The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon (Japanese: 長野オリンピック記念 長野マラソン) is an annual marathon road race which takes place in mid-April in Nagano, Japan. It is an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race competition.[1] The Nagano Marathon has races for both elite and amateur runners. It is named in honour of the 1998 Winter Olympics which were held in Nagano.[2]
| Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon | |
|---|---|
 The race passes the Zenkō-ji temple | |
| Date | Mid-April |
| Location | Nagano, Japan |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Marathon |
| Established | 1999 |
| Course records | Men's: 2:09:05 (2012) Francis KibiwottWomen's: 2:26:38 (2008)  Alevtina Ivanova |
| Official site | Nagano Marathon |
| Participants | 5,613 finishers (2022) |
The course has a point-to-point style and it has received accreditation from the Japan Association of Athletics Federations and AIMS. The route begins at the Nagano Sports Park and heads in a generally southern direction, passing the Zenkō-ji temple before finishing at the Nagano Olympic Stadium. The route incorporates four of the former Olympic venues into the race.[3]
History
editFrancis Kibiwott and Alevtina Ivanova are the current men's and women's course record holders. The 1999 route was aided by a downhill net drop of 4.27 m/km (just under the allowable limit), while the editions from 2000 to 2003 had an excessive drop of over 5 m/km, making them ineligible for record performances.[4] The current route is relatively flat, however, with the race having an overall total incline of 5 m from start to finish.[5]
The historical root of the competition lies with the Shinmai Marathon which was first held in 1958. The marathon came under its current moniker in 1999. The elite race is international in nature, with a number of foreign runners being invited each year, although prominent Japanese athletes also take part.[6] Kenyans have won the majority of the men's races while Russians have dominated the women's race. Nephat Kinyanjui of Kenya won the race a record three times consecutively between 2006 and 2008. Since its rebirth in 1999, only two Japanese runners have won the race (Akiyo Onishi in 1999 and Yuki Kawauchi in 2013).[7]
Past winners
editKey: Course record Downhill course
Nagano Marathon era
edit| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (h:m:s) | Women's winner | Time (h:m:s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23rd | 2024 |  Keigo Yano (JPN)
|
2:15:53 | Rie Kawauchi (JPN)
|
2:33:16 | ||
| 22nd | 2023 | Kento Nishi (JPN)
|
2:10:01 | Haruna Takano (JPN)
|
2:42:44 | ||
| 21st | 2022 | Junichi Ushiyama (JPN)
|
2:14:42 | Akane Sekino (JPN)
|
2:41:20 | ||
| – | 2021 | Did not held due to COVID-19 pandemic in Japan | |||||
| – | 2020 | ||||||
| 20th | 2019 |  Jackson Kiprop (UGA)
|
2:10:39 |  Meskerem Hunde (ETH)
|
2:33:32 | ||
| 19th | 2018 | Abdela Godana (ETH)
|
2:13:54 | Asami Furuse (JPN)
|
2:34:09 | ||
| 18th | 2017 | Taiga Ito (JPN)
|
2:14:39 |  Rachel Mutgaa (KEN)
|
2:33:00 | ||
| 17th | 2016 | Jairus Chanchima (KEN)
|
2:15:31 | Shasho Insermu (ETH)
|
2:34:19 | ||
| 16th | 2015 | Henry Chirchir (KEN)
|
2:11:39 | Beatrice Toroitich (KEN)
|
2:34:02 | ||
| 15th | 2014 |  Serhiy Lebid (UKR)
|
2:13:56 |  Alina Prokopeva (RUS)
|
2:30:56 | ||
| 14th | 2013 | Yuki Kawauchi (JPN)
|
2:14:27 | Natalya Puchkova (RUS)
|
2:30:40 | ||
| 13th | 2012 | Francis Kibiwott (KEN)
|
2:09:05 | Pauline Wangui (KEN)
|
2:34:22 | ||
| – | 2011 | Did not held due to Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami[8] | |||||
| 12th | 2010 | Nicholas Chelimo (KEN)
|
2:10:24 |  Lisa Weightman (AUS)
|
2:28:48 | ||
| 11th | 2009 | Isaac Macharia (KEN)
|
2:11:21 | Irina Timofeyeva (RUS)
|
2:30:07 | ||
| 10th | 2008 | Nephat Kinyanjui (KEN)
|
2:14:17 | Alevtina Ivanova (RUS)
|
2:26:38 | ||
| 9th | 2007 | Nephat Kinyanjui (KEN)
|
2:13:32 | Alevtina Ivanova (RUS)
|
2:27:49 | ||
| 8th | 2006 | Nephat Kinyanjui (KEN)
|
2:11:18 | Albina Ivanova (RUS)
|
2:28:52 | ||
| 7th | 2005 | Isaac Macharia (KEN)
|
2:10:59 | Albina Ivanova (RUS)
