Dickson Chumba of Kenya took the right steps to win his second Tokyo Marathon, but runner-up Yuta Shitara made giant strides in his career with a Japan-record run on Sunday.
Chumba moved in front of the lead pack near the 36-kilometer point of the race and held off hard-charging Shitara to win the race for the second time, crossing the finish line in 2 hours 5 minutes 30 seconds.
The 31-year-old Chumba, who also won the Tokyo Marathon in 2014, said he wants to improve his time next year.
"My time is good. Next year I'll try to run 2:04," he said.
The race was behind course-record pace through the first half, and Chumba took it upon himself to turn up the speed.
"I was staying in the pack, but I knew I had to make a move around that point [36 kilometers]," he said. "We started to run hard from 30K."
Shitara ran a 2:06.11, the fastest time in history for a Japanese man -- topping Toshinari Takaoka's 2:06:16 in Chicago in 2002 -- and a record time domestically among Japanese men, beating Atsushi Fujita's 2:06:51 in Fukuoka in 2000.
The 26-year-old Shitara collapsed to the ground and had to be helped out of the way of oncoming runners at the finish.
"The work I've been doing in training has paid off, so I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing, and I think the results will come," said Shitara, who moved up from sixth into second with a late burst of energy.
"Honestly, around the 32-kilometer point, I thought I was out of it, but the support of family and co-workers gave me the strength to push ahead.
"I wasn't trying for a record -- as I said at the press conference yesterday, I just wanted to finish inside 2:09 -- but I'm thrilled to have set it," added Shitara, whose previous best was 2:09:03.
Amos Kipruto of Kenya was third in 2:06:33, while defending champion Wilson Kipsang of of Kenya retired before the halfway mark.
Hiroto Inoue, whose 2:06:54 was the fourth-fastest time in history among Japanese, finished in fifth.
It was a banner day for Japanese men as Shitara led a parade of six in the top 10.
All six of those Japanese runners earned a place in the Marathon Grand Championship in which runners can earn a chance to represent Japan at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Dibaba wins for 2nd time
Meanwhile, Ethiopia's Birhane Dibaba won her second women's title here, finishing in a personal-best 2:19:51 in her fifth Tokyo Marathon appearance.
Ruti Aga, also of Ethiopia, was second in 2:21:19 and Amy Cragg of the United States third in 2:21:42. Hiroko Yoshitomi was the first to reach the goal among Japanese women, finishing in 2:30:16 for sixth place.
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