Elite Field
Chepkirui headlines elite field in Nagoya Women's Marathon title defense
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Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui will defend her Nagoya Women's Marathon title on March 8, 2026, coinciding with International Women's Day. The 15th edition of the World Athletics Platinum Label race—the world's largest women-only marathon—features 10 athletes with personal bests under 2:22:00, including Ethiopia's Aynalem Desta and Japan's Honami Maeda. Japanese runners target qualification for the Marathon Grand Championship toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Defending champion Tigst Assefa will return to the TCS London Marathon on April 26, 2026, to face Olympic gold medallist Sifan Hassan, world champion Peres Jepchirchir and Hellen Obiri in a star-studded women's elite field. The lineup includes all podium finishers from the 2025 London Marathon, 2024 Olympics and 2025 World Championships, promising a potential record-breaking race. Assefa aims to repeat her women-only world record performance from last year.