Yoshitomi and Matsumura Lead Osaka Marathon Elite Field

One of the world's ten biggest marathons with nearly 30,000 finishers, his year's Osaka Marathon takes place Nov. 25. At the elite level Osaka has carved an interesting place for itself as a sort of unofficial amateur Japanese women's national championships, with just about all of Japan's sub-2:40 amateur women entered. 2017 winner Yumiko Kinoshita (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) leads 6 of last year's top 7 including Mitsuko Ino (Linkstyle), who finished just 1 second behind Kinoshita in the last edition, and 2016 Osaka winner Yoshiko Sakamoto (F.O.R.). But they have serious competition ahead of them this time in the form of quasi-corporate leaguer Hiroko Yoshitomi (Memolead), fresh from a 2:30:09 PB and CR win at the Nov. 11 Fukuoka Marathon, and 2:31:09 Moroccan Soud Kanbouchia. First-timer Felista Wambui (Kenya) is a wildcard. The high-volume racer Yoshitomi is the heavy favorite, the only question really being whether she can finally break 2:30 for the first time.

The men's side of the equation has more of an international contingent, featuring three Kenyans led by 2018 Copenhagen Marathon winner William Morwabe, and Moroccan Abdenasir Fathi. But as in the women's race the #1 seed is a Japanese runner, in this case 2014 Incheon Asian Games silver medalist Kohei Matsumura (MHPS). Matsumura has had a rough time since then, but a 2:11:04 at last year's Lake Biwa suggest he's heading back in the right direction. His strongest domestic competitors are 2017 Osaka runner-up Hideyuki Ikegami (Aminosaurus) and 2016 Katsuta Marathon course record-setter Shingo Igarashi (Josai Univ. Staff).

2018 Osaka Marathon Elite Field Highlights

Osaka, 11/25/18
detailed field listing
times listed are best within last 3 years except where noted

Women
Hiroko Yoshitomi (Japan/Memolead) - 2:30:09 (Fukuoka 2018)
Soud Kanbouchia (Morocco) - 2:31:09 (Daegu 2017)
Yumiko Kinoshita (Japan/Tokyo T&F Assoc.) - 2:34:38 (Osaka 2017)
Mitsuko Ino (Japan/Linkstyle) - 2:34:39 (Osaka 2017)
Yoshiko Sakamoto (Japan/F.O.R.) - 2:35:40 (Tokyo 2018)
Hisae Yoshimatsu (Japan/Shunan City Hall) - 2:36:02
Azusa Nojiri (Japan/NikoA) - 2:36:53 (Osaka 2017)
Haruka Yamaguchi (Japan/AC Kita) - 2:38:18 (Beppu-Oita 2018)
Kie Watanabe (Japan/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 2:40:23 (Shizuoka 2018)
Minami Nakashima (Japan/Kansai Gaikokugo Univ.) - 2:43:16 (Tokyo 2018)

Felista Wambui (Kenya) - debut - 1:13:51 (Niigata Half 2017)

Men
Kohei Matsumura (Japan/MHPS) - 2:11:04 (Lake Biwa 2017)
William Morwabe (Kenya) - 2:11:15 (Copenhagen 2018)
Julius Wahome (Kenya) - 2:12:05 (Chongqing 2016)
Charles Munyeki (Kenya) - 2:12:55 (Warsaw 2016)
Hideyuki Ikegami (Japan/Aminosaurus) - 2:13:41 (Osaka 2017)
Shingo Igarashi (Japan/Josai Univ. Staff) - 2:13:15 (Katsuta 2016)
Abdenasir Fathi (Morocco) - 2:14:33 (Rabat 2017)
Sho Matsumoto (Japan/Nikkei Business) - 2:15:50 (Osaka 2016)
Ahihiro Kaneko (Japan/Comody Iida) - 2:18:26 (Tsukuba 2017)

© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

2026 Tokyo Marathon Elite Field

The Mar. 1 Tokyo Marathon has great fields this year, so let's get right to it. The women's field has 3 of last year's top 10, winner for the 2nd year in a row and Tokyo CR holder Sutume Asefa Kebede , 3rd-placer and 2025 Chicago winner Hawi Feysa , and 5th-placer and 2025 Berlin winner Rosemary Wanjiru , plus 2024 Valencia winner Megertu Alemu , 2025 Prague winner Bertukan Welde , 2024 Paris winner Mestawut Fikir , 2024 Osaka winner Waganesh Mekasha , former WR holder Brigid Kosgei , and a lot more. Japanese hopes pretty much go to all-time #7 Ai Hosoda , 2:20:31 in Berlin 2024 but who announced this month that she is retiring after Tokyo despite having qualified for the 2028 Olympic marathon trials with her 2:23:27 for 6th in Sydney last year. Other internationals include Canadian Malindi Elmore , American Sara Hall , a big Chinese group led by Yuyu Xia , Poland's Aleksandra Brzezińska and Australian Vanessa Wilson . The men's race has 5 of last year's top 1...

Measuring Marathon Courses by Bicycle

http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2013&d=0110&f=column_0110_034.shtml translated by Brett Larner The full marathon is a sport where you compete over 42.195 km, but how do they go about measuring that distance? Today we're going to look a little bit at how they go about certifying the distance of a marathon. The reality is that major international marathons use a bicycle to measure the distance. This rule is an international standard, and the same method of measurement is used everywhere. It was put into place in 1986. In order to ensure that the same method is used everywhere, a bicycle that meets IAAF specifications must be used for measurement. In the case of Japan's major marathons, to be certain that the distance is correct a provisional measurement is first made. Before the course is certified using a bicycle the course is measured using a 50 m-long length of wire to determine that it is in fact 42.195 km. When a bicycle is u...

Ai Hosoda Announces Retirement

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/Photo Run, all rights reserved On Jan. 8 the Edion women's corporate team announced that Ai Hosoda , 30, will retire at the end of March this year. The Tokyo Marathon will be her last race. At Nagano Higashi H.S. Hosoda ran in the National High School Ekiden her 2nd and 3rd years. During her 3rd year at Nittai University she won both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, going on to win the bronze medal in the 10000 m at the World University Games in her 4th year at Nittai. After graduating she joined the Daihatsu corporate team, debuting at the 2019 Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:29:27. 2 years later she transferred to Edion. She qualified for the Paris Olympics marathon trials at the 2022 Nagoya Women's Marathon and finished 3rd in the trials in the fall of 2023, but was later bumped down to Olympic alternate after another athlete ran a faster time. Instead of the Olympics, Hosoda ran the 2024 Ber...

japan running news

Search This Blog