Skip to main content

Osaka Marathon Preview


The Osaka Marathon is Sunday, one of Japan's biggest mass-participation races and the next stop on the calendar for its elite marathoners hoping to qualify for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials in the fall of 2027. Last year it snowed mid-race, but this year is looking warmer than ideal given the season, with sunny skies, almost no wind, and temps forecast to be 11˚ at the start and rising to 19˚ by the time the winners are finishing. NHK is broadcasting Osaka with a heavy emphasis on the men's race, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it from overseas. There's also official streaming on Youtube starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, although it doesn't look like it's the same as what NHK will be showing.

Given Osaka's history at the elite level as the continuation of the men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the women's field is small relative to the men's, just enough to tick World Athletics' label requirements and with almost no domestic athletes. Last year there were no pacers for the women's race, which Waganesh Mekasha won in a pretty modest 2:26:33, and the only part of it that NHK showed was top-placing Japanese runner Anna Matsuda's 5th-place finish. This year there's a group of 4 internationals at the 2:19-2:22 level led by Ethiopian Sinhala Kureshi, probably about right for the home team's Kaede Kawamura to run with in a shot at breaking her 2:25:44 PB from Osaka 2 years ago. Miku Hirashima is a scratch with injury, but first-timers Mio Kuroda and Esther Chemtai are potential adds to the front group, Kuroda with a 1:44:49 at last year's Kumanichi 30 km and Chemtai with a 1:08:09 half marathon best.

The men's race has lost #1-ranked Bute Gemechu and one of its top Japanese men, Daisuke Doi, but it's still set up pretty well to take a stab the 2:05:37 CR set by Yihunlign Adane last year. Yihunlign is back and faces fellow 2:05 runners Mulugeta Asefa Uma, Elroy Gelant, Ichitaka Yamashita, Kyohei Hosoya and Kenya Sonota, plus a second tier of 2:06 people including 2024 winner Kiyoto Hirabayashi, Yuhei Urano, Ibrahim Hassan and Yusuke Nishiyama, 6 debuting sub-61 half marathoners, and the big-talking New Year Ekiden Second Stage CR-breaker Hibiki Yoshida.

At the pre-race press conference Hosoya said that he's in shape to better his 2:05:58 PB from last year, with Nishiyama saying his goal is to win and Hirabayashi that he is just trying to seal up his Olympic trials qualification. That means being in the top 6 Japanese finishers and under 2:09:00, or breaking 2:06:30 if outside the 6 fastest Japanese men. Yoshida's New Year Ekiden run was equivalent to a 58:48 half marathon, which suggests he could run about 2:03:30. He knows it, too, saying he's going for the 2:04:55 NR right out the gate. It's probably too hot and not the right field to have any support trying to do that, but Yoshida rocked Hakone last year and the New Year this year, so good luck to him on making this one something to remember.

Down the field a ways but worth notice is Japan-based American Ethan Shuley. A BYU grad, Shuley has been running on his own in Tokyo and come up a lot over the last year. He ran a 2:11:30 PB in Kobe last fall and almost stole the win at the Osaka Half in January with a 1:01:02 PB. Shuley told JRN that he wants to run 2:06 in Osaka and plans to just go with the field. That might be a bit ambitious, but his Osaka Half time predicts something close to 2:08-flat. If he's anything close to that it should get him some headlines back home.

Osaka Marathon Elite Field Highlights

Osaka, 22 Feb. 2026
times listed are athletes' best in last 3 years except where noted

Women
Sinhala Kureshi (Ethiopia) - 2:19:53 (Hamburg 2025)
Afera Godfay (Ethiopia) - 2:21:50 (Toronto 2024)
Mare Dibaba (Ethiopia) - 2:22:36 (Cape Town 2024)
Rose Chelimo (Bahrain) - 2:22:55 (Amsterdam 2025)
Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi (Morocco) - 2:24:12 (Xiamen 2024)
Kaede Kawamura (Iwatani Sangyo) - 2:25:44 (Osaka 2024)
Kuba Alemu (Ethiopia) - 2:26:43 (Osaka 2025)
Xiaoqian Zheng (China) - 2:29:07 (Nanjing 2025)
Mao Kiyota (Suzuki) - 2:29:20 (Nagoya women's 2023)
Caitlin Adams (Australia) - 2:30:26 (Melbourne 2025)
Rebecca Lowe (Australia) - 2:30:50 (Valencia 2025)
Tara Palm (Australia) - 2:32:22 (Berlin 2024)

Debut
Mio Kuroda (Kyocera) - 1:44:49 (Kumanichi 30 km 2025)
Esther Chemtai (Kenya) - 1:08:09 (Cardiff Half 2025)

