Japanese runner Masako Chiba scored her first success on the road Sunday when she won the Hokkaido Marathon in an impressive run in tough weather conditions.
Chiba, bronze medalist in the women's 10,000 meters at the 1997 World Championships, pulled away from the pack at the 30-km mark and went on to claim her first marathon victory in 2 hours, 30 minutes, 39 seconds.
The race was held in high humidity and in temperatures hovering around 30 C. Mayumi Ichikawa, who was unable to keep up with Chiba, finished a distance second in 2:36:14 and Junko Akagi third in 2:36:23.
In the men's race, Tsutomu Sassa overtook front-running Tanzanian Zebedayo Bayo with 4 km to go and held on for his first victory in the annual late-summer marathon in 2:13:45.
Bayo, who led the field by more than 20 seconds at one point, settled for second in 2:14:49. Tatsuya Hoshi took third in 2:17:30.