Ethiopia's Birhanu Legese hit the pavement in arguably the worst conditions in the 13-year history of the Tokyo Marathon and performed as if the weather wasn't much of a problem. For Suguru Osako and other Japanese runners, it was much more of a struggle.
Legese posted his first career marathon victory in his third attempt, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 48 seconds, the second-best mark ever at the annual competition, which is part of the World Marathon Majors series.
The 24-year-old hit another gear past the 30-km point to leave Bedan Karoki behind, building an exactly two-minute gap between himself and the second-place Kenyan in the end.