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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

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