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A dream becomes a reality as American Meb Keflezighi wins the New York City Marathon
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November 1, 2009 - New York City - In a memorable day for the American running community, Meb Keflezighi became the first American to win the New York City Marathon since Alberto Salazar in 1982. Keflezighi faced an incredible men's elite field, including fellow Americans Ryan Hall and Abdi Abdirahman and four-time Boston Marathon winner Robert Cheruiyot.
Keflezighi and Cheruiyot battled it out in the final miles before Keflezighi passed the Kenyan for the win. After he crossed the finish line in 2:09:15, Keflezighi put his hands over his face before dropping and kissing the ground. Keflezighi was visibly emotional as he pointed repeatedly to his USA singlet and proudly displayed the American flag. Cheruiyot finished second in 2:09:56, followed by Jaouad Gharib of Morocco in 2:10:25.
In a post-race press conference, Meb Keflezighi still seemed stunned that he had triumphed in the NYC marathon. "You visualize, you visualize, but when reality hits, it hits home and it's pretty sweet," said Keflezighi. On his Twitter page, Keflezighi put it simply: "What a magic day."
After the race, Keflezighi was greeted warmly by Ryan Hall, who finished fourth overall. For his part, Hall said he was disappointed that his race didn't go better. "It was a disappointing day for me to be honest," said Hall in a post-race press conference. "I felt like I was in better shape than that, but the day was what it was." Hall also acknowledged that he thinks he made some "tactical mistakes" by hanging towards the back of the pack, but he says he's already looking forward to a spring marathon.
In the women's race, Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia triumphed in 2:28:52, followed Ludmila Petrova of Russia in second and Christelle Daunay of France in third. Pre-race favorite Paula Radcliffe finished fourth after displaying visible pain in the final miles. After crossing the finish line, Radcliffe grabbed her leg and appeared to be in considerable pain.
Texas was also represented in the top 10 -- Desiree Ficker of Austin finished in 10th place with a time of 2:39:30. Ficker was the second American woman overall.
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Alanis Morissette runs the New York City Marathon in 4 hours, 28 minutes
Detroit Marathon deaths spark discussions of appropriate training
Mentzer, Gurmu win the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon (slideshow)
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