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Japan’s women’s Olympic marathon team is set

The Japanese women's marathon team for the Tokyo Olympics was selected today

Today marked the last chance for women to earn their spot on the Japanese marathon team for their upcoming home Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo (although the marathon will be run in Sapporo). The Nagoya Women’s Marathon had one qualifying spot for the Japanese women, and the criteria was simple: if the first Japanese woman to finish ran faster than 2:21:47, she would make the Olympic team. Mao Ichiyama did much more than that, not only crossing the line as the first Japanese runner, but winning the race overall in 2:20:29, well under the time standard.

The team

The 2:21:47 time to beat was based on Mizuki Matsuda‘s winning time from the Osaka International Women’s Marathon in January. Before today’s race in Nagoya, she owned the third and final spot on the Japanese team. If no one could beat her time from Osaka, she would officially be named to the squad.

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Ichiyama proved to be too fast, though, and she booked her ticket to the Olympics, sending Matsuda to the alternate role on the team. The 22-year-old Ichiyama will join Honami Maeda and Ayuko Suzuki, who came first and second at the national Olympic marathon trials.

2020 Olympics
Design for the 2020 Olympic stadium in Tokyo. Photo: Japan Sports Council

The race

The women pushed the pace right from the get-go in Nagoya, running 2:20:39 pace to start things off. As the race progressed, the estimated finishing time fluctuated, but it was never slower than Matsuda’s 2:21:47.

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Approaching 30K, where the pacers would drop off, there were seven women in the lead pack: Purity Cherotich Rionoripo of Kenya, Ethiopians Helen Tola, Hirut Tibebu Damte and Birke Debele, and Japanese runners Yuka Ando, Sayaka Sato and Mao Ichiyama. Ichiyama made a move and pushed the pacers to a 3:14 kilometre before they left the course.

Ichiyama proceeded to run 3:14, 3:14, 3:10 and 3:15 for the following four kilometres for a 16:08 5K split between 29K and 34K. None of the other women could match her pace, and she was alone out front for the final stretch.

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Ichiyama’s winning time of 2:20:29 is the fourth-fastest marathon ever run by a Japanese woman and a course record in Nagoya. Her compatriot Ando crossed the line in second in 2:22:41 and Rionoripo finished in third in 2:22:56.

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