Limo wins Berlin Marathon

Limo failed to beat the world record

Felix Limo extended Kenya's dominance of the Berlin Marathon by winning the men's race in poor weather conditions.

He gave Kenya a sixth-straight event win, finishing ahead of compatriots Joseph Riri and Joshua Chelanga in two hours six minutes 44 seconds.

In the women's race, Yoko Shibui handed Japan their fifth victory in succession in a course record 2:19:41.

Hiromi Ominami, also of Japan, finished second, while local favourite Sonja Oberem came a distant third.

Shibui's time beat the previous best time in Berlin of 2:19.46, set by Japan's Naoko Takahashi in 2001.

"I can run faster but I need time before I can go for the world record," said Shibui, when asked whether she felt Briton Paula Radcliffe's world record of 2:15:25 was within reach.

Limo blamed the conditions for his failure to get near the world-record time of 2:04:55 set by his compatriot Paul Tergat in Berlin last year.

"The conditions made it difficult," he said after winning a thrilling battle with Riri to the line.