Yelling and Yamauchi have enjoyed numerous battles in recent years
Rose Cheruiyot strolled to victory in the Great South Run from British duo Hayley Yelling and Mara Yamauchi.
The Kenyan won the 10-mile race in 53 minutes 44 seconds in wet and windy conditions in Portsmouth.
But the real contest happened behind where Yelling outsprinted Yamauchi in the final stages to take second.
Kenya's world marathon champion Luke Kibet clocked 47 minutes 31 seconds to beat Spain's Chema Martinez and Jonathan Maiyo in the men's race.
It was a polished display from Kibet who was always prominent in a four-man breakaway field, until taking charge of the race in the last 2.5 miles.
And his compatriot Cheruiyot, who finished six minutes behind Yamauchi in the world championship marathon in Japan, returned to form on the south coast and led by 23 seconds at halfway.
Behind her, Yelling and Yamauchi fought a cat-and-mouse duel until the final 600m when Yelling made what looked a winning break until Yamauchi pulled her back.
But Yamauchi had to acknowledge defeat as she failed to respond to another desperate sustained charge from her rival.
"I could feel her behind me so I just kept my head down and pushed as hard as I could," said Yelling after holding on by a second in a time of 54:12.
Yamauchi, who for the last two years has been the country's number one distance runner in the absence of Paula Radcliffe, lowered her personal best by over 90 seconds.
But Liz Yelling was still feeling the effects of her outstanding fourth place in the Chicago Marathon three weeks ago as she finished 11th in 58:02.
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