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The 2009 ING New York City Marathon: First American Win Since 1982!
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For the first time since 1982, an American won the ING New York City Marathon. After staying with a tight pack of runners, at mile 23, Meb Keflezighi pulled away from four-time Boston Marathon champion, Robert K. Cheruiyot, from Kenya, and won, setting a personal best of 2:09:15. Cheruiyot finished just 41 seconds behind in 2:09:56. Race favorite and American running sensation, Ryan Hall finished fourth in 2:10:36.
Keflezighi, a native of Eritrea, became a US citizen in 1998 and proudly wore a USA singlet during the race. As he approached the finish line, he greeted the crowd with smiles and pointed to the USA emblem on his singlet. His victory in New York caps off his “comeback” year which included commanding victories in the USA Half Marathon Championship, and most recently, the RNR San Jose Half Marathon. After the 2008 US Olympic Marathon Trials, Keflezighi learned that he was suffering from a stress fracture in his hip and considered even retiring. He spent most of 2008 silent from the racing scene.
Four other American men finished in the Top 10: Jorge Torres (7th); Nick Arciniaga (8th); Abdi Abdirahman (9th) and Jason Lehmkuhle (10th). Sunday’s results were the best posted by the American men since 1979.
World Record Holder and race favorite, Paula Radcliffe, took command at the very beginning of the race and kept a solid lead until the last eight miles when she was challenged by France’s Christelle Daunay; Russia’s Ludmila Petrova and Ethiopia’s Derartu Tulu. Radcliffe fell behind at mile 22 and couldn’t close the gap. When the women entered Central Park, Petrova and Tulu picked up the pace and ran even until the last mile. Tulu turned on the jets and won in 2:28:52 and beat Petrova by only 8 seconds. Tulu, 37, was the Gold Medalist in the 10,000m in 1992 and 2000; she hadn’t won a major marathon since London, 2001. Petrova, 41, finished in 2:29:00. Radcliffe was fourth in 2:29:27 and was seen grabbing her left leg after crossing the finish line. Two Americans finished in the Top 10: Magdalena Lewy Boulet finished 6th in 2:32:17 and Desiree Ficker was 10th in 2:39:30. Womens' running legend, Joan Benoit Samuelson was 17th in 2:49:09. Samuelson is 52 years old.
Nearly 44,000 runners from almost 100 countries participated in the 40th ING New York City Marathon. Temperatures were near 50, winds were around 14 mph, and the light drizzle which greeted runners before the start time had ended. For searchable race results, coverage and other details, visit: http://www.nycmarathon.org
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