22 Facts About Yuki Kawauchi

Yuki Kawauchi came to prominence after running the 2011 Tokyo Marathon in 2:08:37, finishing as the first Japanese citizen and third overall.

Yuki Kawauchi was known as the "citizen runner" given that he used to work full-time for the government of Saitama Prefecture and trained in his time off with his own expenses without any sponsorship.

Guinness World Records has recognized Yuki Kawauchi for becoming the first person to run more than 100 sub-2:20 marathons.

Yuki Kawauchi has two younger brothers, Yoshiki and Koki Kawauchi, who are marathon runners.

Yuki Kawauchi decided to continue running for pleasure, entering races and paying his own expenses.

Yuki Kawauchi finished third at the 2008 Ageo Half Marathon in a time of 1:03:22 and began to compete in marathons the following year.

Yuki Kawauchi began to break into the upper echelons of the national scene at the 2010 Tokyo Marathon, where he claimed fourth place in a personal-best time of 2:12:36.

Yuki Kawauchi improved his half-marathon best to 1:02:40 at the Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon in February 2011, finishing in the top 10.

Yuki Kawauchi set his sights on a top-eight finish at the Tokyo Marathon later that month but exceeded his own expectations by running a time of 2:08:37 and taking third place.

Yuki Kawauchi competed extensively toward the end of the year and his form held: he managed fourth at the Osaka Marathon, then took third at the Fukuoka Marathon.

The Japan Association of Athletics Federations played down his selection choices, saying that his time of 2:09:57 was not fast enough, but Yuki Kawauchi upturned tradition by saying the race was a warm-up for the second qualifier in Tokyo.

Yuki Kawauchi remarked that the fatigue from the previous race had hurt his chances of winning.

At the start of 2012, Yuki Kawauchi ran a half-marathon best of 1:02:18 in Marugame, but his unorthodox decision to race frequently ruined his chances of Olympic selection, as he finished fourteenth with a time of 2:12:51 at February's Tokyo Marathon.

Yuki Kawauchi called his own performance "disgraceful" and shaved his head to make amends for disappointing his supporters.

Yuki Kawauchi took the top honors at the Kasumigaura Marathon, Hokkaido Marathon, Sydney Marathon, Chiba Aqualine Marathon and Hofu Marathon.

On top of his marathon running, Yuki Kawauchi ran six half-marathons, including top-three finishes in Shizuoka and Ageo as well as 21st place at the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.

Yuki Kawauchi's 2:10:46 gave him the record for the shortest period of time between two sub-2:11 marathons by any runner.

The organizers of the 2013 Egyptian Marathon agreed to pay his travel expenses for the January race, but Yuki Kawauchi missed his flight after arriving at the airport without his passport.

Yuki Kawauchi broke his personal best by one second with a fourth-place finish at the Seoul International Marathon.

Yuki Kawauchi won the 2018 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:15:58, becoming the first Japanese winner since 1987.

Yuki Kawauchi married fellow runner Yuko Mizuguchi in May 2019, about two weeks after they both won their gender class in the Vancouver Marathon.

Yuki Kawauchi started running at the age of 7, by his mother Mika who used to run 800m and 1500m as a middle and high school student.