Behind Kenenisa Bekele's near-miss on the men's marathon world record, half marathon talent Kenta Murayama (Asahi Kasei) gave the Japanese national record another go at the Berlin Marathon. Almost dead even through halfway in 1:02:21, Murayama began to slip slightly over the second half before things started to fall apart after 30 km. Run down by China's Guo Jian Dong just before the finish, Murayama took 9th in 2:08:56, a PB by about a minute but far off his plans. Not far behind him, Yuichi Yasui (Toyota), a training partner of MGC race runner-up Yuma Hattori, negative splitted a 2:10:26 for 11th, adding to Toyota's claim as Japan's top current marathon team.
Berlin Marathon
Berlin, Germany, 9/29/19complete results
Men
1. Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) - 2:01:41 - NR
2. Birhanu Legese (Ethiopia) - 2:02:48
3. Sisay Lemma (Ethiopia) - 2:03:36
4. Jonathan Korir (Kenya) - 2:06:45
5. Felix Kandie (Kenya) - 2:08:07
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9. Kenta Murayama (Japan) - 2:08:56
11. Yuichi Yasui (Japan) - 2:10:26
29. Keisuke Kusaka (Japan) - 2:14:27
48. Shogo Kanezane (Japan) - 2:16:08
Women
1. Ashete Bekere (Ethiopia) - 2:20:14
2. Mare Dibaba (Ethiopia) - 2:20:21
3. Sally Chepygeo (Kenya) - 2:21:06
4. Helen Tola (Ethiopia) - 2:21:36
5. Sara Hall (U.S.A.) - 2:22:16
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15. Chun Yu Tsao (TPE) - 2:34:18 - NR
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