Her best performance of 2002 came at the national championships, but her mark of was not enough to defeat Ota. Both Imai and Ota faltered at the 2002 Asian Athletics Championships – Imai's jump of was only enough for fourth while Ota had even greater difficulties, some five centimetres back. The 2003 season was the last in which Imai managed over 1.90 m. She equalled her own indoor record for a second time at the Sparkassen Cup and had a season's best of 1.92 m at the Shizuoka International meeting. She cleared the same mark to beat Ota to the national title, but failed to have a successful jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics.