Osaka International Women's Marathon Elite Field

The Osaka International Women's Marathon jumps into the World Athletics platinum label pool Jan. 29 with its 42nd edition. A-group pacing it set to go at 3:19~20/km, 2:19:57 to 2:20:39 pace, with organizers opting to switch back to female pacers after two years with men. They've pulled in a trio of recent 2:20-level women, Kenyan Maurine Chepkemoi and Ethiopians Haven Hailu Desse and Sisay Meseret Gola, to try to max out the chances that the top Japanese women will be able to ride that in to something close to sub-2:20, and have tweaked the course a bit to do the same.

Yuka Ando (Wacoal) is the only Japanese woman in the race to have gone sub-2:22 in her career, but in terms of times in the last three years she's one of three coming in with a 2:22, alongside last year's runner-up Mao Uesugi (Starts) and Sayaka Sato (Sekisui Kagaku). Tokyo Olympian Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) is in the mix too with a 2:23:30 in Osaka two years ago and some good half marathons last year, if she can make it to the starting line.

Interesting debuts include sub-70 half marathoner Sakiho Tsutsui (Yamada Holdings), steepler Yumi Yoshikawa (Uniqlo), Yuna Daito (Tenmaya), and the long-awaited first stab from 2009 World University Games 10000 m gold medalist Kasumi Nishihara (Sysmex). Hidden away deep in the field without a recent qualifying time but given special permission from the JAAF to run is collegiate record holder Sairi Maeda (Daihatsu), running her first marathon since 2019. 60+ world record holder Mariko Yugeta (Saitama T&F Assoc.) is also back for the race where she ran her 2:52:13 WR two years ago.

Things are starting to count down toward the qualification deadline for the MGC Race, Japan's Paris Olympics marathon trials next October. Sato, Ando and Uesugi have all already qualified and can just focus on time. Likewise for mid-fielders Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) and Reia Iwade (Denso). The main question will be whether Honami Maeda, winner of the last MGC Race, can finally get a qualifying mark in. To do that, she and others will need to finish in the first three Japanese places and sub-2:28, in the next three Japanese places and sub-2:27, or any domestic place beyond that and sub-2:24. Chiharu Ikeda (Hitachi) has the lowest bar to make the cut through the two-race 2:28:00 average option, her 2:26:50 in Nagoya last spring meaning she only needs to run 2:29:10 or better whatever place she finishes.

Fuji TV will broadcast the race live starting at noon on Jan. 29. Check back closer to race date for more info on following live.

42nd Osaka International Women's Marathon

Elite Field Highlights

Osaka, 29 Jan. 2023

complete field listing

times listed are best in last 3 years except where noted

Maurine Chepkemoi (Kenya) - 2:20:18 (Amsterdam 2021)

Haven Hailu Desse (Ethiopia) - 2:20:19 (Amsterdam 2021)

Sisay Meseret Gola (Ethiopia) - 2:20:50 (Seville 2022)

Sayaka Sato (Sekisui Kagaku) - 2:22:13 (Berlin 2022)

Yuka Ando (Wacoal) - 2:22:22 (Nagoya 2022)

Mao Uesugi (Starts) - 2:22:29 (Osaka Int'l 2022)

Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) - 2:23:30 (Osaka Int'l 2021) - scratch due to injury

Sairi Maeda (Daihatsu) - 2:25:25 (Nagoya 2019)

Haruka Yamaguchi (AC Kita) - 2:26:35 (Osaka Int'l 2020)

Chiharu Ikeda (Hitachi) - 2:26:50 (Nagoya 2022)

Risper Gesabwa (Mexico) - 2:26:55 (Valencia 2021)

Reia Iwade (Denso) - 2:27:03 (Nagoya 2022)

Munkhzaya Bayartsogt (Mongolia) - 2:28:03 (Osaka Int'l 2020)

Shiho Kaneshige (GRlab Yamaguchi) - 2:28:51 (Osaka Int'l 2020)

Alice Wright (Great Britain) - 2:29:08 (Houston 2022)

Anna Matsuda (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 2:29:52 (Osaka Int'l 2021)

Yui Okada (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:30:03 (Tokyo 2022)

Nana Sato (Starts) - 2:30:24 (Nagoya 2022)

Misato Horie (Sysmex) - 2:32:10 (Osaka 2022)

Madoka Nakano (Iwatani Sangyo) - 2:32:56 (Osaka Int'l 2021) - scratch due to injury

Mariko Yugeta (Saitama T&F Assoc.) - 2:52:13 (Osaka Int'l 2021)

Debut/Do-Over

Sakiho Tsutsui (Yamada Holdings) - 1:09:14 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2020)

Yumi Yoshikawa (Uniqlo) - 1:10:07 (Sanyo Half 2021)

Yuna Daito (Tenmaya) - 1:10:12 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2022)

Kotomi Tsubokura (Wacoal) - 1:11:02 (Sanyo Half 2021)

Honoka Tanaike (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:11:13 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2022)

Kasumi Nishihara (Sysmex) - 1:52:27 (Osaka 30 km 2022)

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview and Streaming (updated)

Japan's winter marathon season of 6 major races in 7-straight weekends wraps up Sunday with the world's largest women-only marathon, the Nagoya Women's Marathon . The weather is looking pretty good, 6˚ at the start rising to 10˚ by the finish and sunny skies, but a moderate 7 m/s NW wind means a headwind finish that might impact the potential for some fast times. Official streaming kicks off at 9:00 a.m. local time. Live results will be here . Sheila Chepkirui won last year in 2:20:40, breaking away from Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba at 30 km and hanging on for the win. Sato negative split a 2:20:59 PB for 2nd, Chumba fading to 3rd in 2:21:36. All 3 are back this time, but they have pretty serious competition from Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Selly Chepyego Kaptich , 2:20:03 in Barcelona 2023. And of course, Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda . Maeda ran 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024 to make the Paris Oly...

How it Happened

Ancient History I went to Wesleyan University, where the legend of four-time Boston Marathon champ and Wes alum Bill Rodgers hung heavy over the cross-country team. Inspired by Koichi Morishita and Young-Cho Hwang’s duel at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics I ran my first marathon in 1993, qualifying for Boston ’94 where Bill was kind enough to sign a star-struck 20-year-old me’s bib number at the expo. Three years later I moved to Japan for grad school, and through a long string of coincidences I came across a teenaged kid named Yuki Kawauchi down at my neighborhood track. I never imagined he’d become what he is, but right from the start there was just something different about him. After his 2:08:37 breakthrough at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon he called me up and asked me to help him get into races abroad. He’d finished 3rd on the brutal downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, and given how he’d run the hills in the last 6 km at Tokyo ’11 I thought he’d do well at Boston or New York. “I...

japan running news

Search This Blog