Mao Ichiyama finished eighth with a time of 2 hours 30 minutes 13 seconds in the Olympic women's marathon in Sapporo on Saturday morning, becoming the first Japanese to finish in the top eight in the women's race since Mizuki Noguchi won the gold medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
"I've been training harder than I ever did before. I couldn't win today, but I have no regrets," Ichiyama said proudly, after pouring all her energy into the race in the scorching heat of Sapporo.
The event's starting time was moved up to 6 a.m. from the initially set 7 a.m. to avoid the heat. In a relatively slow-paced race, Ichiyama stuck to the lead group. Although she fell behind the competition for the title at around 33 kilometers, and runners behind her came close, she managed to stay among the top eight. She was telling herself that "No. 8 is better than No. 9," she recalled after the race.
Ichiyama joined Wacoal Corp. after graduating from Izumi Chuo High School in Kagoshima. She built up her strength and skills as a marathoner under coach Tadayuki Nagayama's intense training, which she described as a "demon menu."
When given different levels of intensity for the training, she always chose the hardest one, proving her uncompromising attitude toward practice.
She won the Nagoya Women's Marathon with a time of 2 hours 20 minutes 29 seconds, slipping into the third spot on Japan's Olympic team. What came after was her request to Nagayama to give her the full demon menu.
"I want to show how strong I've become to people who always look forward to watching my run," she said, explaining what pushes her to hard training.
"I didn't have a chance to tell him for a long time, but I always wanted to give my coach a medal," Ichiyama said in a regretful tone. The Olympic race helped the 24-year-old runner take the first step toward a revival of the Japanese women's marathon.
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