Takanabe competed as a member of the Japanese team in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Despite missing out the individual spot in the 200 m freestyle, she managed to place third at the Olympic trials in Tokyo (2:01.39) to earn an outright selection on the relay squad. Teaming with Haruka Ueda, Maki Mita, and Misaki Yamaguchi, Takanabe closed the race with a split of 2:01.83, but the Japanese team had to settle for seventh place in 7:57.56.