- 2024 NYC Marathon champion Sheila Chepkirui returns
aiming for back-to-back titles. - 22-year-old
performer in 2:17 Aynalem Desta and Japanese record holder
Honami Maeda headline a world-class field. - The
world’s largest women’s marathon will once again present
all finishers with a crystal tumbler from the French luxury
brand Baccarat.
The Nagoya Women’s Marathon, a
World Athletics Platinum Label race widely recognized as the
world’s largest women-only marathon, today announced the
elite invited athletes for its 15th edition, scheduled to
take place on Sunday, March 8, 2026. A total of 10 athletes
with personal bests under 2:22:00 are entered, setting the
stage for a world-class, high-speed
competition.
Heading the elite field is defending
champion Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya (PB 2:17:29), winner of
the 2024 New York City Marathon, who returns to Nagoya
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.
Experienced contenders
include Eunice Chebichii Chumba of Bahrain (2:20:02), who
has repeatedly battled for top positions in Nagoya, and
Selly Chepyego Kaptich of Kenya (2:20:03), adding further
competitiveness to the international field.
Further
enhancing the race’s global profile, top runners from
around the world will join the race. These include Majida
Maayouf (Spain), Hayat Benhenia and Soukaina Atanane
(Morocco), Genevieve Gregson (Australia), Argentina
Valdepenas Cerna (Mexico), and Katherine Camp (New
Zealand).
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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. She will be joined by Sayaka Sato
(2:20:59), top Japanese finisher in the 2025 race, 2024
Nagoya champion Yuka Ando (2:21:18), Tokyo Olympian Ayuko
Suzuki (2:21:33), and 2023 World Championships
representative Rika Kaseda (2:21:55). These accomplished
athletes with Olympic and World Championship experience are
set to clash as they vie for qualification for the Marathon
Grand Championship, Japan’s selection race for the Los
Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Further adding intrigue
to the race, Japanese track standouts known for their speed
will make the step up to the marathon. Among them are Paris
Olympic 10,000m representative Rino Goshima and marathon
debutante Wakana Kabasawa, a Paris Olympic 5,000m
representative. In a further sign of the strength of the
home lineup, Japan’s middle-distance star Nozomi Tanaka
will serve as a pacemaker, helping to push the race toward a
historic fast race.
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 who crosses the line
will receive a race-exclusive crystal tumbler crafted by the
French luxury brand Baccarat, serving as a lasting symbol of
her achievement. This year’s design will be unveiled on
the Marathon EXPO stage on the day before the
race.
List of Elite Athletes of the Nagoya
Women’s Marathon 2026
Special Invited
Elite Athletes:
Name Nationality
Personal Best
CHEPKIRUI, Sheila Kenya
2:17:29
DESTA, Aynalem Ethiopia 2:17:37
MAEDA, Honami
Japan 2:18:59
CHUMBA, Eunice Chebichii Bahrain
2:20:02
KAPTICH, Selly Chepyego Kenya 2:20:03
SATO,
Sayaka Japan 2:20:59
MAAYOUF, Majida Spain
2:21:01
ANDO, Yuka Japan 2:21:18
SUZUKI, Ayuko Japan
2:21:33
KASEDA, Rika Japan 2:21:55
GOSHIMA, Rino Japan
30:53.31 (10k)
KABASAWA, Wakana Japan 31:03.14
(10k)
International Invited Elite
Athletes:
BENHENIA, Hayat Morocco
2:24:48
ATANANE, Soukaina Morocco 2:24:57
GREGSON,
Genevieve Australia 2:23:08
KAMULU, Pauline Kaveke
Kenya 2:31:04
VALDEPEÑAS CERNA, Argentina Mexico
2:35:16
CAMP, Katherine New Zealand 1:14:40 (Half
Marathon)
