by Alfonz Juck
Yemane Tsegay, photo by PhotoRun.net
Tsegay over Makau
FUKUOKA (JPN, Dec 4): World silver medallist Yemane Tsegay from Ethiopia defeated reigning two-time champion Patrick Makau from Kenya in the Fukuoka Marathon. Tsegay clocked 2:08:48 to defeat the former world record-holder by nine seconds while Yuki Kawauchi put himself in contention for a place on the national team for the 2017 World Championships with a third-place finish in 2:09:11, the sixth fastest time of his career. Kawauchi was advised not to run after spraining his left ankle yesterday and had been suffering from leg injuries in the lead-up to the race. Hayato Sonoda was fourth in a seven-minute lifetime best of 2:10:40 with Eritrea’s Amanuel Mesel (2:10:48) and Poland’s Henryk Szost (2:10:53, 5th best time by an European in 2016) rounding out the top six. Canada’s Reid Coolsaet just missed the Canadian record in seventh in 2:10:55. Notable non-finishers include James Kwambai and Daniel Chebii while Tariku Bekele recorded a mark at 40km (2:09:01) but dropped out in the last 2.2km. From Japan Running News.
