Skip to main content

Hassan Runs NR/CR for Osaka Win, Dibaba Hits Women's CR, Yoshida and Shuley Earn Legends


This was maybe the most entertaining marathon in years. After rocking the 2nd leg at last year's Hakone Ekiden Hibiki Yoshida (Sunbelx) ran an incredible 1:01:01 CR for the 21.9 km New Year Ekiden 2nd leg last month, equivalent to a 58:47 half marathon. That predicted a 2:03:27 marathon if he ever ran one, and when Yoshida announced he was debuting at this year's Osaka Marathon he wasted no time in saying it'd be a shot at the 2:04:55 NR.

Things went out fast enough with a 14:50 split through 5 km, 2:05:11 pace, but Yoshida just couldn't hold back and took off at 8 km. He clearly DGAF about what was probably going to happen as his projected finish kept getting faster, 2:04:41, 2:04:15, 2:03:51, 2:03:40, edging closer and closer to what his New Year time predicted, but not helped along by the fact that he missed 4 out of his first 5 drink bottles. People laughed, and then cheered him on.

30 km was the first time he slowed, his finish projection dropping to 2:03:53, and when Djibouti NR holder Ibrahim Hassan and 2024 Osaka winner Kiyoto Hirabayashi hit the 35 km split they had cut Yoshida's lead down from 1 minute to 30 seconds. Just 2 km later they flew by, both on 2:04 pace and Hirabayashi only 2 seconds off the NR. Hassan held on for the win, cutting almost a minute off his own NR to win in a 2:05:20 CR, but Hirabayashi found himself run down by one after another African. Last year's winner Yihunilign Adane was 4 seconds under his old CR in 2:05:33 for 3rd, Ezra Kipketer and Benson Tunyo running 2:05:55 and 2:06:10 PBs for 3rd and 4th. Hirabayashi ran a narrow PB of 2:06:14 for 5th, leading Ichitaka Yamashita, Yuki Takei, Yuhei Urano and Ryo Goda in qualifying for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials.

Yoshida faded to 34th in 2:09:35. It's easy to laugh him off as ridiculously naive, but if you've seen him race and watched this one it was easy to see how totally committed he was. You've got to respect him for trying to walk the walk. Maybe if he practiced getting his drinks more seriously? Either way, he should earn massive respect for being profoundly fearless. He was awesome, and awesomely entertaining. Can you do it purely on talent and belief? No, but he'll get it right.

Also dropping a legendary run was an unknown Japan-based American, Ethan Shuley. A BYU grad who ran alongside Conner Mantz and crew there, Shuley came to Japan for work and is now in film school in Shinjuku in central Tokyo. After taking up running again he has gone through an incredible improvement over the last year and a bit, building up to a 1:01:02 PB at January's Osaka Half Marathon where he tried to make a break for the win with 1 km to go. That predicted a 2:08:10, but Shuley told JRN pre-race that he thought 2:06 was realistic and that he ran when he raced, not shot for time.

True to his word, Shuley stayed at the front of the pack behind Yoshida on low-2:05 pace all the way until Hassan and Hirabayashi took off, then gutted it out as people in the pack started to blow up. In the end he hung for a 2:07:14 PB for 14th, making him the 6th-fastest American ever on a record-elligible course. "It was a tough one, but more or less went to plan," he told JRN-post-race. For all the Japanese men who made their Olympic trials today, put another BYU grad on the short list for American L.A. contenders.

The women's race a quality battle up front with lead quartet Mare Dibaba, Esther Chemtai, Rose Chelimo and Afera Godfay going through halfway in 1:09:58 and staying together all the way past 35 km. Dibaba broke away at 40 km to win in a 2:21:44 CR, Chemtai also under the old CR in 2:22:04 for 2nd and Chelimo running a marginal PB of 2:22:52 for 3rd. Top Japanese finisher Kaede Kawamura qualified for the Olympic trials with a 2:25:55 for 6th.

