Atsushi Fujita pulled away from a star-studded field Sunday to win the Fukuoka International Marathon in record time, beating Olympic medalists past and present as he became the first Japanese winner in nine years in the annual event.
Fujita, running alone in the final 6 km, crossed the finish line at Heiwadai athletics stadium in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 51 seconds to break the Japanese record of 2:06:57 set by Takayuki Inubushi in the Berlin Marathon in September 1999.
Fujita's winning time is the 11th fastest in history and was also a Fukuoka meet record.
Lee Bong Ju of South Korea, silver medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, finished second in 2:09:04 and Frenchman Abdellah Behar followed in third in 2:09:09.