Yuka Ando made a sensational start to her marathon career Sunday, crossing the Nagoya Women's Marathon finish line second to punch her ticket to this summer's world athletics championships.
Ando set a time of 2 hours, 21 minutes, 36 seconds — the fourth fastest in history by a Japanese woman, and the fastest ever by a first-time female Japanese marathon runner.
The 22-year-old — known for her unorthodox "ninja-like" form in which she barely swings her arms — finished behind only Bahrain's Kenyan-born star Eunice Kirwa, the Rio Olympic silver medalist who won the race for the third straight year (2:21:17).