Asian Games women’s marathon: Mikuni Yada takes bronze despite falling at 22km — Japan’s first medal in the event in two Games

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The story

In the Asian Games women’s marathon, Mikuni Yada (26, Edion) claimed bronze with a time of 2:27:56 — Japan’s first women’s medal in the event in two Games, following Keiko Nogami’s silver at the 2018 Jakarta Games. Past the 22km mark, Cherimo of Bahrain, who was running ahead, fell, and Yada was caught up in it and went down too — but she got straight back up, stuck with the lead pack, and finished within medal position. On the thread, people compared it to the famous “I fell down!” episode involving runner Hiromi Taniguchi and debated just how competitive Asian Games marathon fields really are, though some crude comments about the runner’s looks and body also showed up.

The women’s marathon was held, and Mikuni Yada (26, Edion) took bronze with a time of 2:27:56. It’s Japan’s first women’s medal in the event in two Games, since Keiko Nogami’s silver at the 2018 Jakarta Games. Sayaka Sato (32, Sekisui Chemical) finished 4th in 2:28:14.

In light rain, 18 runners started at 7:50 a.m. After leaving the stadium, Sato — who represented Japan at the 2023 and 2025 World Championships — led a pack of 10. The pace stayed slow through 15km, then Yada broke away past the 17km mark, narrowing the group to 8.

Past the 22km mark, Cherimo (Bahrain), who was running ahead, fell. Yada was caught up in it and fell too, but got straight back up and kept running with the pack.

Source: sponichi.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

2AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:25
(∪^ω^)Woof woof!
11AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:31
Re: #4
You should've written that in Re: #2
(´・ω・`)
4AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:27
I fell down!
7AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:28
When I went to Kumamoto, the ramen I had at the shopping complex next to Kumamoto Station was so good.
It was a garlic tonkotsu ramen.
I want to eat it again.
12AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:31
If she ran the 800m instead, she'd probably be nicknamed "800-Mikuni"
13AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:33
Falling down and still getting bronze lol
Just how low-level is this marathon lolol
28AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:44
Re: #13
Well, it's the Asian Games lol
Her time isn't even Noguchi/Takahashi level — more like Arimori level lol (all legendary Japanese Olympic marathoners)
17AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:36
That's got a lot of symbolism to it
Given how many disasters there've been lately
18AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:36
She'd better say "I fell down, lol" in the interview
21AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:39
Wow, impressive
She really managed to recover
26AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:44
If she hadn't fallen she'd have won

Gold: S. Habte — 2:27:31
Silver: Ciren Cuomu — 2:27:43
Bronze: Mikuni Yada — 2:27:56
30AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:46
Re: #26
The one who fell along with her is the winner, so
even the winner would've been faster if she hadn't fallen
63AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:32
Re: #26
That's way too slow…

Honestly it's basically like a regional meet

Kind of pathetic, really
29AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:45
She did a full sideways roll there

Wait, isn't the Bahraini runner who fell first
the one who ended up winning lol
31AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:46
In marathons the gap between the runner ahead and behind can get crazy tight sometimes
Can't something be done about that?
34AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:49
Even the great [Toshihiko] Seko fell at the Olympics
and "I fell down!" became a catchphrase (legendary Japanese marathoner)
35AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:50
What a low-level race
40AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:54
A marathon with no African runners, huh…
41AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:54
Same age and hometown as Murakami of the White Sox
45AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:56
Sayaka Sato's usually a bust whenever I'm watching
48AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:03
Yada was the only one wearing a neck flap on her cap (a cloth sunshade attached to the cap brim)
52AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:08
Say "Yada Mikuni" out loud back-to-back and it sounds like a sumo wrestler's ring name
53AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:09
Hiromi Taniguchi, who fell and finished 8th at the Olympics, is famous,
but Koichi Morishita, who took silver at the same Games, is kind of overlooked
55AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:13
When it comes to marathon falls, this is the guy
https://youtu.be/z8PbFRV287c

He won gold at the World Championships,
competed with the whole nation's expectations riding on him, and fell
After the race: "I fell down, lololol"
The whole country just melted
56AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:15
Re: #55
Honestly, if not for that, it would've been Taniguchi's
57AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:16
Re: #55
He was the strongest around at the time
Truly a shame
58AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:23
Wonder what the timeline where she didn't fall would've looked like
61AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:25
If it were "Mikuri" it would've been like "We Married as a Job!" (the hit drama "Nigehaji," whose heroine is named Mikuri)
62AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:26
Re: #61
Maybe her husband was a fan of the singer Mikuni Shimokawa
76AnonymousSep 26, 2026 12:15
Do people in Kumamoto see this and go "Alright, let's do our best!"?

Background and Discussion Points

Since only athletes holding Asian nationality are eligible for the Asian Games women’s marathon, the field tends to be thinner than at the Olympics or World Championships. The thread’s comments calling it “low level” or “basically a regional meet” aren’t unreasonable once you factor in that difference in eligibility. On the other hand, the post claiming this was “a marathon with no African runners” is a bit off the mark — it’s not unusual for athletes born in Africa to naturalize in countries like Bahrain or Qatar and compete as their Asian representatives, and that may well apply to the runner involved in this incident. Several posts also framed the famous “I fell down!” line as an Olympic moment, but that’s actually something runner Hiromi Taniguchi said after a race at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo — not the Olympics. As for who caused the fall, the article states that the runner ahead went down first and Yada was caught up in it; posts claiming Yada caused it instead contradict the article’s account.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Asian Games] Women’s marathon: Mikuni Yada takes bronze after falling at 22km! Japan’s first medal in the event in two Games — she overcame the fall to bring courage to her hometown of Kumamoto.”

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