|
2:28:21 | ||
| 6th | 2004 | Moges Taye (ETH)
|
2:13:09 | Fatuma Roba (ETH)
|
2:28:05 | ||
| 5th | 2003 | Erick Wainaina (KEN)
|
2:12:00 | Madina Biktagirova (RUS)
|
2:28:23 | ||
| 4th | 2002 |  Josia Thugwane (RSA)
|
2:13:23 | Madina Biktagirova (RUS)
|
2:26:09 | ||
| 3rd | 2001 | Maxwell Musembi (KEN)
|
2:12:20 | Akiyo Onishi (JPN)
|
2:31:20 | ||
| 2nd | 2000 | Erick Wainaina (KEN)
|
2:10:17 | Elfenesh Alemu (ETH)
|
2:24:55 | ||
| 1st | 1999 | Jackson Kabiga (KEN)
|
2:13:26 | Valentina Yegorova (RUS)
|
2:28:41 | ||
Shinmai Marathon era
edit| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (h:m:s) | Women's winner | Time (h:m:s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41st | 1998 |  Yoshifumi Miyamoto (JPN)
|
2:17:34 | ||
| 40th | 1997 | Isamu Sennai (JPN)
|
2:17:24 | ||
| 39th | 1996 | Koichi Haraguchi (JPN)
|
2:19:20 | ||
| 38th | 1995 | Fumiaki Makino (JPN)
|
2:17:22 | Mineko Yamanouchi (JPN)
|
2:36:35 |
| 37th | 1994 | Yukiyasu Ogura (JPN)
|
2:16:10 | ||
| 36th | 1993 | Takashi Kondo (JPN)
|
2:15:43 | ||
| 35th | 1992 | Toshinobu Sato (JPN)
|
2:14:05 | ||
| 34th | 1991 | Takashi Murakami (JPN)
|
2:16:33 | ||
| 33rd | 1990 | Kazuya Nishimoto (JPN)
|
2:13:52 | ||
| 32nd | 1989 | Yoshihiro Ohashi (JPN)
|
2:17:25 | ||
| 31st | 1988 | Hideo Takamura (JPN)
|
2:14:44 | Kumiko Fukuzawa (JPN)
|
2:41:39 |
| 30th | 1987 | Yoshizo Morita (JPN)
|
2:17:21 | ||
| 29th | 1986 | Takashi Sato (JPN)
|
2:25:52 | ||
| 28th | 1985 | Hiromi Nishi (JPN)
|
2:20:52 | Tokiko Fukuhara (JPN)
|
3:30:26 |
| 27th | 1984 | Masaaki Shibusawa (JPN)
|
2:19:13 | ||
| 26th | 1983 | Shuzo Nakajima (JPN)
|
2:17:47 | Hideko Miyashita (JPN)
|
3:28:01 |
| 25th | 1982 | Fumio Inoue (JPN)
|
2:21:21 | ||
| 24th | 1981 | Tadashi Matsumoto (JPN)
|
2:16:59 | Shizue Takayama (JPN)
|
3:35:38 |
| 23rd | 1980 | Atsuhide Maeda (JPN)
|
2:15:23 | Chie Matsuda (JPN)
|
2:57:07 |
| 22nd | 1979 | Osamu Kitahara (JPN)
|
2:21:10 | Not held | |
| 21st | 1978 | Tomio Ito (JPN)
|
2:22:04 | ||
| 20th | 1977 | Haruki Okubo (JPN)
|
2:25:18 | ||
| 19th | 1976 | Kaneo Hikima (JPN)
|
2:17:31 | ||
| 18th | 1975 | Osamu Kitahara (JPN)
|
2:21:43 | ||
| 17th | 1974 | Kunio Miura (JPN)
|
2:21:28 | ||
| 16th | 1973 | Seiji Fukada (JPN)
|
2:21:27 | ||
| 15th | 1972 | Kimio Otsuka (JPN)
|
2:21:03.4 | ||
| 14th | 1971 | Kimio Otsuka (JPN)
|
2:18:17.6 | ||
| 13th | 1970 | Kunio Miura (JPN)
|
2:21:29.0 | ||
| 12th | 1969 | Toru Terasawa (JPN)
|
2:21:02.2 | ||
| 11th | 1968 | Juichi Sato (JPN)
|
2:20:50.6 | ||
| 10th | 1967 | Kunio Miura (JPN)
|
2:21:27.8 | ||
| 9th | 1966 | Tadaaki Ueoka (JPN)
|
2:22:36.6 | ||
| 8th | 1965 | Kimio Karasawa (JPN)
|
2:22:31.6 | ||
| 7th | 1964 | Susumu Noro (JPN)
|
2:23:11.6 | ||
| 6th | 1963 | Tadayoshi Shiozuka (JPN)
|
2:27:05 | ||
| 5th | 1962 | Nobuyoshi Sadanaga (JPN)
|
2:27:43 | ||
| 4th | 1961 | Katsuyoshi Ito (JPN)
|
2:28:41 | ||
| 3rd | 1960 | Hidenori Baba (JPN)
|
2:29:11 | ||
| 2nd | 1959 | Tadaichi Ishibuchi (JPN)
|
2:32:07 | ||
| 1st | 1958 | Kikuo Ono (JPN)
|
2:30:15 | ||
References
edit- ^ Mulkeen, Jon (2018-04-15). Godana and Furuse land first career marathon victories in Nagano. IAAF. Retrieved on 2019-04-03.
- ^ The Aim of Nagano Marathon. Nagano Marathon. Retrieved on 2010-05-01.
- ^ Course Route. Nagano Marathon. Retrieved on 2010-05-01.
- ^ Ota, Shigenobu (2010-04-19). Nagano Olympic Memorial Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2010-04-30.
- ^ Nakamura, Ken (2008-04-18). Can Kinyanjui three-peat? – Nagano Marathon PREVIEW. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-05-01.
- ^ Nakamura, Ken (2009-04-18). Breakthrough time for Tola and Ozaki? – Nagano Marathon preview. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-05-01.
- ^ Nakamura, Ken (2013-04-21). Kawauchi and Puchkova win snowy Nagano Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-04-22.
- ^ Nakamura, Ken (2011-03-22). Nagano Marathon cancelled. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-23.
- List of winners
- Ota, Shigenobu (2010-04-19). Nagano Olympic Memorial Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2010-04-30.