OTSU, Shiga Pref. (Kyodo) Former world record-holder Paul Tergat produced a late spurt to win the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon on Sunday.
The Kenyan pulled away from Spaniard Jose Rios with around 1 km remaining and never looked back, crossing the finish line at Ojiyama stadium in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 22 seconds.
Two-time Lake Biwa winner Rios came home in second in 2:10:36 while Eritrean Yared Asmeron was third in 2:10:49. Masaya Shimizu had the best finish by a Japanese runner, finishing fourth in 2:10:50 to claim a spot at the athletics world championships in Berlin in August.
"I am happy that I won the race. It was a great competition," said Tergat.
"This is my first marathon in the year, I was very tired from the jet lag and there was a lot of wind throughout. But all in all it was a great competition," he added.