Yomi Omogbeja (07/03/2005)

Ethiopia's Olympics 5000m champion Meseret Defar and Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru were both winners at the IAAF permit cross country meeting in Fukuoka.

Wanjiru, a high school senior in Japan, completed the distance of 10Km in 29:20, while Defar won the women’s 6Km race in 19:16.

Wanjiru beat Yuda to the second position in the men's race while Japanese Yuki Nakamura was third.

Defar, who knocked 28 seconds off the stage record set in 2002 by Liliya Vulkova at the Chiba Ekiden last year, was not seriously challenged in the women's race and won by a distance.

Kenyan Catherine Ndereba was second and Japanese Kazue Ogoshi was third.