[1] Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya won gold in 2:27:20 followed by world record holder and Kenyan teammate Brigid Kosgei with silver, and American Molly Seidel winning the bronze medal in her third-ever marathon.

[2] The race was moved north, from Tokyo to Sapporo because the latter is on average 4 °C (7 °F) cooler in August, as decided in 2019 by the IOC.

[4] The gifts for the competition were presented by Sebastian Coe, United Kingdom; World Athletics President.

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to three athletes in the women's marathon if all athletes met the entry standard or qualify by ranking during the qualifying period (the qualification period for "Entry Standard" (2:29:30) was from 1 January 2019 to 31 May 2021, with a maximum quota per NOC of 3.[5]).

[5][7] In July 2020, World Athletics announced that the suspension period would be lifted for the road events (marathons and race walks) on 1 September 2020.

The marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 kilometers) was run over a course that started with two laps around Odori Park.