Mother of three, 42, makes experience count against rival half her age
Mother-of-three Kuniko Nakamura of Japan showed age was no barrier when she successfully defended her half-marathon women's title.
The 42-year-old became one of the oldest winners of the race as experience and class shone through.
The heat and humidity took its toll on many runners, but not Nakamura, who actually improved on her winning time last year by nine seconds, clocking one hour, 23 minutes and 40 seconds.
'I can show that I can still run a race,' smiled Nakamura. 'I competed in January's Osaka international marathon, finishing in 37th place, and that was a good prep race for me. I managed to stay focused during the race. Conditions weren't too bad. I have seen worse, but it definitely affected my time,' said the Japanese, whose best time is 1:16:47.
At the finish to greet her was Amy, the youngest of Nakamura's three daughters. 'My other daughters are back in Osaka and couldn't come because of school. Maybe next time.'
Hong Kong's Yiu Kit-ching could not match Nakamura despite being half her age. She finished almost two minutes behind the winner in 1:25:11. Australia's Jane Hodgskin was third in 1:30.38.
'I finished second behind Nakamura last year so it's becoming a bit of a habit for me,' said 22-year-old Yiu, a third-year nursing student at Chinese University.
'I was also second in the Mizuno race in January. I'm satisfied with my performance today. My time was actually two minutes faster than my previous best set last month in Osaka, so it's not too bad for me.
'I was close to Nakamura during the first nine to 10 kilometres, but then she just shot away and there was no way I was going to catch her. She was just too strong,' she said.
Hodgskin, a resident of Hong Kong for three years, said: 'I'm really happy with the way I ran today. Yiu Kit-ching and Nakamura were so far ahead of me, I was just happy to come third.'
'Conditions were tough. I don't think anybody ran a terribly fast time. It was very warm and very humid and I think we all suffered. I was drinking at every water station, which I normally don't do. I was hoping to go under one-thirty and I finished just over one-thirty. Considering the conditions, I am happy. It was a personal best. I have done only two other half marathons.'
