Akemi Masuda is a retired Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 female long-distance runner. She competed for Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 at the 1984 Summer Olympics

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

 in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, although she failed to finish the race. Masuda set her personal best in the classic distance (2:30:30) in 1983.

He rose to prominence with a gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 on the track over 3000 metres

3000 metres

The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...

 at the 1981 Asian Athletics Championships and by winning the inaugural 20 km women's race at the Sapporo Half Marathon

Sapporo Half Marathon

The ' is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance which takes place in July in Sapporo, Japan.First held in 1958, the race began as a full marathon competition for men under the moniker of the Hokkai Times Marathon. This lasted until 1973, as it was replaced with a...

 event. She continued to focus on road events and won at the 1982 Chiba Marathon. She was the runner-up at the 1984 Osaka Ladies Marathon, a result which led to her sole Olympic selection for the women's marathon. Among her other results, she was third at the 1989 Hokkaido Marathon

Hokkaido Marathon

The Hokkaido Marathon held in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan, is one of the prominent marathon races of the year.The starting point for the race is on the east side of Nakajima Park and the race finishes at Nishi 8-chome of Odori Park...

 and took 19th place at the 1990 London Marathon

London Marathon

The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...

.

Achievements

Representing the
1981	Asian Championships 1981 Asian Championships in Athletics -Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-External links:*...	Tokyo, Japan	1st	3000 m	9:18.17
1982	Chiba Marathon	Chiba, Japan Chiba, Chiba is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is located approximately 40 km east of the center of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. Chiba City became a government designated city in 1992. Its population as of 2008 is approximately 960,000....	1st	Marathon	2:36:34
1983	Osaka International Women's Marathon	Osaka, Japan	—	Marathon	—
1984	Osaka International Women's Marathon	Osaka, Japan	2nd	Marathon
1984	Olympic Games Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, 41 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 17 by women. There were a total number of 1273 participating athletes from 124 countries.-Men's events:-Women's events:...	Los Angeles, United States Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...	—	Marathon	DNF