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Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)


This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons.

The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki, 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties.

2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa. Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, while Chumba, who struggled to get to Japan given the current situation in the Gulf and arrived only the day before the race, dropped out. Kabasawa held on the best, landing 13th in 2:27:20 in her first stab at the distance.

Lone remaining pacer Izzy Batt-Doyle tried to get things back on pace after the slow 20 km split, taking the next 5 km through in 16:35 with a halfway split of 1:10:51 before stepping off. At that point only 6 were left up front, last year's Nagoya top 2 Sheila Chepkirui and Sayaka Sato, 2025 Amsterdam winner Aynalem Desta, and Japanese trio Rika Kaseda, Natsuki Omori and Rino Goshima. Things slowed precipitously after Batt-Doyle dropped off, the lead group running side-by-side part of the way. But even so Goshima lost touch, and when Chepkirui and Sato started to push over the next 5 km Omori was gone too.

Down to 4, Kaseda was next to go when Sato made her first serious move. Aynalem, whose 2:17:37 win in Amsterdam gave her the best fresh performance in the field, faltered with 3 km to go, leaving Chepkirui and Sato to start trading punches for the win. Chepkirui did most of the hitting, but Sato got back up every time, never able to get ahead put pulling right back up on Chepkirui every time. Both went under 7 minutes for the last 2.195 km, quality finishing splits even in a men's marathon, but even though she tried to take the inside line on every one of the last few corners Sato just couldn't get the step on Chepkirui that she needed and could only watch as Chepkirui edged away in the last straight to take the win 2:21:54 to 2:21:56. Chepkirui was quick to come over and hug Sato, both of them smiling at having given each other a great race, slower than last year but closer.

Aynalem was 3rd in 2:22:37, holding off Kaseda who took 4th and the 2nd Olympic trials qualifying spot after Sato in 2:22:53. Her teammate Omori ran a 2-minute PB of 2:23:45 for 5th to give the Daihatsu team 2 new trials qualifiers, making coach Miwako Yamanaka, one of the few female head coaches in the business in Japan, the only one with 3 trials qualifiers to her name so far.

Coming up from the 2nd pack, unsponsored Sora Shinozakura had a fantastic debut, running down women-only half marathon NR holder Goshima for 6th overall and 4th trials qualifier in 2:24:34, Goshima next in a 2-minute PB of 2:24:44. Australian Genevieve Gregson was 8th in 2:25:06, with another first-timer, Aika Murakami, having a good debut of her own in 2:25:07 to take the 6th and final trials qualifying spot in 9th overall. Yuna Takahashi had another strong debut at 10th in 2:25:58, but as the 7th Japanese finisher missed out on making the trials. Likewise for Universal Entertainment teammates Hikaru Kitagawa and Sakiho Tsutsui, who both ran sub-2:27 PBs for 11th and 12th but missed making top 6 Japanese and so missed out on qualification this time around.

And so with the end of Japan's winter marathon season and the first round of trials qualification, 16 women and 26 men have made the list. It's not likely there will be any new names added until at least August's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo.

Nagoya also features a mass-pariticpation half marathon for both women and men. Singapore's Nicole Low won the women's race with a 1:17:41 PB, just a minute off the NR, while 3rd-placer Esther Joy Hong Li Chen took over 5 minutes off the Malaysian NR in 1:19:27. Former Australian NR holder Brett Robinson took a low-key win in the men's race in 1:03:47.

Nagoya Women's Marathon

Nagoya, Aichi, 8 March 2026

Women's Marathon
1. Sheila Chepkirui (Kenya) - 2:21:54
2. Sayaka Sato (Japan/Sekisui Kagaku) - 2:21:56
3. Aynalem Desta (Ethiopia) - 2:22:37
4. Rika Kaseda (Japan/Daihatsu) - 2:22:53
5. Natsuki Omori (Japan/Daihatsu) - 2:23:45 - PB
6. Sora Shinozakura (Japan/Yokohama T&F) - 2:24:34 - debut
7. Rino Goshima (Japan/Shiseido) - 2:24:44 - PB
8. Genevieve Gregson (Australia) - 2:25:06
9. Aika Murakami (Japan/Tokyo Metro) - 2:25:07 - debut
10. Yuna Takahashi (Japan/Shimamura) - 2:25:58 - debut
11. Hikaru Kitagawa (Japan/Univ. Ent.) - 2:26:37 - PB
12. Sakiho Tsutsui (Japan/Univ. Ent.) - 2:26:45 - PB
13. Wakana Kabasawa (Japan/Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 2:27:20 - debut
14. Momoko Hanano (Japan/Hitachi) - 2:28:55 - debut
15. Minami Yamanouchi (Japan/Shimamura) - 2:29:29 - PB
16. Pauline Kamulu (Kenya/Route Inn Hotels) - 2:29:58 - PB
17. Yuka Ando (Japan/Shimamura) - 2:30:32
18. Mayu Nishikawa (Japan/Starts) - 2:30:36
19. Rinka Hida (Japan/Daiichi Seimei) - 2:30:51 - debut
20. Ayaka Murao (Japan/Daihatsu) - 2:30:57
21. Honami Maeda (Japan/Tenmaya) - 2:31:21
22. Mayuka Fujita (Japan/Route Inn Hotels) - 2:31:50
23. Ayuko Suzuki (Japan/Japan Post) - 2:33:28
24. Honoka Tanaike (Japan/Shimamura) - 2:36:13
25. Kaena Takeyama (Japan/Senko) - 2:36:31
-----
DNF - Eunice Chebichii Chumba (Bahrain)

Women's Half Marathon
1. Nicole Low (Singapore) - 1:17:41 - PB
2. Haruka Goto (Japan) - 1:19:17
3. Esther Joy Hong Li Chen (Malaysia) - 1:19:27

Men's Half Marathon
1. Brett Robinson (Australia) - 1:03:47
2. Yuhi Yamashita (Japan/Team Nitro) - 1:03:53
3. Takayuki Matsuura (Japan) - 1:03:55

© 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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Anonymous said…
just to note Esther of Malaysia broke the HM NR also
March 9, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Brett Larner said…
Thanks very much, I've updated the story to include that.
March 9, 2026 at 7:23 PM
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