Men
Mulugeta Asefa Uma (Ethiopia) - 2:05:33 (Paris 2024)
Elroy Gelant (South Africa) - 2:05:36 (Hamburg 2025)
Yihunilign Adane (Ethiopia) - 2:05:37 (Osaka 2025)
Ichitaka Yamashita (Mitsubishi Juko) - 2:05:51 (Tokyo 2023)
Kyohei Hosoya (Kurosaki Harima) - 2:05:58 (Osaka 2025)
Kenya Sonota (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:05:59 (Tokyo 2023)
Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Logisteed) - 2:06:18 (Osaka 2024)
Yuhei Urano (Fujitsu) - 2:06:23 (Tokyo 2025)
Ibrahim Hassan (Djibouti) - 2:06:31 (Paris 2025)
Yusuke Nishiyama (Toyota) - 2:06:31 (Tokyo 2024)
Afewerk Mesfin (Ethiopia) - 2:07:08 (Xiamen 2025)
Toshiki Sadakata (Mitsubishi Juko) - 2:07:24 (Osaka 2023)
Shungo Yokota (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:07:25 (Tokyo 2024)
Ezra Kipketer Tanui (Kenya) - 2:07:28 (Doha 2025)
Koki Yoshioka (Kraftia) - 2:07:28 (Osaka 2023)
Yuki Takei (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:07:33 (Gold Coast 2025)
Yuki Kawauchi (ANDS) - 2:07:35 (Osaka 2023)
Naoya Sakuda (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:07:39 (Seoul 2025)
Benjamin Choquert (France) - 2:07:42 (Valencia 2023)
Shoma Hosoya (Logisteed) - 2:07:48 (Osaka 2025)
Masaki Sakuda (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:07:49 (Osaka 2023)
Yuta Koyama (Toenec) - 2:07:57 (Osaka 2023)
Xiangdong Wu (China) - 2:08:04 (Osaka 2024)
Tianyu Chen (China) - 2:08:11 (Beijing 2023)
Kento Nishi (Osaka Gas) - 2:08:11 (Osaka 2023)
Kosei Machida (Chuo Hatsujo) - 2:08:17 (Osaka 2025)
Shota Nishiwaki (JR Higashi Nihon) - 2:08:19 (Osaka 2025)
Ken Nakayama (Honda) - 2:08:24 (Tokyo 2025)
Patrick Wambui (Kenya/NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:08:28 (Fukuoka Int'l 2024)
Erenjia Jia (China) - 2:08:32 (Berlin 2024)
Kosei Shiraishi (Sumitomo Denko) - 2:08:42 (Beppu-Oita 2025)
Goki Takayama (Koku Gakuin Univ.) - 2:08:50 (Beppu-Oita 2025)
Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei) - 2:08:53 (Tokyo 2025)
Benson Tunyo (Kenya) - 2:09:01 (Amsterdam 2025)
Masresha Bere (Ethiopia) - 2:09:04 (Kosice 2023)
Masatoshi Sakata (NTN) - 2:09:08 (Osaka 2025)
Hidekazu Hijikata (Asahi Kasei) - 2:09:10 (Osaka 2024)
Kenta Uchida (SID Group) - 2:09:11 (Osaka 2025)
Yuta Inage (Press Kogyo) - 2:09:14 (Osaka 2025)
Takumi Iwata (JFE Steel) - 2:09:28 (Osaka 2025)
Samuel Tsegay Tesfamariam (Sweden) - 2:09:29 (Hamburg 2025)
Gao Peng (China) - 2:09:34 (Beijing 2023)
Takayuki Iida (Fujitsu) - 2:09:34 (Prague 2023)
Madoka Tanihara (Osaka Police) - 2:09:39 (Osaka 2024)
Jin Yuasa (Toyota) - 2:09:43 (Nobeoka 2025)
Junnosuke Matsuo (NTT Nishi Nihon) - 2:09:55 (Hofu 2025)
Akito Terui (Subaru) - 2:10:06 (Osaka 2025)
Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Shin Nihon Jusetsu) - 2:10:10 (Osaka 2024)
Daisuke Hosomori (YKK) - 2:10:22 (Tokyo 2023)
Naoki Aiba (Chudenko) - 2:10:28 (Gold Coast 2024)
Haruto Ono (JFE Steel) - 2:10:44 (Osaka 2024)
Yuto Imae (GMO) - 2:10:51 (Gold Coast 2025)
Shun Sadakata (Mazda) - 2:10:57 (Nagano 2023)
Ethan Shuley (U.S.A.) - 2:11:30 (Kobe 2025)

Debut/Do-Over
Kento Baba (Rikkyo Univ.) - 1:00:26 (Marugame Half 2025)
Tatsuhiko Ito (Honda) - 1:00:27 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2025)
Reishi Yoshida (Honda) - 1:00:31 (Marugame Half 2023)
Shunsuke Shikama (Logisteed) - 1:00:41 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2024)
Sodai Shimizu (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:00:52 (Marugame Half 2026)
Ryo Goda (Yasukawa Denki) - 1:00:55 (Marugame Half 2026)
Masanori Sumida (Aichi Seiko) - 1:01:01 (Marugame Half 2026)
Shunsuke Kikuchi (NTN) - 1:01:01 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2025)
Hiroto Fujimagari (Toyota Boshoku) - 1:01:06 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2024)
Haruto Miyamoto (Kanagawa Univ.) - 1:01:09 (Marugame Half 2025)
Kosei Matsunami (Kurosaki Harima) - 1:01:12 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2025)
Akira Aizawa (Asahi Kasei) - 1:01:20 (Berlin Half 2025)
Jinya Ozaki (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:01:24 (Launceston Half 2025)
Seiya Amano (Kraftia) - 1:01:34 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2025)
Akito Wada (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:35 (Marugame Half 2025)
Kaisei Sugiyama (Kao) - 1:01:38 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2025)
Hibiki Yoshida (Sunbelx) - 1:01:45 (Hakodate Half 2024)
Yosuke Harada (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 1:01:49 (Marugame Half 2025)
Kaisei Miyaki (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:01:54 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2025)
Ryo Yoshida (JR Higashi Nihon) - 1:01:58 (Marugame Half 2024)

photo © 2025 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
text © 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Brett,
For non-members, NHK's live broadcasts have a semi-transparent box of text covering a quarter of the screen. It makes for difficult viewing and isn't something I'd recommend watching.
February 21, 2026 at 1:39 AM
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