SYDNEY — Naoko Takahashi danced to rock music pulsating from her headphones just before the start of the race. Then the beat went on for 26.2 miles in an impressive triumph in the women's marathon.
It was the first track and field goal medal for a Japanese woman, and it came in what many felt was the most impressive marathon ever run by a woman.
Takahashi, 28, was the 1998 Asian Games champion and a two-time winner of the Nagoya Marathon. She finished the scenic, hilly course on Sunday (Saturday night MDT) in an Olympic best 2 hours, 23 minutes, 14 seconds, far faster than anyone expected on the difficult layout.
Takahashi said she benefited from her recent training in the mountainous terrain of Boulder, Colo.
"It was a very tough course, but I trained on a much tougher course," Takashi said through a translator, "so I didn't feel it was that tough."
She pulled away from Romanian Lidia Simon with about 4 1/4 miles to go.
"She was a lot stronger, and that's what counted," said Simon, who was sixth in the marathon at the Atlanta Games.
Simon, 27, winner of the past two Osaka marathons and bronze medalist at last year's world championships, won the silver in 2:23.22. Joyce Chepchumba of Kenya won the bronze in 2:24.55.
Takahashi, Simon and Japan's Ari Ichihashi were together far ahead of the rest of the pack for several miles, before Ichihashi faded about two-thirds of the way through the race.
Takahashi started the race in sunglasses but took them off along the way and tossed them to her coach. She hit a motorcycle with them instead.
She entered Olympic Stadium to loud cheers from the near-capacity crowd.
When she crossed the finish line, she looked as if she had finished nothing more than a morning stroll. She stopped completely a few steps later and raised both fists in the air in triumph.
Simon gained on the winner in the final lap in the stadium.
"When I went into the stadium, I thought I would have the strength to overcome her and obtain the medal that I wanted more than anything else," Simon said, "but it was not to be."
With two Japanese flags in hand, Takahashi rounded the track and was handed two bouquets of flowers along the way.
"It hasn't really set in that I won the Olympic gold medal," she said. "Sometimes I am a little bit sorry it is finished. Sometimes I am relieved."
The powerful Japanese contingent had figured to be a medal contender, and Takahashi showed she was in top form earlier this year when she won the Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:22.19.
The only other two Japanese medals in the event were won by Yuko Arimori, a silver in 1996 and bronze in 1992. The first women's Olympic marathon was run in 1984 in Los Angeles.
The race began in a misty 57 degrees in North Sydney and ended in a humid 70 degrees in Olympic Stadium.
Takahashi bounced up and down and danced to the music, as she always does before removing her headphones for the race.
"I didn't want to be thinking 'Oh, this is the Olympic Games,' " she said. "I was listening to the music, trying to be upbeat and ready."