On April 19 the Hitachi women's corporate team announced that its athlete Cynthia Mbaire had passed away on April 14. A statement from head coach Satoru Kitamura said that Mbaire had been suffering from an unspecified illness since last year, and that she had faced it with strength and had fully expected to make a comeback. "She was always kind and considerate of those around her, and she brightened the mood on the team and gave us all courage," Kitamura wrote. "She made us all smile, and we are saddened to the depth of our hearts."
Mbaire attended Kamimura Gakuen H.S. in Kagoshima. She was best known for her 8:49.72 meet record in the 2019 South Kyushu High School Championships 3000 m at age 16. Mbaire went on to win both the 1500 m and 3000 m at the National High School Championships that year, then won the 1500 m at the 2021 East Japan Corporate Championships her first season with Hitachi. Her best performance following that was a 9:01.66 for 3000 m in April, 2022, and she did not run that fall's Princess Ekiden or Queens Ekiden national championship.
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