Joyce Chepchumba wins Tokyo marathon
AFP
19 November 2000 - Tokyo - Sydney Olympic bronze medallist Joyce Chepchumba of Kenya
made a long solo run after the 27.5 kilometre mark for a comfortable victory in the Tokyo
international women's marathon on Sunday.
Chepchumba caught up with front-running Reiko Tosa shortly before the 22 kilometre point and ran with the Japanese shoulder-to-shoulder before starting to outdistance her slowly but steadily.
She crossed the finishing line in two hours 24 minutes 02 seconds.
Tosa came in second in 2:24:47 to qualify from Japan for the world championships next year, followed by Sydney 10,000m gold medallist Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia third in 2:26:38.
"It's only two months after the Olympics, so it's a sort of continuation from Sydney. Since I was to run in Tokyo, I prepared for the race very well," said Chepchumba, who won the London and Chicago marathons last year.
"I'm very happy to win this race since it's a women's race, it's very good."
Tosa, runner-up in the Nagoya marathon in March, made an early pace, running alone ahead of the rest of the field from the very beginning. But a shadow was cast on her efforts when she failed to snatch a bottle of water at the 15 kilometre point with Chepchumba and Tulu running in a second group to pose a threat to the Japanese.
At a 21.4km turning point, the three athletes were almost running tip-to-toe with Tulu never overtaking the pace to leave the battle to Chepchumba and Tosa from then on.
It was the first time an African runner had won the Tokyo marathon.
