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 stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

, who specializes in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), 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 ...

. She won the 2008

Tokyo Women's Marathon The Tokyo International Women's Marathon was a marathon for female elite runners held in Tokyo from 1979 until 2008 in November. It was first held in November 1979, and this race was the first women's marathon officially sanctioned by the Inte ...

in a personal best time of 2:23:30 hours. A year later she took the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in the event at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

. Ozaki has won international team medals with Japan at the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

and the

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The World Athletics Road Running Championships is a biennial international road running competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It wa ...

. She represented Japan in the marathon at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. She is coached by former world marathon medallist

Sachiko Yamashita is a Japanese former long-distance runner, who won the silver medal in the women's marathon at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in ...

Career

Born in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, she made her senior international debut at the

2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on April 1/2, 2006. The races were held at the Umi-no-nakamichi Seaside Park in Fukuoka, Japan, Japan's National Cross Country Course which is the permanent residence of the annual Fuku ...

and although she finished in 19th place, this was enough to help Japan to the women's team

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

. She struck team bronze the following year, this time in the

2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships The 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships were held in Udine, Italy on 14 October 2007. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results were given both for the men's race and for the women's race. Medallists Race result ...

where she finished 13th overall and ran a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

personal best of 1:09:26 hours. Ozaki opened the 2008 season at the

Kagawa Marugame International 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 she came close to her personal best (1:09:30) to take second place behind

Philes Ongori Philes Moora Ongori (born 19 July 1986 in Chironge, Kiamokama, in Kisii District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in half marathon and marathon events. Her early career was based in Japan and she won a number of All-Japan Corpor ...

. She made her marathon debut that year at the Nagoya International Women's Marathon and she came close to victory, but her time of 2:26:19 was only enough for second place behind

Yurika Nakamura (born 1 April 1986 in Fukuchiyama) is a Japanese long-distance runner. Nakamura grew up in the Hyōgo Prefecture. She finished seventh at the 2006 World Road Running Championships, helping the Japanese team win the bronze medal in the team ...

(another athlete making her debut over the distance). Her first win came in only her second outing over the distance as she won the 2008

Tokyo International Women's Marathon The Tokyo International Women's Marathon was a marathon for female elite runners held in Tokyo from 1979 until 2008 in November. It was first held in November 1979, and this race was the first women's marathon officially sanctioned by the Inter ...

in a personal record time of 2:23:30. She qualified herself for the 2009 World Championships in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and she came in second in a time of 2:25:25, only ten seconds behind

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

winner

Bai Xue Bai Xue (; name means ''White Snow''; born 15 December 1988) is a female Chinese long-distance runner who specializes in the 10,000 metres. Career Bai won both the 5000 and the 10,000 metres at the 2005 Asian Championships, and she finished f ...

. Competing at the 2010

All Japan Corporate Team Half Marathon Championships All or ALL may refer to: عرص Biology and medicine * Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer * Anterolateral ligament, a ligament in the knee * ''All.'', taxonomic author abbreviation for Carlo Allioni (1728–1804), Italian physician and profe ...

, she took second place behind defending champion Filomena Cheyech, although her performance as the top finishing Japanese athlete earned her a place on the

2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake. The Kenyan at ...

squad. She finished ninth at the championships in

Nanning Nanning; is the capital of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South China, southern China. It is known as the "Green City (绿城) " because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of Guangxi, Nanning ...

, a placing which led the Japanese women to the team

. She ran at the

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 ...

in February 2011 and broke the course record with a time of 2:23:56, gaining herself a place in the Japanese World Championship squad in the process. However, 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 the ...

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

she did not produce the same form and finished 18th with a time of 2:32:31 hours.Marathon - W Final
. IAAF (2011-08-27). Retrieved on 2011-11-20. She returned to the Yokohama women's race in November but was defeated by the less well-known Ryoko Kizaki in the final stretch. She secured a place on the Olympic team with a strong performance of 2:24:14 hours at the Nagoya Marathon, where she was the first Japanese and runner-up behind Albina Mayorova. She placed 19th at the 2012 Olympic marathon. The

2013 Tokyo Marathon The 2013 Tokyo Marathon () was the seventh edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, Japan and was held on Sunday, 24 February. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event to be held that year and represented t ...

saw Ozaki finish as the top Japanese in fifth place.Nakamura, Ken (2013-02-24)
Kimetto clocks course record 2:06:50 at Tokyo Marathon
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.

Achievements

*All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ozaki, Yoshimi 1981 births Living people Japanese female long-distance runners Japanese female marathon runners Athletes from Kanagawa Prefecture Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Japan Olympic female marathon runners World Athletics Championships medalists 20th-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese sportswomen