Skip to main content

Fukuoka International Marathon Elite Field


The Fukuoka International Marathon is back Dec. 7 with exactly the kind of boutique field it's had over the decades. Up front are two of the home soil stars from February's Osaka Marathon, Kyohei Hosoya, 2:05:58, and Shunya Kikuchi, 2:06:06. Their toughest competition comes from Djibouti NR holder and 2023 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon winner Ibrahim Hassan, 2:06:13, and Yusuke Nishiyama, who ran a 2:06:31 PB in Tokyo last year despite getting caught up in a fall in the early going.

There's a layer of 5 2:07 men, 3 at 2:08 and a lone 2:09 runner below them, a total of 6 sub-2:10 Japanese men competing for 6 places at the L.A. Olympic marathon trials for anyone who goes under 2:09 here with support from 7 internationals from 5 countries. The Konica Minolta corporate team hasn't shown incredible aptitude for the marathon, but its 1:01:04 half marathoner Ren Yonemitsu is an interesting debut.

Check back closer to race date for info on streaming and following from outside Japan.

2025 Fukuoka International Marathon Elite Field Highlights

Fukuoka, 7 Dec. 2025
times listed are athletes' best within last 3 years except where noted

Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima) - 2:05:58 (Osaka 2025)
Shunya Kikuchi (Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:06:06 (Osaka 2025)
Ibrahim Hassan (Djibouti) - 2:06:13 (Paris 2025)
Yusuke Nishiyama (Toyota) - 2:06:31 (Tokyo 2024)
Tatsuya Maruyama (Toyota) - 2:07:06 (Tokyo 2025)
Michael Githae (Kenya/Suzuki) - 2:07:08 (Fukuoka Int'l 2023)
Vincent Raimoi (Kenya/Suzuki) - 2:07:23 (Tokyo 2023)
Yitayew Abuhay (Israel) - 2:07:26 (Seville 2025)
Goitom Kifle (Eritrea) - 2:07:38 (Seville 2025)
Dominic Letting (Kenya) - 2:08:23 (Frankfurt 2023)
Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Asahi Kasei) - 2:08:34 (Shanghai 2024)
Bayelign Yegzaw (Ethiopia) - 2:08:56 (Dubai 2024)
Takumi Iwata (JFE Steel) - 2:09:28 (Osaka 2025)
Tomoki Yoshioka (Kraftia) - 2:10:03 (Beppu-OIta 2024)
Ryuichi Yoshioka (Honda Tochigi) - 2:10:49 (Tokyo 2025)
Yudai Fukuda (Ishikawa T&F Assoc.) - 2:11:26 (Berlin 2025)
Kazuma Kubo (Nishitetsu) - 2:11:31 (Osaka 2025)
Shintaro Miyakawa (Tokyo Police) - 2:11:39 (Tokyo 2025)
Shinta Miyazawa (Suzuki) - 2:11:55 (Hofu 2024)

Debut
Ren Yonemitsu (Konica Minolta) - 1:01:04 (Marugame Half 2025)
Kohei Okada (Fukuoka T&F Assoc.) - 1:02:16 (National Corporate Half 2024)

© 2025 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...
1 comment
Read more

Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon

On Apr. 9 the Kinki Region Bureau of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Division arrested Matthew Inglis Fox , 38, an Australian business owner of no known fixed address, on charges of violating the importation regulations of the Narcotics Control Act by smuggling tablets containing marijuana elements from the United States. The suspect had entered Japan in February to run in the Osaka Marathon . The suspect was arrested on suspicion of smuggling approximately 12 pills containing marijuana by sending them from a U.S. airport to Osaka's Kansai Airport using an international courier service on Feb. 19. The Osaka branch of the Customs Service discovered the tablets in arriving cargo and suspected them to be narcotics. Customs contacted the Narcotics Control Division, which then began its investigation of the case. According to the Narcotics Control Division, the suspect denies the charges.  Translator's note: Fox, who received a lifetime ban from the Ageo City Half Mara...
41 comments
Read more

Chisato Fukushima Selected as First Women`s 100 m Olympian in 56 Years

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080706-00000027-yom-spo http://www.47news.jp/CN/200807/CN2008070601000467.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On July 6 Rikuren announced that it has added women`s 100 m runner Chisato Fukushima (20, Hokkaido HiTec AC) to the Beijing Olympic team. Fukushima will become the first Japanese woman to compete in the Olympic 100 m since Ayako Yoshikawa ran in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Fukushima broke the Olympic B-standard of 11.42 with her national record-tying 11.36 mark at April`s Oda Memorial Meet. Although she won June`s National Track and Field Championships, Fukushima was not initially selected for the team as she did not meet the Olympic A-standard. In light of her victory at today`s Nambu Memorial Meet in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Rikuren reversed its decision and added her to the Olympic team lineup. Fukushima reacted to the news of her Beijing ticket by saying, "It hasn`t really hit me that it`s real yet. I would be honored to be the tri...
Post a Comment
Read more