NAGOYA (Kyodo) Yuri Kano cruised to a comfortable victory at the Nagoya International Women's Marathon on Sunday.
Kano, seventh at last year's world championships in Berlin, streaked away just before the 32-km mark and ran alone the rest of the way, crossing the finish line at Mizuho Stadium in 2 hours, 27 minutes, 11 seconds, more than a full minute ahead of Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia.
"I really wanted to win this race," said the 31-year-old Kano. "I have been nervous this past week but my dream of winning has come true."
Two-time 10,000-meter Olympic gold medalist Tulu timed 2:28:13 while Hiromi Ominami clocked 2:28:35 for third place in the race which doubled as the final qualifier for Japanese runners for a place at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, in November.
