Marathon: Hattori becomes 1st Japanese to win Fukuoka marathon in 14 years

Yuma Hattori became the first Japanese runner in 14 years to win the Fukuoka International Marathon on Sunday.The 25-year-old held off Ethiopia's Yemane Tsegay and Eritrea's Amanuel Mesel to cross the finish line in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 27 seconds at Heiwadai Athletic Stadium for his first victory.Amid high temperatures that reached 20.2 C at noon, Hattori broke away from the leading pack after the 36-kilometer point to become the first Japanese runner since Tsuyoshi Ogata in 2004 to win the race."This was my fourth marathon. I've always lost speed during the race, but I'm glad I was able to…READ FULL ARTICLE