Defending champion or rising star? – Nagoya Women’s Marathon 2026 announces elite invited athletes

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.

Sheila Chepkirui, defending champion – Photo: Nagoya Women’s Marathon 

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).

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)

For a complete list of competitors in the Nagoya Women’s Marathon 2026 Elite Field, please visit: https://womens-marathon.nagoya/en/news/article.php?id=1WYMJInCfMyOZ9dDZXxlXi

For more information about the Nagoya Women’s Marathon, please visit:
https://womens-marathon.nagoya/en/

About the Nagoya Women’s Marathon

The Nagoya Women’s Marathon is the largest women’s marathon in the world, certified by Guinness World Records with 21,915 participants in 2018, held annually in March in Nagoya City, Japan. It was launched on March 11, 2012, with 13,114 participants, reformed from the Nagoya International Women’s Marathon, the elite-only women’s race known as the qualifying trial that had sent off many Japanese star athletes to the international competitions, including two Olympic gold medalists Naoko Takahashi and Mizuki Noguchi. It holds the World Athletics Platinum Label status and has now grown to an event of 20,000 participants.

For playing a significant role in the increase of the women runner population in Japan, the race was awarded the International Olympic Committee Women and Sport Achievement Diploma in 2019, after receiving the Japan Olympic Committee Women and Sport Award in 2017.

Nagoya Women’s Marathon Administrative Office
1-6-1 Sannomaru, Naka-ku
Nagoya 460-8511 Japan
Email: nagoyawomensmarathon@gmail.com
Website: https://womens-marathon.nagoya/en/