Ibrahim Hassan and Mare Dibaba set course records at the Osaka Marathon

Hibiki Yoshida had never run a marathon. On Sunday in Osaka he went through 5 km in 14:50, surged alone at 8 km, and for twenty kilometres the projections said 2:03-something, inside the Japanese record. He missed four of his first five drink bottles. He slowed at 30 km and was caught around 37 km by Ibrahim Hassan of Djibouti and Kiyoto Hirabayashi, and finished 34th in 2:09:35. It was the race everyone will remember from a day when the winner broke the course record.

Hassan won in 2:05:20, a Djibouti national record by almost a minute. Yihunilign Adane of Ethiopia was second in 2:05:33 and Ezra Tanui of Kenya third in 2:05:55. Hirabayashi, the 2024 winner, was the first Japanese finisher, fifth in a personal best 2:06:14, and Japanese men filled places five to ten; Hirabayashi, Ichitaka Yamashita, Yuki Takei, Yuhei Urano and Ryo Goda took places in the Los Angeles Olympic trials. Thirty-seven men broke 2:10, more than at Valencia in December, from a field of 11,164 finishers. Osaka has become the deepest marathon in the world.

Fourteenth, in 2:07:14, was Ethan Shuley, an unsponsored American film student living in Shinjuku and a former BYU teammate of Conner Mantz and Clayton Young. He ran 2:11 last year. That time is the sixth fastest by an American ever.

Mare Dibaba, 36, led a group of four through halfway in 1:09:58 and broke away at 40 km to win in 2:21:44, a course record. Esther Chemtai of Kenya, 2:22:04, was also under the old mark, and Rose Chelimo of Bahrain ran 2:22:52. Kaede Kawamura was the top Japanese woman, sixth in 2:25:55.

Sources: Japan Running News; Marathons.com.