Last year's Berlin Marathon winner, Kazumi Matsuo, prevailed in a sprint duel down the home stretch Sunday to win the Nagoya International Women's Marathon in a personal best time, all but booking a place in this year's World Championships.
Matsuo outsprinted Takami Ominami at Mizuho Stadium after both runners pulled away with 5 km left on the 42.195-km course, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 1 second -- the eighth fastest time ever produced by a Japanese woman. Ominami finished 3 seconds behind and Yukiko Okamoto placed third in 2:26:21.