Workenesh Edesa from Ethiopia is back at the Osaka Women’s Marathon, looking to defend her title. She holds the course record and will race on Sunday, the 26th. Last year, Edesa set a new record, finishing with a time of 2:18:51, matching her personal best from Berlin in 2022. She won the race by just eight seconds over Japan’s Honami Maeda, who not only secured second place but also set an Asian record with a time of 2:18:59.
This year, Edesa will face stiff competition. She’s up against Japan’s Mizuki Matsuda and Natsumi Matsushita, who finished third and seventh, respectively, last year. Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter is also in the mix, boasting the fastest time among the competitors.
Edesa has had a strong 2024. After winning in Osaka, she set a course record in Sydney. However, she faced a setback, finishing seventh in Boston. Throughout her marathon career, she has been on the podium 13 times out of 18 races, including a third-place finish in Tokyo in 2023.
Her best time of 2:18:51 makes her the second-fastest runner in the field, behind Salpeter. Salpeter, a 2022 world bronze medallist, won the Tokyo Marathon in 2020 with a time of 2:17:45. In 2024, Salpeter’s only marathon was at the Olympics in Paris, where she finished ninth. Last year, she was third in Boston and fourth at the World Championships in Budapest.
Mizuki Matsuda, who also has been a standout in Osaka, looks to perform well at home. She finished third in last year’s marathon with a time of 2:23:07, later setting a personal best of 2:20:42 in Berlin. Matsuda has won the Osaka marathon three times—2018, 2020, and 2022. This year, she aims to secure a spot on Japan’s team for the World Championships in Tokyo later this year.
Joining Matsuda on the starting line are her fellow Japanese runners: Matsushita, Yuka Suzuki, and Kana Kobayashi. All three have impressive records, having run under 2:25 in their careers. Matsushita clocked in at 2:23:05 in Osaka in 2022, while Suzuki achieved a personal best of 2:24:02 at the Olympic Games in Paris. Kobayashi recently set a personal best of 2:24:59 in Hofu.
Here are some of the elite entries for the race:
- Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (ISR) 2:17:45
- Workenesh Edesa (ETH) 2:18:51
- Mizuki Matsuda (JPN) 2:20:42
- Natsumi Matsushita (JPN) 2:23:05
- Yuka Suzuki (JPN) 2:24:02
- Kana Kobayashi (JPN) 2:24:59
- Yumi Yoshikawa (JPN) 2:25:20
- Chiharu Suzuki (JPN) 2:25:59
- Madoka Nakano (JPN) 2:26:50
- Nanaka Izawa (JPN) – debut
