Sydney Olympic women's marathon champion Naoko Takahashi has been an icon in Japan since her stirring victory on Sept. 24, 2000, when she became the first Japanese female to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field.
Naoko Takahashi, winner of the gold medal in the women's marathon at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney (seen breaking the tape in photo below) speaks to The Japan Times at an exclusive interview in Tokyo.