Marathon: Ozaki wins Tokyo International Women's Marathon

TOKYO, Nov. 16 Kyodo - Up-and-coming Yoshimi Ozaki made a tenacious late run to win the Tokyo
International Women's Marathon on Sunday, claiming her first full-marathon
crown in only her second race appearance.

Ozaki came from behind to overtake the tiring front-runners and ran alone
unchallenged in the final 3.8 kilometers before crossing the line at National
Stadium with a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, 30 seconds.
Fellow Japanese Yuri Kano finished runner-up in 2:24:27 and Britain's Mara
Yamauchi, sixth at the Beijing Olympics, came third in 2:25:03. Former national
record holder Yoko Shibui led for much of the race but slowed down to settle
for fourth in 2:25:51.
Ozaki reached the 30-kilometer mark in fourth place 92 seconds adrift of leader
Shibui but mustered her energy in a grueling uphill section of the course to
hit the front and went on for victory.
''I'm surprised and feel honored to win in the final year of the Tokyo
marathon, which has a long history,'' Ozaki said, referring to the race that
began in 1979 as the first women's marathon sanctioned by the International
Association of Athletics Federations.
''I didn't think I would wind up as the winner today, but I'm confident about
my tenacity and never gave up until the end. I guess the time has come for me
to think about running a race along with the world's top runners.''
Ozaki marked her marathon debut with a second-place finish in the Nagoya race
in March this year. Sunday's victory booked the 27-year-old a place in next
year's world championships in Berlin.
The Tokyo International Women's Marathon will be replaced by a race in Yokohama
beginning next year. The 30-year history of the event produced high-profile
winners such as Joyce Smith, Katrin Dorre, Rosa Mota, Valentina Egorova,
Derartu Tulu, Naoko Takahashi and Mizuki Noguchi.
==Kyodo