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
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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
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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
Comments
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.