OSAKA (Japan), Jan 27: Britain’s Mara Yamauchi won the Osaka International Women’s Marathon on Sunday, leaving Japan’s squad for this year’s Beijing Olympics still up in the air.

Yamauchi finished strongly to win in a personal best of two hours, 25 minutes, 10 seconds in a race which doubled as an Olympic qualifier for the home runners.

Tomo Morimoto was runner-up in 2:25:34 — insufficient to earn selection to Japan’s three-woman team for Beijing — ahead of Kenyan Julia Mumbi, who crossed the line in 2:26:00.

Yamauchi finished ninth in the 2007 world championships in Osaka. Japanese hope Kayoko Fukushi faded badly after leading through the 30-km mark in her first full marathon and twice collapsed through exhaustion before finishing 19th.

Results:

1. Mara Yamauchi (Britain) two hours 25 minutes 10 seconds; 2. Tomo Morimoto (Japan) 2:25:34; 3. Julia Mumbi (Kenya) 2:26:00; 4. Miki Ohira (Japan) 2:26:09; 5. Madoka Ogi (Japan) 2:26:55; 6. Lidia Simon (Romania) 2:27:17; 7. Mika Okunaga (Japan) 2:27:52; 8. Aki Fujikawa (Japan) 2:28:06; 9. Constantina Tomescu (Romania) 2:28:15; 10. Christelle Daunay (France) 2:28:24.—Agencies