In the Osaka International Women's Marathon, 28-year-old Yuka Ando, who competed in the 10,000-meter race at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago, came in third, the top Japanese runner, with a time of 2:22:59.
The Osaka International Women's Marathon, which will be held in October this year, is a race that requires participation in the "MGC = Marathon Grand Championship", a representative selection race for the Paris Olympics next year. also participated.
Ando, who competed in the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago and has already qualified for the MGC, has a unique pitch running method and in the first half, he and the Ethiopian athlete lead the race at a pace that can aim for a new Japanese record. I was.
Just 30km after the pacemaker left, he was pulled away by two Ethiopian runners, and his pace continued to drop after that, but he held on to the lead of the Japanese runners until the end and finished in 3rd place with a time of 2:22:59.
The winner was Heaven Hail Desse from Ethiopia with a time of 2:21:13.
Also, in this race,
5th place Yumi Yoshikawa, who
made her marathon debut, 6th place Sairi Maeda, who ran her first marathon after giving birth,
7th place Chiharu Ikeda, and
8th place Yuna Daito. Exceeding the standards set by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, he has newly acquired the right to participate in the MGC.
Ando "I'm full of regrets"
Yuka Ando, who was the top Japanese player in 3rd place, said, "With the help of the pacemaker, I was able to get on with the flow in the first half, but I couldn't keep up after 30km, which is my weakness. I feel frustrated. It's full of things," she said, looking back on the race with tears in her eyes.
Ando has already won the right to participate in the "MGC = Marathon Grand Championship", a representative selection race for the Paris Olympics to be held in October, and said, "Overcoming frustrating feelings and issues, I will get a ticket for the Paris Olympics. I want to do my best from scratch so that I can get it," he said.