International Triathlon Union

Wakako Tsuchida is the first Japanese athlete to win Paralympic medals at both the Summer and Winter Games, and her five consecutive Boston Marathon titles from 2007-2011 and nine consecutive Tokyo Marathon titles from 2008-2016 have brought her even more fame.

Wakako, whose impairment is the result of a traffic accident in 1992, is married to former speed skater Keiju Takahashi. She took up marathoning in 1999 after switching to para-athletics from ice sledge racing, a sport she won two gold medals in at the 1998 Nagano Paralympics. She then won gold in the 5000 meter wheelchair race at the 2004 Athens Paralympics and silver in the marathon.

Her best finish in the New York City Marathon came in 2013, when she finished second behind Tatyana McFadden. In 2014, she secured first place at the Abbott World Marathon Majors Wheelchair Series, she placed third at both the Boston Marathon and Virgin Money London Marathon after winning her record ninth Tokyo Marathon.

Recent Highlights

- Winner of the 2017 Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Series; and
- Winner of the 2017 Subic Bay ASTC Paratriathlon Asian Championships.