TOKYO: Dickson Chumba won the men’s race at the Tokyo Marathon yesterday in a meet record of two hours, five minutes and 42 seconds as Kenyan and Ethiopian runners dominated the event.
The 27-year-old Kenyan was followed home by Tadese Tola of Ethiopia at 2:05:57 and fellow countryman Sammy Kitwara at 2:06:30.
Runners from the two African countries swept the top seven spots in the men’s race and the top five in the women’s.
Ethiopia’s Tirfi Tsegaye won the women’s race in a meet record of 2:22:23.
Fellow Ethiopian Berhane Dibaba finished second at 2:22:30 and Lucy Kabuu of Kenya third at 2:24:16.
The men’s race turned into a contest between 10 African runners after 30 kilometres and the front pack slimmed to four at the 35-kilometre mark.
Chumba spurted ahead after 40 kilometres with Tola struggling behind him.
“I have trained fully,” Chumba said after breaking his own personal best time of 2:05:46, which he clocked in winning the Eindhoven Marathon in October 2012.
“I had planned to go for it after 35 kilometres,” he said. “I want to win a bigger race.”
After his Eindhoven triumph, Chumba had been without a marathon title. He failed to finish in Xiamen, China, and placed seventh and eighth in Boston and Amsterdam last year.
“The course was tough and the weather was windy but I could stay focused well,” said Tsegaye after winning the women’s race.
The 29-year-old Ethiopian made her marathon debut in 2008 when she won the Porto Marathon. She won the Paris Marathon in 2012 and the Dubai Marathon last year. She set her personal best of 2:21:19 when she finished second at the 2012 Berlin Marathon.
Under cloudy skies, about 36,000 runners took part in the eighth staging of the Tokyo event which was upgraded last year to one of the world’s major marathons, with the others comprising Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.
Japan’s Kenji Kimihara, who won the marathon silver medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, finished the race at 3:46:23. “It was great that I could run well,” said Kimihara who will turn 73 next month.” I was encouraged by cheers from people along the course.”
AFP
