Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui successfully defended her title at the Nagoya Women’s Marathon on Sunday, winning the race in 2:21:54 after a late breakaway from Japan’s Sayaka Sato.
Sato claimed the runner-up spot for the second year in a row, though this time Chepkirui’s winning margin was a lot smaller as Sato finished just two seconds behind in 2:21:56, while Ethiopia’s Aynalem Desta placed third in 2:22:37.
Run in cool but windy conditions, a large lead pack of eight women passed 10km in 33:10. Chepkirui was joined by Desta, Sato and Japan’s Rika Kaseda, Natsuki Omori, Rino Goshima, Wakana Kabasawa and Yuka Ando.
The group was reduced to six by halfway, reached in 1:10:51, and after another 10km Goshima lost contact, leaving five women together at 30km (1:41:12): Chepkirui, Sato, Desta, Kaseda and Omori.
Omori was the next to drop back, and with about seven kilometres remaining the race had narrowed to four contenders. Kaseda and Desta then lost touch with Chepkirui and Sato, setting up a head-to-head duel between the top two finishers from last year.
The pair remained stride for stride deep into the closing stages before Chepkirui finally managed to edge clear, opening a small gap in the final kilometres. She crossed the line in 2:21:54 to secure her second successive Nagoya title, with Sato finishing two seconds later. Desta followed for third in 2:22:37.
“I’m very happy to defend my title,” said Chepkirui, who has a PB of 2:17:29. “The wind was really strong, so I needed to stay mentally strong all the way to the finish.”
Sato said: “It’s tough to lose the sprint at the end, but I believe I ran a good race today.”
Several Japanese athletes were chasing qualifying marks for the Marathon Grand Championship – Japan’s selection race for the LA 2028 Olympic Games – with the standard set at 2:23:30, or alternatively a top-six Japanese finish with a time under 2:27:00.
The race was held in clear conditions with a temperature of 9C at the start, though athletes faced steady winds throughout the course. A total of 17,101 runners took part in the event, recognised as the world’s largest women-only marathon.
