At 8:10 am Beijing time on March 10th, 2024, the Nagoya Marathon fired its gun and started. As the world’s top pure women’s marathon, this competition has gained more attention due to being the last stop for Japanese athletes to compete in the Olympics and three Chinese athletes going out to sea to meet the standards..
Is it the dark horse who broke the Japanese record again and snatched the precious third place in the Olympics from Nana Maeda, or is it the latter who walked? Will the number of Chinese women who meet the standard increase again after this competition? What kind of results will the three Chinese female athletes (Li Zhixuan, Xia Yuyu, Li Jingfen) achieve, and how will it affect the pattern of domestic women? Everything will be answered after more than two hours of competition..
At 8:00 Beijing time, the temperature at the Nagoya Dome was 5.2 degrees Celsius and the humidity was 53%. The Japanese side invited former Japanese national record holder Mizuki Noguchi and former world record holder Shoko Takahashi, who won the 2000 Sydney Olympics, to explain the game, demonstrating the importance attached to it..
At 8:10, the competition officially started with the firing of guns. The first group completed the first kilometer at a pace of 3 minutes and 19 seconds. The big group had not yet differentiated, and the 2-3 kilometers were passed by the first group with a time of 3 minutes and 15 seconds and 3 minutes and 17 seconds. The number of people in the first group gradually decreased, reaching 7 people, with three rabbits breaking the speed ahead..
The 5-kilometer race took 16 minutes and 28 seconds, and the number of people was still 7. Japan, including Ayuko Suzuki, Yuka Ando, and Rika Kashida, were among them. However, Ai Hosoda, who had high expectations before the race, chose not to compete in the Nagoya Marathon due to previous injuries and gave up the competition..
Based on a 5-kilometer segmented time estimate, the completion time for the entire horse race is 2 hours, 19 minutes, and 15 seconds. There is still a gap from Maeda Suinan’s time of 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 59 seconds, but there is still a chance. The specific performance will depend on the performance of the three female athletes in the later stages. In terms of domestic players, Xia Yuyu and others ranked second in the group..
At 33 minutes and 04 seconds, the first group passed the 10 kilometer time point, which is 8 seconds away from the record breaking 32 minutes and 56 seconds. The expected completion time is 2 hours, 19 minutes and 36 seconds, and the gap between the record breaking pace has widened. In this stage, 2nd player Ayuko Suzuki made multiple supply mistakes, and it is unclear if this will affect his subsequent performance..
In terms of domestic athletes, Xia Yuyu and Li Zhixuan completed a distance of 10 kilometers in 34 minutes and 01 seconds, with an estimated completion time of 2 hours, 23 minutes and 28 seconds. Li Jingfen was behind the two and completed the 10 kilometer distance in 34 minutes and 55 seconds, with an estimated completion time of 2 hours, 27 minutes and 41 seconds..
15 kilometers, leading the group in 49 minutes and 44 seconds to pass, with an estimated completion time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 57 seconds. Xia Yuyu and Li Zhixuan passed the 15 kilometer checkpoint in 51 minutes and 21 seconds and 51 minutes and 23 seconds respectively, with a slight deceleration..
In terms of half distance, the leading group took 1 hour, 09 minutes, and 56 seconds. After this point, the leading group began to shift gears, and the three Japanese players were instantly thrown away, but later the latter accelerated to catch up. At this moment, the number of players in the first group is once again -1, forming a lineup of 2 rabbits and 5 leading players, with all three Japanese players listed. The remaining two international contestants are the 2022 Oregon World Championships.