OSAKA: Ukraine’s Tetiana Gamera-Shmyrko, running her first full marathon for a year, won the Osaka women’s marathon for the second straight year yesterday.
After trailing in third spot, the 30-year-old began battling for the lead with Japan’s Yukiko Akaba and Karolina Jarzynska of Poland at 32 kilometres. She broke away after 37 kilometres to win the race in 2hr 24min 37sec.
Akaba, the 2011 Osaka marathon winner who is due to retire from competition after this event, followed home in 2:26:00 with Jarzynska third in 2:26:31.
“I am really happy with my second victory here,” Gamera-Shmyrko, who was fifth in the 2012 London Olympic marathon, said before a cheering crowd at Osaka’s Nagai Stadium.
Fraser-Pryce targets World Indoors event
KINGSTON: World and Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, targeting her first athletics World Indoor Championships, opened her 2014 season with an unusual outdoor 60m yesterday.
Fraser-Pryce won the special event at a meeting in Kingston in a time of 7.11 seconds.
“I am happy to know I was able to create history by running the first (outdoor) official 60m,” said Fraser-Pryce, whose outstanding 2013 season included an outdoor World Championships sprint double. She is planning to run her first World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland, March 7-9, where the 60m will be the elite sprint event.
“I am excited and looking forward to the remainder of the season, especially going to my first world indoors,” she said.
Fraser-Pryce finished ahead of training partner Carrie Russell, who took second in 7.28sec.
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