ATHLETICS – BAHRAIN’S former Asian Games champion Eunice Chebichii Chumba is set to compete in the Nagoya Women’s Marathon on March 8, organisers announced yesterday.
The event is a World Athletics Platinum Label race, and it is widely recognised as the world’s largest women-only marathon.
Chumba is one of 10 elite athletes with personal bests (PB) under two hours and 22 minutes who are entered in the race’s 15th edition, setting the stage for a world-class, high-speed competition.
Heading the field is defending champion Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya (PB 2:17:29), winner of the 2024 New York City Marathon, who returns to Nagoya, in Japan, aiming to defend her title. Challenging her will be 22-year-old rising talent Aynalem Desta of Ethiopia (2:17:37), another athlete with a sub-2:18 credential and ambitions for the crown.
Chumba, who was the women’s marathon gold-medallist at the 19th Asiad in Hangzhou, China, has repeatedly battled for top positions in Nagoya.
Others to look out for are Selly Chepyego Kaptich of Kenya, Majida Maayouf from Spain, Hayat Benhenia and Soukaina Atanane from Morocco, Genevieve Gregson from Australia, Argentina Valdepenas Cerna from Mexico, and Katherine Camp from New Zealand.
Japan’s domestic field is equally remarkable and unprecedented in depth. Leading the home challenge is Japanese record holder Honami Maeda (2:18:59), who rewrote the national marathon record in 2024 for the first time in 19 years.
The Nagoya Women’s Marathon not only brings together a world-class field of elite female athletes but also welcomes approximately 20,000 women united by the joy of running, making it the largest women’s marathon in the world. Every finisher will receive a race-exclusive crystal tumbler crafted by French luxury brand Baccarat.
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