Birhanu Legese felt a course record would have been on the cards but for the horrendous conditions as he Ruti Aga pulled off an Ethiopian Toyko Marathon double on Sunday.

Legese pulled away from Kenyan Bedan Karoki to claim his first major victory over the distance in a time of two hours, four minutes and 48 seconds with the rain lashing down.

The 24-year-old's time was the second-quickest in the history of the race in the Japanese capital, but he believes he may have bettered Wilson Kipsang's 2:03:58 if the weather had been more favourable.

He said: "I'm very happy. The course was good, and if the weather was better, I might have broken 02:03:00."

Defending champion Dickson Chumba had to settle for third place in a time of 2:08:44, with second-placed Karoki clocking 2:06:48.

Aga took the honours in a women's race which started at a rapid pace, surging away after 35 kilometres and going on to win in 2:20:40.

Helen Tola and Shure Demise ensured the first three places were filled by Ethiopian athletes for the first time in the Tokyo event's history.

Aga said: "The conditions were poor and there was a lot of water on the roads. But it was still a good race."