Mara Yamauchi facts for kids
Yamauchi at the 2009 London Marathon
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 August 1973 Oxford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) |
| Weight | 51 kg (112 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Great Britain |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Olympic finals | 2008, Marathon, 6th |
| Personal best(s) | 5000 m: 15:28.58 5k 15:34 |
Mara Rosalind Yamauchi (born Mara Myers on August 13, 1973) is a British long-distance runner. She competed in both track and road races. Mara is known for having one of the fastest marathon times ever by a British woman. Only Paula Radcliffe, a former world record holder, has run faster.
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Mara Yamauchi's Early Life and Running Start
Mara Yamauchi was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. Her parents are Dorothy and Norman Myers. She lived in Nairobi, Kenya until she was eight years old. Mara was named after the Mara River in Kenya. Her parents lived there for 25 years.
How Mara Started Running
Mara began running with a club called Headington RoadRunners in Oxford. This was while she was still in school. She started taking running more seriously when she went to university. She mainly competed in cross-country races then.
After studying at St Anne's College, Oxford, Mara earned a master's degree. During this time, she joined Parkside AC (now Harrow AC). Her coach was Bob Parker. He also coached David Bedford, a famous 10,000m runner.
Working and Running
In 1996, after her studies, Mara joined the British Foreign Ministry. This is also known as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). In 1997, she ran for Great Britain for the first time. She finished 38th in the European Cross Country championships. In 1998, she won the English National Cross Country championships.
From 1998 to 2002, Mara took a break from running. She focused on her work at the British Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. In 2002, she married Shigetoshi Yamauchi, who is Japanese.
After returning to the UK in 2002, she started running seriously again. She worked part-time at the FCO. In April 2004, she ran her first marathon. It was the London Marathon, where she finished 17th. She also ran for Great Britain again in Japan in November 2004.
Mara Yamauchi's Marathon Career
In 2005, Mara ran her second marathon in London. She finished in 2 hours, 31 minutes, and 52 seconds. This earned her a spot in the 2005 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland. She finished 18th there and won a team bronze medal.
In November 2005, she set a new personal best time. This was at the Tokyo International Women's Marathon. In December 2005, she was chosen for a special support program for elite athletes. In January 2006, she took time off from her job. She moved to Tokyo with her husband to train for the 2008 Beijing Olympic marathon.
Major Achievements in Running
Mara won a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. This was in the 10,000m race. She also ran this event at the European Championships in 2006.
In April 2006, she became the second fastest British woman in the marathon. She finished sixth in the London Marathon. On September 10, 2006, Mara won the Rotterdam Half Marathon. She beat other strong runners.
In April 2007, Mara was the top British runner in the London Marathon. She finished sixth again. She also joined a new running club in Japan. She finished ninth in the World Championship Marathon in Osaka.
She set a personal best time when she won the 2008 Osaka Ladies Marathon. She then took third place in the Tokyo marathon.
Olympic and London Marathon Highlights
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Mara did very well. She finished sixth in the marathon. This was one of the best performances by a British woman in the Olympic marathon.
In 2009, she came second in the London Marathon. She set a new personal best time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 12 seconds. Before that, she also set a personal best in the half marathon. She won the Marugame Half Marathon. After this, she got a foot injury. She had to pull out of the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.
After recovering, she won the 2010 New York City Half Marathon. She beat Deena Kastor and set a new course record.
At the 2010 London Marathon, she finished tenth. This was after a difficult journey to London. Air travel was disrupted by a volcanic eruption in Iceland. She decided to skip the 2010 European Athletics Championships. Instead, she focused on qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics.
Later Career and Retirement
Injuries kept Mara from competing from late 2010 to September 2011. She returned at the Grand 10 Berlin race. She won easily and set a new course record. This helped her prepare for the Yokohama Women's Marathon in November. She took third place there, improving her chances for Olympic selection.
In late 2011, Mara Yamauchi, along with Paula Radcliffe and Scott Overall, were chosen. They were the first three athletes selected to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics in London. Mara was set to compete with Radcliffe in the Women's Marathon.
However, a foot injury forced Radcliffe to withdraw. Mara also had to drop out of the race after six miles due to a bruised heel.
Mara Yamauchi retired from competitive running in January 2013. She was 39 years old. She had been the British Marathon champion four times during her career.
