Of Japan’s Olympic qualifying marathons for women, the best has been saved for last as the Nagoya Marathon boasts the deepest field of the three races. But there is still no guarantee of a Japanese victory at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (13).

One year after breaking the Nagoya Marathon course record, Bahrain’s Eunice Kirwa will return to the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on 13 March.

Defending Nagoya Women’s Marathon champion Mariya Konovalova will take on the top two finishers from last year’s Asian Games at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (8).

Russia’s Mariya Konovalova was an authoritative winner of the 2014 Nagoya Women’s Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, in 2:23:43 on Sunday (9).

The 2014 Nagoya Women’s Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, can boast of having two sub-2:23 marathon runners and three sub-2:24 marathon runners who will stand on the start line in the Japanese city on Sunday (9).

After breaking away from Ethiopia’s 19-year-old Berhane Dibaba at the 40km water station, Ryoko Kizaki this morning (10) won the Nagoya Women’s Marathon – an IAAF Gold Label Road Race – in 2:23:34, the second-fastest time in the world this year.

The 2013 Nagoya Women’s Marathon will be on Sunday (10) and the big question in many people’s minds is: can Ethiopia’s Werknesh Kidane finally fulfill her potential over the classic distance at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race?