Naoko Takahashi: Olympic marathon
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K.Ken Nakamura
11 September 2000 - Japan is a nation crazy about marathon running. The entire country would celebrate an Olympic marathon gold medal by a Japanese athlete.
Japan had its chance in 1984 with Toshihiko Seko who was co-favourite for the gold along with Rob de Castella. But Seko failed - as did Castella - to win a medal in the epic Olympic marathon in Los Angeles, won by Carlos Lopes.
Japan’s hopes for marathon gold now rest firmly on Naoko Takahashi’s shoulders. She is very fast, having recorded 2:21:47 at the 1998 Asian Games in the stifling heat of Bangkok. Amongst active runners, only Tegla Loroupe has run faster. Takahashi can change pace in mid-race better than anyone else. In both the 1998 and 2000 editions of the Nagoya Ladies marathon, her change of pace was dramatic. She has been known to pick up the pace from 3:30 for a kilometre (2:27:40 pace) to 3:10 for a kilometre (2:13:37 pace) in the middle of the marathon.
Naoko Takahashi was born on May 6, 1972 in Gifu. She started participating in track & field at junior high school. Although her 800m best in junior high school was only 2:23, she was recruited by a track and field powerhouse, Gifu High School of Business. Despite the light training she recorded an 800m best of 2:13.9 in high school.
Offered a place at several universities, she decided to attend Osaka Gakuin University. In her junior and senior years in college, she was 2nd at the 1500m and 3rd at the 3000m in the national Collegiate Championships. Her personal bests in college at the 1500m and the 3000m were 4:22.89 (in the College Championships) and 9:13.0 respectively.
After graduation, she went to see the famous coach Yoshio Koide and asked him if she could join the Recruit track team. She persisted even after the coach’s initial rejection and finally was able to join his group. Two years later, she followed Koide to the Sekisui track team in the conviction that only Koide could coach her to her full potential.
She was a mediocre track runner at best until a breakthrough in 1996, when she improved her 5000m best from 16:13.12 to 15:37.15, and also ran 31:48:23 for 10,000m. The following year in 1997, she further improved her 5000m best to 15:23.64 and was 13th in the World Championships 5000m.
In 1998, she became the first Japanese woman to win an IAAF Grand Prix event when she won the 5000m in Osaka with a personal best of 15:21.15.
However, her marathon debut, at the Osaka Ladies marathon in January of 1997, was disappointing. Because of less than perfect preparation, she was 7th with 2:31:32. But in her second marathon, the1998 Nagoya Ladies marathon, she set a national marathon best mark of 2:25:48. In the race, after passing 30Km in 1:46:11, she ran amazing splits of 16:06 and 16:21 for the next two 5-K segments.
Takahashi became a household name with her performance at the Asian Games marathon in December of 1998 in Bangkok. Her 5-K splits in the race were 16:37, 16:26, 16:13, 16:22, 16:30, and 16:54. Although she slowed down to 17:09 and 17:51 after 30Km because of the stifling heat, she won the marathon with 2:21:47, which made her the fifth fastest marathon runner of all-time.
After the Asian Games, during some well-deserved time off, her weight ballooned to 52.5Kg (her racing weight is 45Kg), due to her legendary appetite. She regularly eats 40 pieces of sushi or 2Kg steaks at all-you-can-eat restaurants.
She started training for Sevilla in March of 1999, and her training was going well in the high altitude of Colorado. Except for a half marathon in Japan (1:10:58) in May, she spent most of the time in Colorado.
Before the World Championships, she was reported to be in awesome shape, having recorded personal bests in both 20Km (by 2 minutes) and 10Km (by 1 minute) in training. On the fourteen-mile course where her teammate Hiromi Suzuki ran in 1:26 before she won the 1997 World Championships, Takahashi recorded 1:21. Her coach Yoshio Koide said: "I think she is ready to run a 2:18 marathon."
Unfortunately, three weeks before the World Championships she came down with an injury. She travelled to Sevilla still hoping that the pain would go away in time. But she was obliged to withdraw from the marathon on the morning of the race.
Her original plan of qualifying for the Olympic team by winning in Sevilla had to be redrawn. She had to run a domestic marathon. However, her training continued to be hampered. In October, during a half marathon, she fell and broke her left hand. Although in January at the Chiba Marine half marathon, she recorded 1:08:55, in February she was hospitalised for three days due to food poisoning. Thus, when Naoko Takahashi toed at the start line of the Nagoya Ladies marathon, the final Olympic qualifying race, she was far from being 100% ready. In addition to Ari Ichihashi, 1999 World Championship silver medallist (pre-selected for the Olympic team), Eri Yamaguchi recorded 2:22:12 in the Tokyo Ladies marathon and Harumi Hiroyama recorded 2:22:56 at the Osaka Ladies marathon. Not only did Takahashi need to win in Nagoya, but she also needed to run a fast time to qualify for the Olympic marathon team.
In the first half of the marathon, Takahashi bided her time in the pack, but at 22.8Km she changed gear, and soon she was alone in front. Her split for 20-25Km was 16:51, and she followed it up with 16:16 and 16:22 for successive 5Km splits. She won in 2:22:19, and was selected for the Olympic team.
