Kenyans Win Men & Women Titles at New York Marathon

Wilson Kipsang

Kenya’s Wilson Kipsang and Mary Keitany on Sunday won the men and women titles at the New York City Marathon, PANA reports from New York.

Kipsang, in his first appearance in the New York Marathon, surged ahead of Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa, as they broke away from the pack and raced through Central Park in Manhattan, New York, to clinch victory in a cold and windy race.

The Kenyan won by seven seconds with an unofficial time of 2 hours 10 minutes 59 seconds, while Desisa placed second in the race and the 2010 champion, Ethiopia’s Gebre Gebremariam came third.

Kipsang, who is the former world-record holder, has now won in Berlin, London and New York in just over 13 months.

In the women’s category, 32-year-old Keitany, a two-time London Marathon champion edged another Kenyan, Jemima Sumgong, 29, with about a half-mile to go.

It was her first marathon since 2012 after the birth of her second child.

Keitany won in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, 7 seconds – 3 seconds ahead of Sumgong, which would match the closest finish in the history of the women’s race.

Sumgong was also the runner-up at the Boston Marathon in 2012.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia.org