Ahead of Sunday’s race, the invited elite athletes’ press conference for the Nagoya Women’s Marathon 2026 brought together top contenders in Nagoya, central Japan, where they shared their goals and expectations for the competition.
Defending champion Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya, who also won the 2024 New York City Marathon, said, “My goal for Sunday is to defend my title. By working together with the other athletes, I aim to run under 2 hours and 20 minutes.” Challenging her will be 22-year-old Aynalem Desta of Ethiopia, who said, “I have prepared carefully over a long period for this race. My goal is to win, and to do so with the best possible time.”
For Japanese athletes, Sunday’s race will serve as a selection race for the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, which will be held in Nagoya this September. It will also offer qualification opportunities for the Marathon Grand Championship, Japan’s selection race for the marathon team at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Honami Maeda, who broke the Japanese and Asian marathon records in 2024 for the first time in 19 years, said: “My condition is improving, and I want to give my best performance.” Meanwhile, Sayaka Sato, who finished second in Nagoya last year with a personal best, expressed strong determination, saying I want to use my strength—my persistence—to run strongly all the way to the finish and aim for another personal best.”
In addition to these top elite competitors, Nagoya Women’s Marathon 2026 is the Guinness World Records-recognized world’s largest women’s marathon, welcoming 20,000 women runners from Japan and around the world. All finishers will be congratulated by the race’s iconic finisher gifts, including a Baccarat crystal tumbler specially designed for the event and a New Balance finisher T-shirt.
How to watch
The race will be live-streamed free of charge on the official event website for viewers in 37 countries and regions (Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) at https://womens-marathon.nagoya/en/broadcast.php.
The marathon will start at 9:10 a.m. JST on Sunday, March 8.
For the latest list of the invited elite athletes of the Nagoya Women’s Marathon 2026, please visit:
https://womens-marathon.nagoya/invited-athletes/
For more information about the Nagoya Women’s Marathon, please visit:
https://womens-marathon.nagoya/en/
