American Wins NYC Marathon

First since '82; Ethiopia's Tulu captures women's division
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 1, 2009 12:54 PM CST
American Wins NYC Marathon
The Men's Professional field in the New York City Marathon crosses the Verrazano Narrows Bridge linking the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn at the start of the marathon, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009.   (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Meb Keflezighi became the first American man to win the New York City Marathon since 1982 today. Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia won the women's race, with two-time defending champ Paula Radcliffe falling back to fourth then grabbing her left leg in pain after finishing. Wearing "USA" on his chest, Keflezighi won in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 15 seconds. "The USA gave me all the opportunities there is in education, sports and lifestyle," he said. "To be able to represent the USA is a big thing for me."

Keflezighi pulled away from Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya in the 23rd mile to beat the four-time Boston Marathon champ by 41 seconds. Russian Ludmila Petrova, 41, was the runner-up for the second straight year in the women's race, while Christelle Daunay of France was third. Radcliffe said she had tendinitis behind her knee. The world record-holder from Britain failed to win a marathon for just the third time in 11 starts. Nearly 44,000 runners started the 40th edition of the race. (More New York City Marathon stories.)

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