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Last year’s women’s winner Waganesh Mekasha is back in the #1 spot off another win in Toronto last fall in a PB of 2:20:44, but a group of another 4 Ethiopians led by Sisay Meseret Gola are all within about a minute of her and should make it a close race. The top non-Ethiopian in the field, Japan’s Mirai Waku, 2:25:58, will probably be racing Argentina’s Daiana Ocampo, 2:26:24, for the next-best spot on the podium.
NHK will be broadcasting Osaka live and commercial-free starting at 9:00 a.m. on Feb. 24 local time. JRN will be on-site in Osaka throughout race weekend.
Osaka Marathon Elite Field Highlights
Osaka, 24 Feb. 2025
times listed are athletes‘ best in last 3 years except where noted
Men
Ronald Korir (Kenya) – 2:04:22 (4th, Berlin 2023)
Bethwel Kibet (Kenya) – 2:04:37 (2nd, Amsterdam 2023)
Boniface Kimutai (Kenya) – 2:05:05 (10th, Berlin 2023)
Kengo Suzuki (Japan/Fujitsu) – 2:05:28 (4th, Tokyo 2022)
Abdisa Tola (Ethiopia) – 2:05:42 (1st, Dubai 2023)
Derseh Kindie (Ethiopia) – 2:05:51 (12th, Valencia 2023)
Yihunilign Adane (Ethiopia) – 2:05:53 (1st, Barcelona 2022)
Getaneh Molla (Ethiopia) – 2:06:29 (1st, Ljubljana 2024)
Yusuke Nishiyama (Japan/Toyota) – 2:06:31 (9th, Tokyo 2024)
Naoki Koyama (Japan/Honda) – 2:06:33 (3rd, Osaka 2024)
Abraraw Misganaw (Ethiopia) – 2:06:39 (5th, Dubai 2023)
Kazuya Nishiyama (Japan/Toyota) – 2:06:45 (6th, Osaka 2023)
Kyohei Hosoya (Japan/Kurosaki Harima) – 2:06:55 (12th, Tokyo 2024)
Shokhrukh Davlyatov (Uzbekistan) – 2:07:02 (18th, Valencia 2023)
Michael Githae (Kenya/Suzuki) – 2:07:08 (1st, Fukuoka Int’l 2023)
Eyob Faniel (Italy) – 2:07:09 (7th, Sevilla 2024)
Masaki Sakuda (Japan/JR Higashi Nihon) – 2:07:49 (13th, Osaka 2023)
Kento Kikutani (Japan/Toyota Boshoku) – 2:07:53 (5th, Beppu-Oita 2023)
Yuta Koyama (Japan/Toenec) – 2:07:57 (17th, Osaka 2023)
Takeru Yamaguchi (Japan/Suzuki) – 2:07:58 (18th, Osaka 2023)
Tsukasa Koyama (Japan/Subaru) – 2:08:00 (7th, Beppu-Oita 2023)
Mizuki Higashi (Japan/Aisan Kogyo) – 2:08:03 (9th, Osaka 2024)
Tianyu Chen (China) – 2:08:11 (7th, Beijing 2023)
Kento Nishi (Japan/Osaka Gas) – 2:08:11 (19th, Osaka 2023)
Yugo Kashiwa (Japan/Konica Minolta) – 2:08:11 (20th, Osaka 2023)
Shunya Kikuchi (Japan/Chugoku Denryoku) – 2:08:20 (21st, Osaka 2023)
Toshiki Sadakata (Japan/Mitsubishi Juko) – 2:08:22 (8th, Chicago 2024)
Yuta Shimoda (Japan/GMO) – 2:08:24 (2nd, Beppu-Oita 2024)
Patrick Wambui (Kenya/NTT Nishi Nihon) – 2:08:28 (3rd, Fukuoka Int’l 2024)
Yuki Nakamura (Japan/Sumitomo Denko) – 2:08:29 (1st, Hofu 2022)
Kazuya Azegami (Japan/Toyota) – 2:08:29 (23rd, Osaka 2023)
Erenjia Jia (China) – 2:08:32 (25th, Berlin 2024)
Kiyohito Akiyama (Japan/Aichi Seiko) – 2:08:43 (7th, Fukuoka Int’l 2022)
Yuki Takei (Japan/JR Higashi Nihon) – 2:08:44 (16th, Osaka 2024)
Kazuma Kubo (Japan/Nishitetsu) – 2:08:48 (20th, Tokyo 2022)
Shoma Yamamoto (Japan/NTT Nishi Nihon) – 2:08:52 (2nd, Hofu 2022)
Charles Muneria (Kenya) – 2:08:54 (1st, Malaga 2023)
Ben Preisner (Canada) – 2:08:58 (4th, Beppu-Oita 2024)
Olonbayar Jamsran (Mongolia) – 2:08:58 (29th, Osaka 2023)
Riki Nakanishi (Japan/Toenec) – 2:09:01 (1st, Hofu 2024)
Shoma Hosoya (Japan/Logisteed) – 2:09:05 (18th, Osaka 2024)
Masashi Nonaka (Japan/Toyota) – 2:09:11 (20th, Osaka 2024)
Ryo Hashimoto (Japan/Chuo Hatsujo) – 2:09:12 (3rd, Hofu 2022)
Reo Kuniyuki (Japan/Otsuka Seiyaku) – 2:09:21 (4th, Hofu 2022)
Isaac Cheluko (Kenya) – 2:09:25 (5th, Rome 2024)
Yota Ifuku (Japan/Waseda Univ.) – 2:09:26 (1st, Nobeoka 2024)
Jidongzhi Sang (China) – 2:09:29 (9th, Wuxi 2024)
Benard Kimani (Kenya/Comodi Iida) – 2:09:34 (19th, Tokyo 2023)
Koki Takada (Japan/Sumitomo Denko) – 2:09:45 (11th, Fukuoka Int’l 2022)
Junnosuke Matsuo (Japan/NTT Nishi Nihon) – 2:09:48 (27th, Tokyo 2022)
Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (Mongolia/Shin Nihon Jusetsu) – 2:10:10 (26th, Osaka 2024)
Women
Waganesh Mekasha (Ethiopia) – 2:20:44 (1st, Toronto 2024)
Sisay Meseret Gola (Ethiopia) – 2:20:50 (2nd, Seville 2022)
Yeshi Kalayu Chekole (Ethiopia) – 2:21:17 (3rd, Seville 2022)
Afera Godfay (Ethiopia) – 2:21:50 (3rd, Toronto 2024)
Amid Fozya Jamal (Ethiopia) – 2:21:53 (5th, Dubai 2024)
Mirai Waku (Japan/Universal Entertainment) – 2:25:58 (7th, Nagoya 2023)
Daiana Ocampo (Argentina) – 2:26:24 (7th, Hamburg 2024)
Kuba Alemu (Ethiopia) – 2:28:48 (2nd, Fuzhou 2023)
Nanami Aoki (Japan/Iwatani Sangyo) – 2:30:01 (8th, Osaka 2023)
Tara Palm (Australia) – 2:32:22 (21st, Berlin 2024)
Anna Matsuda (Japan/Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) – 2:34:33 (15th, Osaka 2023)
Nera Jareb (Australia) – 2:35:00 (6th, Gold Coast 2022)
photo © 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
text © 2025 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
Brett Larner – Japan Running News
