is a Japanese

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...

 long-distance runner competing mainly in the marathon. She is widely known for her victory in the women's marathon at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, a performance that stands as the current Olympic record. At the 2001 Berlin Marathon, Takahashi became the first woman to break the 2 hour 20 minute barrier while setting a world record. That record was broken just one week later by Catherine Ndereba

Catherine Ndereba

Wincatherine Nyambura Ndereba is a Kenyan marathon runner. She has twice won the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals in the Olympics in 2004 and 2008. She is also a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon...

. In the women's marathon event (and not counting multiple records set by the same athlete), she still holds the 7th best time and the 3rd best Japanese marathon performance behind Yoko Shibui

Yoko Shibui

is a long-distance runner from Japan, who is competing in the 5000 and 10,000 metres as well as the marathon race. She holds the Japanese record over 10,000 m with her best time of 30:48.89 minutes...

 (2:19:41) and Mizuki Noguchi

Mizuki Noguchi

is a Japanese professional long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon event. She is an Olympic champion over the distance and set two world records in 2005....

 (2:19:10). She is related to former Morning Musume

Morning Musume

, sometimes referred to as is a Japanese idol girl group, whose act generally revolves around singing and dancing to upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of Hello! Project, which is managed and produced by Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies of their songs...

 leader Hitomi Yoshizawa

Hitomi Yoshizawa

is a former leader of the pop group Morning Musume and current member of the duo Hangry & Angry as Hangry. She is the current leader of the Hello! Project futsal team Gatas Brilhantes H.P...

. She announced her retirement in October 2008.

Achievements

• 2001 Berlin Marathon
  Berlin Marathon
  The Berlin Marathon is a major running and sporting event held annually in Berlin, Germany. The official marathon distance of 42.195 kilometers is set up as a city-wide road race where professional athletes and amateur runners jointly participate...
  
   - world record
• 2000 Olympic Games - gold medal

Date	Event	Time	Note
Jan. 1997	Osaka International Women's Marathon	2:31:32	7th place
Mar. 1998	Nagoya International Women's Marathon	2:25:48	1st place, Japanese record at the time
Dec. 1998	Bangkok Asian Games Asian Games The Asian Games, officially known as Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until the 1978 Games. Since the 1982 Games they have been organised by the...	2:21:47	gold medal, Japanese record at the time
Mar. 2000	Nagoya International Women's Marathon	2:22:19	1st place
Sep. 2000	Sydney Olympics	2:23:14	gold medal, current Olympic record
Feb. 2001	OHME Marathon (30km)	1:41:57	Japanese record at the time
Sep. 2001	Berlin Marathon Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon is a major running and sporting event held annually in Berlin, Germany. The official marathon distance of 42.195 kilometers is set up as a city-wide road race where professional athletes and amateur runners jointly participate...	2:19:46	1st place, World Record at the time
Sep. 2002	Berlin Marathon Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon is a major running and sporting event held annually in Berlin, Germany. The official marathon distance of 42.195 kilometers is set up as a city-wide road race where professional athletes and amateur runners jointly participate...	2:21:49	1st
Nov. 2003	Tokyo International Women's Marathon 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 International Amateur Athletic Federation...	2:27:21	2nd
Nov. 2005	Tokyo International Women's Marathon 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 International Amateur Athletic Federation...	2:24:39	1st
Nov. 2006	Tokyo International Women's Marathon 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 International Amateur Athletic Federation...	2:31:22	3rd
Mar. 2008	Nagoya Marathon Nagoya Marathon The is an annual marathon race for female runners over the classic distance of 42 km and 195 metres, held in Nagoya, Japan in early March every year. It holds IAAF Silver Label road race status....	2:44:18	27th