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| Catherine Ndereba © Gallo Images |
Japan defeated pre-race favourites Kenya on Monday to win back the Chiba international mixed road relay race they claimed two years ago.
The Japanese, with three men and three women in six sections to
complete the full marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres, finished
the race in two hours five minutes 58 seconds.
The Japanese student selection team came in second in 2:07.47,
ahead of Kenya, led by world champion Abel Kirui and Beijing
Olympic silver medallist Catherine Ndereba, third in 2:08:34.
Australia took an early lead with national 5 000m record holder
Craig Mottram running the men's 5km first section in 13:23.
But Japan snatched the lead in the women's 5km second section
when Yuriko Kobayashi overtook Nikki Chapple to clock the fastest
time of 15:09.
Japan never faced a serious challenge afterwards as anchor
Yurika Nakamura comfortably crossed the finishing line.
Kenya at one point moved up to second place with Kirui running
in 29:10 in the 10km fifth section, but Ndereba managed to time
only 24:04 in the final 7.195km section, almost one minute slower
than the Japanese student selection anchor Hikari Yoshimoto.
"I started my section in a very good position. I really wanted
to move up to the top before changing, so I did what I should do
quite well," said Kobayashi, who was 11th in the world
championships 5,000m.
"We were runners-up last year here. That makes me really happier
than before," she added.
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