Background

Raised in a farm family, Chunxia first studied at the Henan Nanyang Sports School before joining the Jiangsu Team in 2001. Her progress was rapid. Until her huge victory in London, she was perhaps best known for running four sub-2:30 marathons in a calendar year, including two within 14 days. On March 13, 2005, she ran 2:23:24 to win in Seoul, then two weeks later notched a 2:29:58 to take her third consecutive Xiamen title. In the World Championships that summer, she turned in a 2:24:12 performance before finishing second two months later at the Beijing International Marathon in 2:21:11.

It was in Seoul a year later that Chunxia became just the seventh woman in history to run under the 2:20 barrier; her 2:19:51 would be the second-fastest women’s marathon time in the world for 2006.

Chunxia came into the Flora London Marathon this April with the fastest time in the field. On a warm, humid day, she ran her first big-city marathon in the West and became the race’s first Chinese winner, thanks in large part to blasting the 24th mile in 5:09. “I don’t know how fast I can go in the future,” she said afterward, “but I am aiming high.” She arrives in Osaka among the favorites.