Kenyan Runners Take New York City Marathon Titles
Kenyan runners swept the men's and women's titles Sunday at the 45th annual TCS New York City Marathon.
Stanley Biwott, 29, won his first major title after finishing second in London last year, finishing in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 34 seconds. Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor followed him 14 seconds later, and Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa was third.
Mary Keitany, 33, defended her New York Marathon title in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 25 seconds. Ethiopia's Aselefech Mergia finished 67 seconds later, followed by Tigist Tufa, also of Ethiopia.
South Africa's Ernst Van Dyk, 42, won the men's wheelchair division in 1 hour, 30 minutes and 54 seconds, beating America's Josh George by 1 second. Marcel Hug, of Switzerland, placed third.
American Tatyana McFadden, 26, finished first in the women's wheelchair division in 1 hour, 43 minutes and 4 seconds, setting a course record. More impressively, she extended to three years her streak of winning the "Grand Slam" of major marathons, in London, Boston, Chicago and New York. No other athlete has won all four in a single year. Switzerland's Manuela Schar placed second in 1 hour, 44 minutes and 57 seconds, followed by countrywoman Sandra Graf in third.
Americans Meb Keflezighi, a running icon from San Diego, California, and Laura Thweatt, considered the U.S. women's top distance runner, each placed seventh in their races. Thweatt lives in Boulder, Colorado.
The 26.2-mile route took runners through all of the city's five boroughs, beginning at the base of the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge in Staten Island and ending in Central Park in Manhattan.
