Name: Mai Fujisawa
Nationality: Japan
Category: F45-49
Fastest Major: 2:38:45 (Tokyo 2022)
Total AbbottWMM Stars: 2
Flying the flag for Japan in Chicago will be the highly decorated endurance athlete Mai Fujisawa.
She began her marathon career in 1999 at the Honolulu Marathon, but since 2020, the 49-year-old has been cutting a swathe through the F45-49 age group, finishing first in the rankings in the last two editions and (at the time of publication) sitting third in the world in the 2023 rankings season.
Her efforts culminated in victory in the AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championships in 2022 in London when she won the title with 2:41:40, giving her a cushion of almost six minutes to second place.
“I was very happy because it is not easy to win the world’s best title in any field. Running is part of life. Nothing beats the feeling of achieving a goal,” she said.
Fujisawa has also had success in ultra-marathons. Since 2008, she has competed in 10 consecutive 100km World Championships, achieving third place in 2018.
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