LONDON -- Former national record-holder Takayuki Inubushi settled for seventh in the London marathon Sunday for Japan's best performance on a disappointing day.
Inubushi, whose personal best of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 57 seconds is now listed second in the all-time list for Japanese men, clocked 2:11:42 in the race won by Abdelkader El Mouaziz of Morocco. El Mouaziz won for the second time in three years with a time of 2:07:11.
"I was unable to catch up with the leaders when they upped the pace around the 20-km point," Inubushi said, "But this is my third-best time ever, which gives me a bit of confidence considering my recent injury."
Inubushi retired after 35 km in the Sydney Olympics marathon last Oct. 1. None of the three Japanese male runners finished in the top 20 in Sydney.
In the women's race on Sunday, Harumi Hiroyama, who narrowly missed a place for the Sydney Olympic marathon, could only manage 12th place in 2:29:01 at her first marathon in 15 months.
Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia, the women's 10,000-meter gold medalist in Sydney, won this year's London marathon with a time of 2:23:57.