BEIJING - CONSTANTINA Tomescu-Dita, a 38-year-old mother from Romania, pulled away from the lead pack near the halfway mark in the marathon on Sunday to win by 22 seconds over her nearest challenger.

Reigning world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya outsprinted China's Zhou Chunxiu for the silver to the disappointment of the roaring crowd at National Stadium. Still, the bronze was China's first medal in track and field.

Another Chinese runner, Zhu Xiaolin, was fourth.

Tomescu-Dita won in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 44 seconds. Ndereba, a pre-race favorite, finished in 2:27.06, one second ahead of Zhou.

Tomescu-Dita, bronze medallist at the 2005 world championship, blew kisses to the crowd and raised her arms in triumph as she crossed the finish line.

As thousands lined the streets through the Chinese capital the Romanian ran away from the rest to lead by more than a minute through the later stages of the race. She steadily increased her lead from there. Until near the end - and by then, it was too late.

American record holder Deena Kastor, the bronze medalist in Athens four years ago, pulled out five kilometres into the race with an injured right foot. She said she had experienced soreness for the past week and 'felt something pop.' Kastor, 35, went to one knee in pain, the limped off the course.

'As athletes, we have ups and downs. Unfortunately, you can't pick the days they come on,' she said.

The 42-kilometre race was the biggest test yet of what impact the polluted skies of Beijing would have on the endurance events of the Olympics.

Instead, the weather provided the runners with relief. Grey skies replaced the blue of the previous two days with a light rain falling at times and a temperature of 23 deg C. -- AP

Marathoner ages like fine wine
Marathon runners, like fine wines, usually improve with age and Tomescu proved the point.

The 38-year-old became the oldest Olympic women?s marathon winner by eight years and believes her age worked to her advantage.

'The experience of age helped me,' she told reporters. 'I have raced a lot before, I know a lot about running.'

Her age may also have also lulled the field into thinking she was not a serious contender and the pack let the Colorado-based runner go when she jumped ahead midway through the race and built a decisive 90-second lead.

'I said (to myself,) what happened, why are they not coming?' Tomescu said. 'Maybe they thought I wouldn't finish in the top three.'

Tomescu finished third in the 2005 world championships but she dropped out of the 2003 world championship marathon and at the 2004 Olympics she faded to finish 20th after a strong start.

'I kept looking back today because I didn't want to lose a medal but I couldn't believe (what I saw),' she said. -- AP, REUTERS