Last weekend at the Diamond League London stop, Briton Cole broke the men's one-mile world record that had stood for 26 years, drawing most of the attention.
In fact the London meeting produced many strong performances, including in the women's 3000 m where Japanese middle/long-distance star Nozomi Tanaka (Toyota Industries) ran 8:32.29, cutting 1.23 seconds off her previous Japanese record of 8:33.52 set at the Millrose Games in New York in February 2025.
Although she ultimately finished 13th, resetting a national record on a Diamond League stage crowded with the world's top athletes speaks for itself. With this result she also becomes the eighth-fastest woman in Asian history over 3000 m and the fastest active runner.
01
Racing back-to-back and still breaking the national record
The Diamond League London women's 3000 m went into a high tempo from the start, with the 1000 m split around 2:48 and 2000 m around 5:41. Tanaka ran in the pack throughout, never falling off the group, and finished with the new Japanese record. The win went to Australia’s Jessica Hull in 8:24.69.
Image source: social media
According to Japanese media ekiden_news, Tanaka’s record this time was not easy to achieve.
Earlier at the Hokuren Chitose meet, Tanaka ran 1500 m in 4:08.53 and 5000 m in 15:00.61 on the same day, then immediately headed to Europe, using the long-haul flight after a high-intensity load as a recovery period. After posting a season-best for 3000 m at the Monaco stop she went to St. Moritz for altitude adjustment, then flew into London — a tightly packed schedule of just over ten days that condenses years of overseas competition experience accumulated by her team.
02
An ever-expanding record portfolio
With this new 3000 m Japanese record, the number of Japanese records Tanaka has set in her career has reached 12 eventsMajor national records include:
1000 m 2:37.33 Japanese record
1500 m 3:59.19 Japanese record
2000 m 5:40.89 Japanese record
3000 m 8:32.29 Japanese record (updated this time)
5000 m 14:29.18 Japanese record
1 mile 4:28.54 Japanese record (including indoor)
1500 m (indoor) 4:08.46 Asian indoor record
1000 m (indoor) 2:39.06 Japanese indoor record
3000 m (indoor) 8:33.52 Indoor Asian record (formerly the outdoor Japanese record)
Since she broke the women's 3000 m Japanese record that had stood for 18 years in July 2020 in Fukagawa, Hokkaido, 田中希实 has continued to reshape Japan's middle- and long-distance running landscape with her versatility from 800 m to 5000 m.
This 1.23-second improvement at the London meet once again proves that this "Japanese middle- and long-distance record crusher" has never stopped evolving.
[End-of-article interaction]
#What do you think about Nozomi Tanaka constantly breaking records?#
Text / Editor: CC
Image sources: Paoye Dabaozha, social media.
Visuals: Max
