is a Japanese professional marathon runner and a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Career

Arimori competed for Japan in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

held in Barcelona, Spain in the marathon where she won the silver medal with a time of 2:32:49, eight seconds behind Russian

Valentina Yegorova Valentina Mikhailovna Yegorova (russian: Валентина Михайловна Егорова, born 16 February 1964) is a long-distance runner from Russia. She was born in Cheboksary. Her first medal in the marathon came at the 1990 European ...

who ran the race in 2:32:41. This hard-fought race was the closest finishing time in Olympic history for men or women at that time. At the

1996 Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, Arimori returned to the Olympic marathon, where she won the bronze medal and finished behind

for a second time. Yegorova ran the race in 2:28:05. Arimori's time was 2:28:39. Although both runners ran four minutes faster than their previous Olympic race, they were beaten back by Ethiopian runner Fatuma Roba, who completed the race and won the gold medal with a time of 2:26:05. Arimori was the first woman granted professional status by the Japanese Amateur Athletic Federation (JAAF), the nation's governing track and field association. She was granted this status in 1996, following her second and final appearance at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Achievements

Awards

Arimori was voted Japanese Athlete of the Year in 1992 and 1996.

Personal life

Arimori was born on December 17, 1966 in

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefectur ...

, Japan. Prior to the 1992 Olympics, Arimori participated in altitude training in Colorado. She married Gabriel Wilson in January 1998 in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

, United States. They separated one month after their marriage, and Wilson revealed his extensive debts and previous homosexual tendencies, admitting "I was gay", at a press conference. They officially divorced in July 2011.

References

External links