Reigning London Marathon champion Sheila Chepkirui is set to headline the Nagoya race on March 9 as she ne-tunes her form ahead of a packed 2025 season.
The 34-year-old road racing ace will be the woman to watch in Japan, bringing with her an impressive marathon pedigree.
Chepkirui made a blistering marathon debut at the 2022 Valencia Marathon, clocking 2:17:29 to finish third behind Ethiopia’s Amane Shankule (2:14:58) and Letesenbet Gidey (2:16:49).
The following year, she narrowly missed out on a podium finish at the London Marathon, placing fourth in 2:18:51, in a tightly contested race won by the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan (2:18:33), with Ethiopia’s Megertu Alemu (2:18:37) and Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir (2:18:38) sealing the podium.
Undeterred, Chepkirui rebounded in style at the Berlin Marathon in September 2023, finishing second in 2:17:49, behind Tigst Assefa, who stunned the world with a record-breaking 2:11:53.
Her 2024 campaign began with a disappointing sixth place in London (2:19:31), but she roared back to clinch the New York City Marathon title in November, clocking 2:24:35 ahead of compatriots Hellen Obiri (2:24:35) and Vivian Cheruiyot (2:25:21).
Beyond the full marathon, Chepkirui boasts an enviable half marathon record, with victories at the 2019 StanChart Half Marathon (1:11:51), Berlin 2022 (1:05:02) and Paris 2023 (1:06:01).
Chepkirui will, however, face stiff competition from Ethiopia’s Ruti Aga, the 2019 Tokyo Marathon champion, who carries an extensive résumé.
The Ethiopian boasts runners-up finishes in Tokyo 2018 and Berlin 2017 and 2018.
She has third place finishes in Berlin in 2016 as well as in New York in 2019. Also in contention is Eunice Chumba of Bahrain, last year’s Nagoya runner-up.
Last year, Chumba clocked 2:21:25 for second place trailing Japan’s Yuka Ando (2:21:18).
Chumba is a seasoned marathoner with victories in Abu Dhabi (2022) and Rotterdam (2023), as well as podium finishes in Shanghai (2023) and Seoul (2022).
Adding further depth to the field is Japan’s homegrown trio of Hitomi Niiya, Rika Kaseda and Mao Uesugu, eager to impress on home soil.
