Satoru Sasaki placed fourth, the highest among Japanese runners, in the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon on Sunday, as Ezekiel Kiptoo Chebii of Kenya won the race.
At one of the trial races for the world championships in August, a highest finish among Japanese with a time below 2 hours, 7 minutes could have secured a berth for London but Rio Olympian Sasaki settled for 2:10:10, some way off Chebii's 2:09:06.
Chebii's compatriot Vincent Kipruto (2:09:15) broke away near the 30-km mark but was caught before Chebii raced clear with 300 meters to go at Ojiyama Athletic Stadium. Munyo Solomon Mutai of Uganda came third in 2:09:59.