INQUIRER Sports

TOKYO ? Kenya's Salim Kipsang won the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday in two hours, 10 minutes and 27 seconds, beating out Japanese runners Kazuhiro Maeda and Kensuke Takahashi.

Japan claimed the top three women's spots, with Mizuho Nasukawa taking first at 2:25:38 ahead of Yukari Sahaku and Reiko Tosa.

Kipsang, who won the Paris marathon in 2005, said he was pleased with his performance in difficult conditions, which saw the field battling a strong headwind.

"It was a great race," said the 29-year-old Kenyan.

Maeda's second-place finish at 2:11:01 qualified him for the world championships later this year in Berlin as the top Japanese finisher.

"The pace was too fast for me at 30 kilometers, so I had to run alone against the strong wind. I hadn't expected to finish top among Japanese runners, so I'm really happy about it," he said.

Takahashi came third at 2:11:25.

Nasukawa stayed in the men's pack to help fight off the wind and take the women's honors with a personal best time. Sahaku was second in 2:28:55 and Tosa third in 2:29:19.