race qualification system, basically under 2:28 in one of the three historic Japanese women-only races or sub-2:24 on any other record-legal course, it wasn’t enough for her to get into the Olympic trials.

Given her age and obvious talent common sense might have said to be happy with that as a debut and a starting point for Paris 2024, but the next month Ichiyama was on the starting line in London alongside teammate Ando to go for the two-race sub-2:28 option for qualification. Given her time in Tokyo Ichiyama only needed a 2:31:27 in London to do it, a pretty low-hanging fruit, and she more than pulled it off with a 2:27:27.

Two hard marathons in less than two months at age 21 is pretty risky, especially with a third one on the schedule just six months after the first. Can she pull it off? So far so good. In July Ichiyama won the Hakodate Half Marathon in a PB of 1:08:49, the eighth-fastest ever by a Japanese woman on a record-legal course and in hot summer conditions. The youngest runner in the race female or male, she can definitely be viewed as one of the favorites to make the Tokyo 2020 team, but if she pulls it off let’s hope she backs off a little and arrives at the Olympics in one piece.

Next profile: Jo Fukuda (Nishitetsu).

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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