Kenya’s Betsy Saina pulled away from Japan’s Ayuko Suzuki in the final kilometre of the Marugame Half Marathon to successfully defend her title at the IAAF Silver Label road race in 1:07:49 yesterday. Saina and Suzuki ran together, passing five kilometres in 16:02, 10km in 32:06 and 15km in 48:15. They were still together at 20km, reached in 1:04:25, but Saina then made her move and pulled away from Suzuki to win in 1:07:49, smashing her previous best of 1:09:17 set in Marugame last year. Australian 41-year-old Sinead Diver finished third in 1:08:55, improving her half marathon best by 25 seconds. The lead group in the men’s race went through 5km in 14:16 and then Japan-based Kenyan Kariuki pulled away from the pack.

Source: The Star February 03, 2019 18:33 UTC