Osaka Women's Marathon
The city course loops past Osaka Castle twice
Date4th or 5th Sunday of January
LocationOsaka, Japan
Event typeRoad
DistanceMarathon
Primary sponsorOkumura
Established1982
Course records2:20:52
Japan Mizuki Matsuda (2022)
Official siteOsaka Women's Marathon
Participants257 finishers (2022)
423 (2020)
366 (2019)

The Osaka International Women's Marathon (大阪国際女子マラソン, Ōsaka Kokusai Joshi Marason) is an annual marathon road race for women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held on the 4th or 5th Sunday of January in the city of Osaka, Japan, and hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations, Kansai Telecasting Corporation, the Sankei Shimbun, Sankei Sports, Radio Osaka and Osaka City.

The first edition took place on January 24, 1982, and was won by Italy's Rita Marchisio. The 1995 marathon was cancelled due to the Great Hanshin earthquake. The race takes place in the city and passes prominent landmarks such as Osaka Castle. The course was altered in 2011 to allow for faster times by cutting out a number of hilly sections near Osaka Castle.[1] The finish line of the race is at Nagai Stadium, which was the host venue for the 2007 World Championships in Athletics.[2]

The Osaka Half Marathon, open regardless of gender, is held alongside the women's marathon.[3][4]

The Japanese rock group The Alfee provided a new theme song for Kansai TV's broadcast of the event every year for 31 consecutive years from 1987 until 2018, when the broadcaster announced they would no longer use themes.[5] The band were certified with a Guinness World Record for the achievement in December 2018.[6][7]

Winners

Lidia Șimon is a three-time winner (1998–2000)
Nagai Stadium, where the marathon race finishes.
2021 winner Mao Ichiyama (pictured in 2019 Marathon Grand Championship)
Current winner and record holder Mizuki Matsuda (pictured in 2019)

Key:   Course record

Edition Date Winner Country Time (h:m:s)
1st January 24, 1982 Rita Marchisio Italy Italy 2:32:55
2nd January 30, 1983 Carey May Republic of Ireland Ireland 2:29:23
3rd January 29, 1984 Katrin Dörre East Germany East Germany 2:31:41
4th January 27, 1985 Carey May Republic of Ireland Ireland 2:28:07
5th January 26, 1986 Lorraine Moller New Zealand New Zealand 2:30:24
6th January 25, 1987 Lorraine Moller New Zealand New Zealand 2:30:40
7th January 31, 1988 Lisa Ondieki Australia Australia 2:23:51
8th January 29, 1989 Lorraine Moller New Zealand New Zealand 2:30:21
9th January 28, 1990 Rosa Mota Portugal Portugal 2:27:47
10th January 27, 1991 Katrin Dörre Germany Germany 2:27:43
11th January 26, 1992 Yumi Kokamo Japan Japan 2:26:26
12th January 31, 1993 Junko Asari Japan Japan 2:26:26
13th January 30, 1994 Tomoe Abe Japan Japan 2:26:09
14th January 29, 1995 Cancelled due to Great Hanshin earthquake
15th January 26, 1996 Katrin Dörre-Heinig Germany Germany 2:26:04
16th January 26, 1997 Katrin Dörre-Heinig Germany Germany 2:25:57
17th January 25, 1998 Lidia Șimon Romania Romania 2:28:31
18th January 31, 1999 Lidia Șimon Romania Romania 2:23:24
19th January 30, 2000 Lidia Șimon Romania Romania 2:22:54
20th January 28, 2001 Yoko Shibui Japan Japan 2:23:11
21st January 27, 2002 Lornah Kiplagat Netherlands Netherlands 2:23:55
22nd January 26, 2003 Mizuki Noguchi Japan Japan 2:21:18
23rd January 25, 2004 Naoko Sakamoto Japan Japan 2:25:29
24th January 30, 2005 Jeļena Prokopčuka Latvia Latvia 2:22:56
25th January 29, 2006 Catherine Ndereba Kenya Kenya 2:25:05
26th January 28, 2007 Yumiko Hara Japan Japan 2:23:48
27th January 27, 2008 Mara Yamauchi United Kingdom United Kingdom 2:25:10
28th January 25, 2009 Yoko Shibui Japan Japan 2:23:42
29th January 31, 2010 Amane Gobena  Ethiopia 2:25:14
30th January 30, 2011 Yukiko Akaba  Japan 2:26:29
31st January 29, 2012 Risa Shigetomo  Japan 2:23:23
32nd January 27, 2013 Kayoko Fukushi*  Japan 2:24:21
33rd January 26, 2014 Yukiko Akaba*  Japan 2:26:00
34th January 25, 2015 Jeļena Prokopčuka*  Latvia 2:24:07
35th January 31, 2016 Kayoko Fukushi  Japan 2:22:17
36th January 29, 2017 Risa Shigetomo  Japan 2:24:22
37th January 28, 2018 Mizuki Matsuda  Japan 2:22:44
38th January 27, 2019 Fatuma Sado  Ethiopia 2:25:39
39th January 26, 2020 Mizuki Matsuda  Japan 2:21:47
40th January 31, 2021 Mao Ichiyama  Japan 2:21:11
41st January 30, 2022 Mizuki Matsuda  Japan 2:20:52

* Tetyana Hamera-Shmyrko was suspended by the Ukrainian Athletic Federation for four years from 30 September 2015 until 29 September 2019 due to doping rules violation. All her results from 26 August 2011 to 30 September 2015, including victories in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 editions of the Osaka International Ladies Marathon, were annulled.[8]

Notes

1 ^ 2021 edition has male pacemakers including Yuki Kawauchi[9]

References

  1. ↑ Nakamura, Ken (2011-01-28). Osaka Women’s Marathon - PREVIEW. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-01-30.
  2. ↑ Nakamura, Ken (2011-01-30). Akaba out-duels Ito in windy Osaka. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-01-30.
  3. ↑ "Osaka Leads Weekend Action".
  4. ↑ "Home". half.osaka-marathon.jp.
  5. ↑ "３２年３１曲　大阪国際女子マラソン"ラストラン"アルフィーに労いの声" (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. 2018-01-28. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  6. ↑ "Most theme songs sung by the same artist for the same international sports event broadcast on TV". Guinness World Record. 2003-08-31. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  7. ↑ "THE ALFEE、ギネス認定 坂崎「長生きするものですね」 公演数記録も更新" (in Japanese). Music Voice. 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  8. ↑ Рекордсменку Украины дисквалифицировали за допинг
  9. ↑ "Ichiyama breaks race record at Osaka Women's Marathon". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
List of winners
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