Takele wins Tokyo Marathon

TOKYO, Mar 02 (AFP): Ethiopia's Tadese Takele won the Tokyo Marathon in a time of 2hr 3min 23sec on Sunday as Uganda's double Olympic track champion Joshua Cheptegei finished ninth.

Takele broke clear of the pack with around 4km to go in warm conditions to claim his first major marathon title, shaving a second off his previous personal best.

Ethiopia's Deresa Geleta was second in 2:03:51, with Kenya's Vincent Kipkemoi Ngetich third in 2:04:00.

"The weather wasn't a problem, it wasn't too hot and for me it was comfortable," said Takele. "The course was good . In the future, I hope to run even better than I did today."