Sydney Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi will return to a competitive marathon race in Tokyo in November after an injury-caused two-year absence, her management office said Monday.
Takahashi will run in the Tokyo International Women's Marathon on Nov. 20 in her first appearance since she suffered a shock defeat in the same race two years ago and parted company with her longtime coach Yoshio Koide in May this year.
"I've felt as if my time as an athlete stopped there (at the 2003 race in Tokyo) so I think it's the best choice for me to run in Tokyo in order to get it moving again," Takahashi said in a written comment.