TOKYO (AP) -- Athens Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi and Kenyan Selina Kosgei were among a list of invitees for next month's Tokyo International Women's Marathon, organizers said Monday.

Noguchi, who won the gold in Athens with a time of 2 hours, 26 minutes, 20 seconds, will be among 11 Japanese invitees taking part in the Nov. 18 race, which is one of three qualifying races for Japanese runners for next year's Beijing Olympic Games.

Reiko Tosa, who won the bronze medal at the world championships in September, has already booked a place on the squad for Beijing.

Six non-Japanese runners have been invited to the Tokyo race. They include Kosgei and 2005 runner-up Zivile Balciunaite of Lithuania.

TOKYO (AP) -- Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi won the Tokyo International Women's Marathon on Sunday, moving a step closer to qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.

Noguchi clocked a time of 2 hours, 21 minutes, 37 seconds in near-perfect conditions to win her first Tokyo marathon.

"The road to Beijing opened up a bit more today," Noguchi said. "There are still two more qualifying races and it's a big relief to win this one."

Noguchi, running in her first full marathon in two years, pulled ahead for good with less than 6 kilometers left to hold off Kenyan Salina Kosgei, who had a time of 2:23:30.

Japan's Reiko Tosa, who finished third, has already secured her ticket to Beijing with a bronze-medal performance at this summer's world championships in Osaka.

The full squad of Japanese runners for the women's marathon in Beijing will be named after the two remaining qualifying meets -- in Osaka in January and Nagoya in March.