is a Japanese

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who competes in half marathon and

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

races. She represented Japan in the marathon at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

and competed at the

2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Kavarna, Bulgaria on 6 October 2012. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results were given. Complete results were published for the men's race, for the wome ...

, taking the team bronze medal. She holds personal bests of 70 minutes for the half marathon and 2:25:26 hours for the marathon. Ito was runner-up at the 2011

Osaka Ladies Marathon The is an annual marathon road race for women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held on the 4th or 5th Sunday of January in the city of Osaka, Japan, and hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations, Kansai Tel ...

, won the 2012 Sapporo Half Marathon, and placed in the top ten at the

2013 London Marathon The 2013 London Marathon was the 33rd running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 21 April. The men's elite race was won by Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede and the women's race was won by Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo ...

Career

Born in

Nara, Nara is the capital city of Nara Prefecture, Japan. As of 2022, Nara has an estimated population of 367,353 according to World Population Review, making it the largest city in Nara Prefecture and sixth-largest in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara is ...

, she attended Kyoto Tachibana High School then went on to

Kyoto Sangyo University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan. History The university was established in 1965. The founder was Toshima Araki (, 1897–1978), and Hideo Iwakuro (岩畔豪雄 Iwakuro Hideo, 10 October 1897 – 22 November 1970), the Japanese spy ...

.Mai Ito
.

Japanese Association of Athletics Federations The is the national governing body for the sport of athletics in Japan. Presidents *Ryōzō Hiranuma (1929–1958) *Hiroshi Kasuga (1958–1964) *Ichirō Kōno (1965) *Kenzō Kōno (1965–1975) *Hanji Aoki (1975–1999) * Yōhei Kōno (1999–20 ...

. Retrieved on 2013-04-25. Initially she was interested in volleyball but she gradually focused on long-distance running instead. Injuries blighted her early career but with a

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

win at the 2006 Japanese Collegiate Championships (in her final year of study) she her begin to establish herself.世界陸上女子マラソン日本代表に決まった伊藤舞（いとうまい）さん
. ''Tokushima Shimbun'' (2011-04-23). Retrieved on 2013-04-25. That same year she also won the

Kyoto Half Marathon Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

in a personal best of 71:11 minutes. In 2008, she joined up with the Otsuka Pharmaceutical corporate running team and began training under their director Kono Tadashi. The 2009 season brought results as she ran a string of personal bests, improving to 9:18.69 minutes for the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

, 15:55.64 minutes in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

(coming sixth at the

Japanese National Games The is the national premier sports event of Japan. It consists of three stages. The skating and ice hockey stage takes place in January, the skiing stage takes place in February, and the main Autumn tournament takes place in September and Octob ...

) and 32:27.04 minutes for the 10,000 m.Mai Ito
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-04-25. She also won the half marathon section at the

Shanghai Marathon The Shanghai International Marathon is an annual marathon in late autumn hosted by Shanghai, China, since 1996. The marathon is categorized as a Platinum Label Road Race by World Athletics. The marathon starts at the ''Bund Bull'' and finishe ...

and placed fourth at that year's

Sendai Half Marathon is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the ''daimyō'' Date M ...

. She bettered her three track times again in 2010 (9:17.41, 15:48.35 and 32:14.43 minutes). She also made her debut over the

distance and surprised more seasoned competitors by taking fourth place with a run of 2:29:13 hours at the

Nagoya Marathon The , named until the 2010 race, is an annual marathon race for female runners over the classic distance of 42 km and 195 metres, held in Nagoya, Japan in early March every year. It holds World Athletics Platinum road race status. It i ...

. At the 2011

she led the pack and split away to duel against Yukiko Akaba. Ito managed second place and a new best of 2:26:55 was enough to gain selection for the

. At the World Championships Marathon in

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

she finished 22nd overall, but was last out of the five-woman Japanese squad. At the end of the year she set a best of 70:03 minutes to come fourth at the

Sanyo Half Marathon The Sanyo Women's Half Marathon, also known as the Sanyo Women's Road Race ( ja, 山陽女子ロードレース), is an annual road running competition for women held in December in Okayama, Japan. It features both a 10K run and half marathon race ...

. She remained in good form in the 2012 season, running 70:39 for fifth at the

Kagawa-Marugame Half Marathon The is an annual road running competition which takes place in early February in Marugame, Japan. It currently holds IAAF Silver Label Road Race status and the professional races attract over 1000 entries each year,Ota, Shigenobu (2009-02-02)Maru ...

and a best of 2:25:26 hours for fifth at the Nagoya Marathon. A win at the Sapporo Half Marathon followed in July and this led to an appearances at the

, where she was ninth and helped the Japanese women to the team bronze. In a quick field at November's

Yokohama Women's Marathon The Yokohama Women's Marathon was a marathon held in Yokohama, Japan, and hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations, TV Asahi, the Asahi Shimbun. It is one of the major Japanese women's marathon races which is used to decide selection fo ...

she was the fifth-placer and second Japanese with a time of 2:27:06 hours. Ito started 2013 with a personal best at the

Berlin Half Marathon The Berlin Half Marathon is a major endurance event held annually in early spring in Berlin, Germany. Besides the runner's main race, the event includes a race for inline skaters, wheelchair athletes and handbikers. All athletes use the same co ...

, taking third place with seventy minutes exactly. A run at the

later that month saw her take seventh place in the high-profile race.2013 Leaderboard
London Marathon. Retrieved on 2013-04-25.

Personal bests

- 9:17.41 min (2010) *

– 15:48.35 (2010) *

– 32:14.43 (2010) * Half marathon – 1:09:57 (2015) *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

– 2:24:42 (2015)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ito, Mai 1984 births Living people Japanese female long-distance runners Japanese female marathon runners Olympic athletes for Japan Olympic female marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Japan Otsuka Pharmaceutical people People from Nara, Nara