YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) Veteran Yoko Shibui held onto the lead in the final leg to give Japan a record 10th victory at the Yokohama International Women's Ekiden on Sunday.
Japan covered the 42.195-km course of the six-leg road relay race in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 5 seconds for its first win in four years, finishing 1:53 ahead of second-placed Kenya and a Kanto-Tokyo district team that clocked 2:17:45 for third.
Yuriko Kobayashi and Yuri Kano laid the foundations for Japan with strong runs in the first two legs and the host nation maintained the momentum before anchor Shibui completed victory in the final running of the race.