The 2025 Nagoya Women’s Marathon was won by Sheila Chepkirui on Sunday, March 9, in Nagoya, Japan. Last year’s New York City Marathon Champion clocked a finish time of 2 hours, 20 minutes, and 40 seconds. Sayaka Sato of Japan finished second in 2:20:59, making significant progress in securing a spot on Japan’s team for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September. Eunice Chebichii Chumba of Bahrain took third place with a time of 2 hours, 21 minutes, and 35 seconds.
Chepkirui, a 34-year-old Kenyan, has run the marathon as fast as 2:17:29 in her 2022 running of the Valencia Marathon. Nagoya was just her second Marathon Majors win. She recorded a 2:24:35 in New York in November. Chepkirui took second in the 2023 Berlin Marathon, running her second-best time of 2:17:49.
The race
The race commenced under clear skies with a temperature of 9.8 degrees Celsius. Humidity was at 34.4%, and a wind speed of 0.7m/s. The lead pack consisted of Chepkirui, Sato, Chumba, and Rika Kaseda of Japan. They reached the halfway point at 1:10:37. When the pacemakers left at 30km, Chepkirui and Chumba sped up and triggered a decisive battle. Sato followed in third, with Kaseda close behind in fourth.
Sato, who described her strength as persistence during the pre-race press conference, tenaciously pursued the leaders. She momentarily fell behind but caught up around 35 – 36 km to move up to second in the pack. Chepkirui increased her pace in the late going.
In the post-race interview, she said, “I’m so happy and want to thank God for good health and the energy. My strength comes from the training and positive mind.”
Sato, who ran with remarkable resilience to the end, finished second with a personal best of 2:20:59. This was the ninth-fastest marathon time in history by a Japanese woman. Reflecting on her performance, she commented, “I was determined to set a personal best, so I’m really happy. The training I’ve done gave me confidence in the tough moments.”
While the elite athletes raced hard at the front, a total of 15,804 female runners from Japan and abroad took part in the race. They enjoyed the world’s largest women’s marathon under the bright blue sky in Nagoya. Every finisher was presented with an exclusive crystal tumbler from Baccarat, a renowned French luxury brand.
The race organizer commented, “We are sincerely grateful to all the runners for their participation and to all the volunteers, staff, and citizens of Nagoya for their support. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, we were able to hold the event once again without any major incidents.”
For more information about the Nagoya Women’s Marathon, please visit:
https://womens-marathon.nagoya/en/
Results
1. Sheila Chepkirui (Kenya) – 2:20:40
2. Sayaka Sato (Japan) – 2:20:59
3. Eunice Chebichii Chumba (Bahrain) – 2:21:35
4. Mao Uesugi (Japan) – 2:22:11
5. Rika Kaseda (Japan) – 2:23:05
6. Isobel Batt-Doyle (Australia) – 2:23:29
7. Natosha Rogers (USA) – 2:23:51
8. Leanne Pompeani (Australia) – 2:24:53
9. Natsuki Omori (Japan) – 2:25:36
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10. Rino Goshima (Japan) – 2:26:08
11. Cuomu Ciren (China) – 2:26:52
12. Sakiho Tsutsui (Japan) – 2:27:14
13. Fabienne Konigstein (Germany) – 2:28:20
14. Yuna Wada (Japan) – 2:28:39
15. Yuri Mitsune (Japan) – 2:29:04
16. Li Bai (China) – 2:29:32
17. Kaena Takeyama (Japan) – 2:29:40
18. Mayuka Fujita (Japan) – 2:30:05
19. Yumi Yoshikawa (Japan) – 2:30:33
20. Dan Li (China) – 2:30:46
21. Ayumi Morita (Japan) – 2:31:43
22. Yuka Gito (Japan) – 2:32:55
23. Kanako Takemoto (Japan) – 2:34:30
24. Io Akashi (Japan) – 2:36:39
25. Kaho Horio (Japan) – 2:36:51
