Vienna City Marathon 20080427 Tomo Morimoto preparing for start

is a female

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

who specialises in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

. Born in

Yamasaki, Hyōgo was a town in Shisō District, Hyōgo, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 25,629 and a density of 143.27 persons per km2. The total area was 178.89 km2. On April 1, 2005, Yamasaki, along with the towns of Chikusa, ...

, Morimoto made her marathon debut at the 2006

Osaka Women's Marathon The is an annual marathon road race for women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held on the 4th or 5th Sunday of January in the city of Osaka, Japan, and hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations, Kansai Tel ...

and, even though she was not an invited elite runner, she managed to finish in fifth place in a time of 2:27:46. She set her personal best (2:24:33) in the women's marathon on May 7, 2006, winning the

Vienna City Marathon The Vienna City Marathon is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195 km held in Vienna, Austria since 1984. History The first edition was held on with a total of 794 competitors. It is Austria's largest road running even ...

. This was the race's second fastest run for a woman at that point after

Maura Viceconte Maura Viceconte (3 October 1967 – 10 February 2019) was an Italian long-distance runner who represented her native country twice (1996 and 2000) at the Summer Olympics. Biography Viceconte is best known for winning the bronze medal at the 1 ...

's course record. She formed part of the Okayama team for the

Inter-Prefectural Women's Ekiden The Inter-Prefectural Women's Ekiden () is an annual women's ekiden (road running relay race) for Japanese runners held in January in Kyoto Prefecture. The course has a looped point-to-point format over the marathon distance of 42.195 km and ...

in January 2008 and her 4 km leg helped the team to third place in the

relay race A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of Race track, racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in runni ...

. She hoped to be selected for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

and began her marathon season by running 2:25:34 for second place at the Osaka Marathon. She was also runner-up at the Vienna Marathon that year, finishing behind

Luminița Talpoș Luminiţa Talpoş (born 9 October 1972 in Craiova, Dolj) is a female long-distance runner from Romania, who specialized in the marathon race during her career. Career Talpoș set her personal best (2:26:43) in the women's marathon (sport), marath ...

who defended her title. She missed out on a place in the Japanese squad for the

as the selectors preferred to pick

Yurika Nakamura (born 1 April 1986 in Fukuchiyama) is a Japanese long-distance runner. Nakamura grew up in the Hyōgo Prefecture. She finished seventh at the 2006 World Road Running Championships, helping the Japanese team win the bronze medal in the team co ...

. She signed up for the 2009

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

and finished in eighth place with a time of 2:26:29 – the best performance by an Asian woman at the event. At the

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (german: Berlin-Marathon, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , inclu ...

in September 2010 she was among the race favourites and took third place with a time of 2:26:10 behind Ethiopians

Aberu Kebede Aberu Kebede Shewaye (born 12 September 1989) is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specializes in road running competitions. Her half marathon best of 1:07:39 is one of the fastest ever by an Ethiopian woman. She gained a bronze at the 2009 ...

and

Bezunesh Bekele Bezunesh Bekele Sertsu (born 29 January 1983) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specializes in cross-country running and marathons. Biography She was born in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. She took a number of circuit wins on the ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morimoto, Tomo 1983 births Living people Japanese female long-distance runners Japanese female marathon runners