Workenesh Edesa wins the 2025 Osaka Women's Marathon (© Asayoshi Tanaka/Agence SHOT)
Two-time champion and course record-holder Workenesh Edesa returns to the Osaka Women’s Marathon to defend her title at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on Sunday (25).
Ethiopia’s Edesa improved the course record by more than two minutes in 2024, matching her then PB of 2:18:51. She retained her title last year, clocking 2:21:00 to win ahead of Japan’s Kana Kobayashi and Yuka Suzuki, who both ran big PBs.
Edesa went on to win the Hamburg Marathon in April in a personal best of 2:17:55 before finishing third in the Sydney Marathon.
This time her rivals will include her compatriot Bedatu Hirpa and Uganda’s Stella Chesang.
Hirpa ran a PB of 2:18:27 to win the Dubai Marathon a year ago and then clinched another victory at the Paris Marathon, where she clocked 2:20:45.
Chesang most recently finished 12th in the World Championships marathon in Tokyo and before that she placed sixth in the London Marathon. Her national record of 2:18:26 was set in Valencia in 2024.
They will be joined on the start line by leading Japanese athletes Mizuki Matsuda and Mao Uesugi.
Matsuda, who has a PB of 2:20:42 from Berlin in 2024, finished seventh in Osaka last year and is a three-time winner of the race having secured victory in 2018, 2020 and 2022. Uesugi set her lifetime best of 2:22:11 when finishing fourth in Nagoya last year.
Leading elite entries
Workenesh Edesa (ETH) 2:17:55
Stella Chesang (UGA) 2:18:26
Bedatu Hirpa (ETH) 2:18:27
Mizuki Matsuda (JPN) 2:20:42
Mao Uesugi (JPN) 2:22:11
Mizuki Nishimura (JPN) 2:25:54
Chiharu Suzuki (JPN) 2:25:59
Madoka Nakano (JPN) 2:26:50
Sakiho Tsutsui (JPN) 2:26:51
Nanaka Izawa (JPN) 2:29:28
Mikuni Yada (JPN) debut