Osaka Marathon

Osaka, 21 Feb. 2026

Women
1. Mare Dibaba (Ethiopia) - 2:21:44 - CR
2. Esther Chemtai (Kenya) - 2:22:04 (CR)
3. Rose Chelimo (Bahrain) - 2:22:52 - PB
4. Afera Godfay (Ethiopia) - 2:23:28
5. Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi (Morocco) - 2:24:06 - PB
6. Kaede Kawamura (Japan/Iwatani Sangyo) - 2:25:55
7. Xiaoqian Zheng (China) - 2:28:45 - PB
8. Tara Palm (Australia) - 2:31:58 - PB
9. Mao Kiyota (Japan/Suzuki) - 2:32:05
10. Kotomi Tsubokura (Japan/Wacoal) - 2:32:34
11. Danette Sheehan (Canada) - 2:33:15
12. Mio Kuroda (Japan/Kyocera) - 2:33:24
13. Tomomi Nakajima (Japan) - 2:39:00
14. Sophie Chudley (Australia) - 2:41:54
15. Yoshimi Tanaka (Japan) - 2:41:58
16. Ayaka Furukawa (Japan) - 2:42:35
17. Olivia Taylor (Australia) - 2:42:50
18. Mizuki Oda (Japan) - 2:44:24
19. Mayo Onishi (Japan) - 2:44:34
20. Caitlin Adams (Australia) - 2:45:11
21. Ingrid Cleland (Australia) - 2:45:53
22. Tomomi Nakayasu (Japan) - 2:46:54
23. Sayuri Oka (Japan) - 2:47:30
24. Sayaka Yasukawa (Japan) - 2:48:36
25. Natsuki Tomii (Japan) - 2:48:43
-----
DNF - Kuba Alemu (Ethiopia)

Men
1. Ibrahim Hassan (Djibouti) - 2:05:20 - NR, CR
2. Yihunilign Adane (Ethiopia) - 2:05:33 - PB (CR)
3. Ezra Kipketer Tanui (Kenya) - 2:05:55 - PB
4. Benson Tunyo (Kenya) - 2:06:10 - PB
5. Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Japan/Logisteed) - 2:06:14 - PB
6. Ichitaka Yamashita (Japan/Mitsubishi Juko) - 2:06:18
7. Yuki Takei (Japan/JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:06:24 - PB
8. Yuhei Urano (Japan/Fujitsu) - 2:06:41
9. Kyohei Hosoya (Japan/Mitsubishi Juko) - 2:06:44
10. Ryo Goda (Japan/Yasukawa Denki) - 2:06:51 - debut
11. Samuel Tsegay Tesfamariam (Sweden) - 2:06:51 - PB
12. Kakeru Ide (Japan/Kurosaki Harima) - 2:07:07 - PB
13. Taisei Kato (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 2:07:12 - debut
14. Ethan Shuley (U.S.A.) - 2:07:14 - PB
15. Yuta Koyama (Japan/Toenec) - 2:07:25 - PB
16. Naoki Aiba (Japan/Chudenko) - 2:07:36 - PB
17. Ken Nakayama (Japan/Honda) - 2:07:39 - PB
18. Yusuke Nishiyama (Japan/Toyota) - 2:07:44
19. Shunsuke Shikama (Japan/Logisteed) - 2:07:44 - debut
20. Shunsuke Nagata (Japan/Subaru) - 2:07:53 - debut
21. Yuto Imae (Japan/GMO) - 2:07:56 - PB
22. Elroy Gelant (South Africa) - 2:08:20
23. Jin Yuasa (Japan/Toyota) - 2:08:27 - PB
24. Shuho Dairokuno (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 2:08:35
25. Hidekazu Hijikata (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 2:08:39
26. Kento Nishi (Japan/Osaka Gas) - 2:08:49
27. Xiangdong Wu (China) - 2:08:50 - PB
28. Patrick Wambui Mathenge (Kenya/NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:08:50
29. Koki Yoshioka (Japan/Kraftia) - 2:08:51
30. Taiju Nakashima (Japan/Chugoku Denryoku) - 2:08:55
31. Yuki Osaka (Osaka Police) - 2:09:00 - PB
32. Yuito Yamamoto (Japan/Subaru) - 2:09:01 - debut
33. Akito Terui (Japan/Subaru) - 2:09:22 - PB
34. Hibiki Yoshida (Japan/Sunbelx) - 2:09:35 - debut
35. Yoshiki Sadakata (Japan/Mitsubishi Juko) - 2:09:39
36. Kenta Uchida (Japan/SID Group) - 2:09:53
37. Kaisei Sugiyama (Japan/Kao) - 2:09:55 - debut
38. Hiroto Kanamori (Japan/Komori Corp.) - 2:10:01 - PB
39. Madoka Tanihara (Japan/Osaka Police) - 2:10:08
40. Reishi Yoshida (Japan/Honda) - 2:10:17 - debut
41. Go Kiriyama (Japan/Suzuki) - 2:10:28 - debut
42. Ryo Nishikubo (Japan/Kraftia) - 2:10:40 - PB
43. Ryota Natori (Japan/Konica Minolta) - 2:10:45 - PB
44. Benjamin Choquert (France) - 2:10:47
45. Naoki Tomita (Japan/Chuo Hatsujo) - 2:10:49 - PB
46. Ken Yokote (Japan/Fujitsu) - 2:10:55 - debut
47. Takuya Kitasaki (Japan/NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:10:56 - PB
48. Kenta Fukumura (Japan/Sunayama Shogyo) - 2:11:03 - PB
49. Genki Nakanishi (Aisan Kogyo) - 2:11:09 - debut
50. Akira Aizawa (Japan/Asahi Kasei) - 2:11:13 - PB
-----
DNF - Mulugeta Asefa Uma (Ethiopia)
DNF - Shoma Hosoya (Japan/Logisteed)
DNF - Takumi Iwata (Japan/JFE Steel)
DNF - Kyosuke Kogure (Japan/SID Group)
DNF - Kazuma Kubo (Japan/Nishitetsu)
DNF - Afewerk Mesfin (Ethiopia)
DNF - Masaki Sakuda (Japan/JR Higashi Nihon)
DNF - Goki Takayama (Japan/Koku Gakuin Univ.)

