# 1997 World Championships in Athletics – Women's marathon

The Women's Marathon at the 1997 World Championships in Athens, Greece, was held on Saturday August 9, 1997, with the start at 08:05h local time.

## Medalists

| Gold | Hiromi Suzuki Japan (JPN) |
| Silver | Manuela Machado Portugal (POR) |
| Bronze | Lidia Șimon Romania (ROM) |

## Records

Standing records prior to the 1997 World Athletics Championships :
| World record | Ingrid Kristiansen | Norway | 2:21:06 | April 21, 1985 | London, United Kingdom |
| Championships record | Rosa Mota | Portugal | 2:25:17 | August 29, 1987 | Rome, Italy |
| Season best | Tegla Loroupe | Kenya | 2:22:07 | April 20, 1997 | Rotterdam, Netherlands |

## Final ranking

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| | Hiromi Suzuki | Japan (JPN) | 2:29:48 |
| | Manuela Machado | Portugal (POR) | 2:31:12 |
| | Lidia Șimon | Romania (ROM) | 2:31:55 |
| 4 | Takako Tobise | Japan (JPN) | 2:32:18 |
| 5 | Ornella Ferrara | Italy (ITA) | 2:33:10 |
| 6 | Iris Biba | Germany (GER) | 2:34:06 |
| 7 | Sonja Krolik | Germany (GER) | 2:35:28 |
| 8 | Franziska Rochat-Moser | Switzerland (SUI) | 2:36:16 |
| 9 | Yelena Razdrogina | Russia (RUS) | 2:36:37 |
| 10 | Nobuko Fujimura | Japan (JPN) | 2:36:51 |
| 11 | Anuța Cătună | Romania (ROM) | 2:38:38 |
| 12 | Maria Polyzou | Greece (GRE) | 2:39:10 |
| 13 | Franca Fiacconi | Italy (ITA) | 2:39:53 |
| 14 | Christine Mallo | France (FRA) | 2:40:55 |
| 15 | Elfenesh Alemu | Ethiopia (ETH) | 2:41:00 |
| 16 | Grete Kirkeberg | Norway (NOR) | 2:41:05 |
| 17 | Maryse Le Gallo | France (FRA) | 2:41:08 |
| 18 | Aurica Buia | Romania (ROM) | 2:41:45 |
| 19 | Mariko Hara | Japan (JPN) | 2:42:00 |
| 20 | Heather Turland | Australia (AUS) | 2:42:12 |
| 21 | Rocío Ríos | Spain (ESP) | 2:42:18 |
| 22 | Judit Földing-Nagy | Hungary (HUN) | 2:42:21 |
| 23 | Angharad Mair | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 2:42:31 |
| 24 | Laura Fogli | Italy (ITA) | 2:43:28 |
| 25 | Cheryl Collins | United States (USA) | 2:43:42 |
| 26 | Olga Yudenkova | Belarus (BLR) | 2:43:47 |
| 27 | Anna Villani | Italy (ITA) | 2:43:58 |
| 28 | Sally Goldsmith | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 2:44:20 |
| 29 | Tomoe Abe | Japan (JPN) | 2:45:19 |
| 30 | Nuţa Olaru | Romania (ROM) | 2:47:12 |
| 31 | Elena Vinitskaya | Belarus (BLR) | 2:47:57 |
| 32 | Manuela Veith | Germany (GER) | 2:48:45 |
| 33 | Asselefech Assefa | Ethiopia (ETH) | 2:48:54 |
| 34 | Evelyne Mura | France (FRA) | 2:48:57 |
| 35 | Danielle Sanderson | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 2:49:03 |
| 36 | Julia Kirtland | United States (USA) | 2:49:43 |
| 37 | Anfisa Kosacheva | Russia (RUS) | 2:50:29 |
| 38 | Grace de Oliveira | South Africa (RSA) | 2:50:36 |
| 39 | Gaëlle Houitte | France (FRA) | 2:50:38 |
| 40 | Jeanne Peterson | United States (USA) | 2:51:59 |
| 41 | Irina Timofeyeva | Russia (RUS) | 2:53:01 |
| 42 | Panayota Nikolakopoulou | Greece (GRE) | 2:54:03 |
| 43 | Lo Man Yi | Hong Kong (HKG) | 2:54:59 |
| 44 | Alemitu Bekele | Ethiopia (ETH) | 2:55:06 |
| 45 | Georgia Ambatzidou | Greece (GRE) | 2:56:58 |
| 46 | Marisol Vargas | Mexico (MEX) | 2:58:22 |
| 47 | Carolyn Hunter-Rowe | Great Britain & N.I. (GBR) | 3:01:01 |
| 48 | May Allison | Canada (CAN) | 3:01:26 |
| 49 | Danuta Bartoszek | Canada (CAN) | 3:01:30 |
| 50 | Rita Toto | South Africa (RSA) | 3:04:05 |
| 51 | Rosa Salinas | Mexico (MEX) | 3:12:55 |
| 52 | Gina Liseth Coello | Honduras (HON) | 3:17:33 |
| 53 | Alexandra De Snoo | Aruba (ARU) | 3:22:08 |
| 54 | Gulsara Dadabayeva | Tajikistan (TJK) | 3:30:45 |
| — | Gadisay Edato | Ethiopia (ETH) | DNF |
| — | Fatuma Roba | Ethiopia (ETH) | DNF |
| — | Jane Salumäe | Estonia (EST) | DNF |
| — | Alina Tecuta | Romania (ROM) | DNF |
| — | Sonia Maccioni | Italy (ITA) | DNF |
| — | Birgit Jerschabek | Germany (GER) | DNF |
| — | Rosa Oliveira | Portugal (POR) | DNF |
| — | Galina Baruk | Belarus (BLR) | DNF |
| — | Alena Mazouka | Belarus (BLR) | DNF |
| — | Alina Ivanova | Russia (RUS) | DNF |
| — | Nicole Carroll | Australia (AUS) | DNF |
| — | Anita Håkenstad | Norway (NOR) | DNF |
| — | Josette Colomb-Janin | France (FRA) | DNF |
| — | Mary Alico | United States (USA) | DNF |
| — | Patty Valadka | United States (USA) | DNF |
| — | Maria Elena Reyna | Mexico (MEX) | DNF |
| — | Lucia Rendon | Mexico (MEX) | DNF |
| — | Flor Venegas | Chile (CHI) | DNF |
| — | Paraskevi Kastriti | Greece (GRE) | DNF |
| — | Chrisoula Souma | Greece (GRE) | DNF |