OITA, Japan, Feb 3, 2008 - Japan's Tomoya Adachi got past front-running Elijah Mutai of Kenya in the last three kilometres to win on his debut at the Beppu-Oita marathon on Sunday. The 22-year-old, who was at one point 200 metres off the pace, caught the Kenyan near the 39-kilometre point before crossing the finish line in two hours 11 minutes 59 seconds. Rachid Kisri of Morocco came in second in 2:13:07, followed by Scott Westcott of Australia third in 2:13:36. Mutai faded and failed to finish in the top 10. "I didn't expect me to win. I just ran without thinking anything. I was lucky, because the front runner slowed down," said a jubilant Adachi. "He was running with two pace-makers, so I expected him to slow down. After 36 kilometres, I thought it was the right time to spurt and I did. It's beginner's luck. I'll try to do my best to get the same result in my next marathon," he added. The pace was led by two pace-makers -- Kenya's Elias Maindi and Stephen Chelimoi -- until 30km, from where the real competition started, leaving Mutai alone ahead of six other runners. The second group, led by Westcott, Kisri and Adachi, trailed Mutai by eight seconds at the 30km mark before Adachi moved into top gear to shrug off Westcott and his compatriot Masahiko Takeyasu after 35km.
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