Workenesh Edesa of Ethiopia clinched victory at the Osaka Women's Marathon, while Honami Maeda, finishing in second place, marked a significant achievement in her quest for an Olympic spot by shattering Japan's 19-year-old national record on Sunday.

In the initial "Final Challenge" race to secure Japan's third and final spot in the women's marathon at the upcoming Paris Olympics, Honami Maeda completed the course in 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 59 seconds, finishing just eight seconds behind the winner, Edesa.

Unless another participant outpaces her time in the upcoming Nagoya Women's Marathon on March 10, the 27-year-old from Hyogo Prefecture is set to secure her spot in the Olympics for the second consecutive time.

Maeda surpassed the longstanding national record established by Olympic gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi in Berlin in 2005, marking a significant achievement in her career.

"I wanted to break this national record, so I'm so happy," Maeda said. "I wasn't sure if I could get it done when conditions got worse late in the race with the wind and the rain, but cheers from the roadside kept me going."

During the Marathon Grand Championship in Tokyo last October, Yuka Suzuki and Mao Ichiyama secured the top two positions, earning automatic berths for the Olympics, while Maeda finished seventh in the competition.

"I felt disappointed with my performance at the MGC last year," Maeda said. "I continued to work hard for this Osaka race."

Maeda surged into the lead at the halfway mark, maintaining it until Edesa surpassed her with 10 kilometers remaining. The Ethiopian ultimately crossed the finish line at Yanmar Stadium Nagai, setting a meet record. Japan's Mizuki Matsuda secured the third position, finishing over four minutes behind the leaders.

"I knew I could break this meet record," said Edesa, ranked 20th in women's marathon by World Athletics. "I'll run the Boston Marathon next and try to win."

Leading results

1 Workenesh Edesa (ETH) 2:18:51
2 Honami Maeda (JPN) 2:18:59
3 Mizuki Matsuda (JPN) 2:23:07
4 Stella Chesang (UGA) 2:23:36
5 Sayaka Sato (JPN) 2:24:43
6 Katharina Steinruck (GER) 2:24:56
7 Natsumi Matsushita (JPN) 2:25:10
8 Yuna Daito (JPN) 2:25:16
9 Madoka Nakano (JPN) 2:26:50
10 Mayu Nishikawa (JPN) 2:26:50

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