© 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
How did Goki Takayama do? Yuito Yamamoto 2:09 isn't bad. I thought he'd be a 2:06 or 2:07 guy after he broke the fifth stage record in 2024 but he's just been okay.
February 22, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Anonymous said…
Hibiki Yoshida é um atleta audaz e destemido, mas teve a infelicidade de não conseguir pegar suas garrafas nas primeiras 4 mesas(5km, 10km, 15km e 20 km) isso com certeza fez diferença na performance final, agora é descansar e focar numa maratona no exterior como Chicago ou Valencia que com certeza ele pode fazer um tempo incrível na maratona.
February 22, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Anonymous said…
Hibiki foi audaz e destemido, característica dos outliers, se ele correr uma maratona no exterior como Berlim, Chicago ou Valencia fará uma grande marca.
February 23, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Anonymous said…
I was really looking forward to see Yoshida running a marathon. I couldn't watch it live so thanks a lot for this commentary.

This gave me Aoi Ota's debut from last year vibes again all over again. Ota's 5k split of 14.25 with the leading group was insane as a debut (also 1.01.17 for half marathon)and so was Yoshida going up front alone challenging everyone and everything haha.
These are the kind of guys and attitude that bring people to watch the races and that defy logic shooting big.

Now Yoshida has definitely to get used to hydrate himself properly and run a marathon with proper pacers for his targets. Like I said weeks ago just put him in Berlin with Kuroda and let's have fun.

Great to see Hirabayashi running a good marathon again, solid debut from Shikama and a good debut from a struggling Yuito Yamamoto too.

Unfortunately the Ito/Aizawa magic didn't reapper this time. The latter especially has been struggling as of late with the switch to marathons.
February 23, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

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...
2 comments
Read more

16 Women and 26 Men on the Current Olympic Trials Qualifier List

Last weekend's Nagoya Women's Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon the weekend before brought the main part of the first year of qualification for the Marathon Grand Championship Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials to be held in Nagoya in October, 2027, to an end. There are still a few races like the Nagano Marathon and overseas World Athletics platinum label races this season where people might qualify, but for the most part we're not likely to see many new additions until August's Hokkaido Marathon, where the qualifying period opened last year. As of right now 16 women and 26 men have qualified, although the first woman to make the cut, Ai Hosoda , announced that she was retiring after Tokyo earlier this month. Out of the 16 women to have qualified so far, Mikuni Yada is the fastest with her 2:19:57 debut at Osaka Women's in January. Including Hosoda that makes 2 qualifiers for the Edion corporate team, but Daihatsu has the biggest share of the field so ...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
53 comments
Read more