is a former 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 in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

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 n ...

. She twice represented her native country at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

: 1992 and 1996. Suzuki is best known for winning the world title in the women's marathon at the 1997 World Championships in

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

(1997). Suzuki was a torchbearer at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in th ...

Opening Ceremonies in Nagano. She is married to former sprinter

Koji Ito is a retired Japanese track and field sprinter and Japan's fourth-fastest record holder of 100m sprint with a time of 10.00 seconds. He held the 100 metres Japanese national record between December 1998 and September 2017. He is a ...

Personal bests

*3000 metres — 9:21.92 (01/01/1987) *5000 metres — 15:30.43 (25/07/1999) *10,000 metres — 31:19.40 (09/06/1996) *Half Marathon — 1:10:33 (18/07/1999) *Marathon — 2:26:27 (28/01/1996)

References

* 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Chiba Prefecture Japanese female long-distance runners Japanese female marathon runners Olympic athletes for Japan Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Japan World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Japan Championships in Athletics winners 20th-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese women {{Japan-athletics-bio-stub