Molly Seidel withdraws from Nagoya Marathon due to injury

On Wednesday, race organizers announced that Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel has withdrawn from the 2023 Nagoya Women’s Marathon in Nagoya, Japan, on March 11 due to a right hip injury.

Nagoya Women's Marathon organizers announce Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel has withdrawn from this weekend's race "due to a right hip injury." pic.twitter.com/sadp9ReKh1

— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) March 8, 2023

“Well, in an ironic twist of events, I pulled my glute badly at the U.S. Half Marathon Championships on Feb. 26, and unfortunately I had to pull out of the Nagoya Marathon,” Seidel said on Instagram. “This is literally a pain in the butt, and I am disappointed I won’t be racing in Japan.”

Since her bronze medal performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Seidel has battled to get back to form after a fracture in her sacrum.

Seidel said she plans on taking a week or two off before ramping up training again for another spring marathon. “The trip to Japan didn’t make sense unless I was feeling 100 per cent,” said Seidel.

The Nagoya Women’s Marathon is a leader in promoting women’s running, offering a whopping USD $250,000 to the race winner. It is also the world’s largest women-only marathon and the only women’s race with a World Athletics Platinum Label.

The 28-year-old marathoner used the U.S. Half Marathon Championships as a last hard effort before Nagoya, finishing eighth in 1:13:08 (with the pulled glute). “The race was a humbling experience,” said Seidel on Instagram. “I exposed every flaw in a public way, and it’s tough when the results don’t seem to match up with how hard you’re working.”

In the last two years, Seidel has faced adversity: she DNF’d at the 2022 Boston Marathon, had ongoing struggles with an eating disorder, and withdrew from Team U.S.A. for the 2022 World Championships marathon.

Seidel has courageously and candidly shared her mental health and injury challenges and stressing the importance of reaching out for help.