Noguchi wins Berlin marathon

Japan's Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi won the Berlin marathon and set an Asian record in the process yesterday with the third fastest women's time over the 42.195-km distance.

Noguchi was never challenged and her time of two hours 19 minutes 12 seconds left her trailing only world record holder Paula Radcliffe of Britain (who ran 2:15.25 in 2003) and Kenya's Catherine Ndereba (2:18.47 in 2001).

Kenya's Philip Manyim won the men's race in 2:07.41, making it the seventh consecutive year the race had been won by a Kenyan. He beat compatriots Peter Chebet in 2:08.57 and Jackson Koech in 2:09.06.

"I'm very happy," said Noguchi, 27, who was surprised to learn she had lowered the Asian women's record of 2:19.39 set by Sun Jingjie of China. "If the weather had been cooler I think I could have been closer to 2:18."

It was the sixth consecutive year a Japanese woman had won the Berlin race.

"In Athens I had to run a more tactical race," added Noguchi of her first race since the Olympics. She was far ahead of the second place finisher, Germany's Luminita Zaituc in 2:27.34.