Kenyans Geoffrey Mutai and Priscah Jeptoo won the men’s and women’s titles at the 2013 ING New York City Marathon on its return after a 1-year forced hiatus due to last year’s Boston Marathon bombing on Sunday.
It’s the third time Kenyans swept both the men’s and women’s titles (2002, 2003). The only other country to sweep was the United States in 1977.
Mutai, 32, who also holds the New York course record, powered through the home stretch to win the men’s race in 2:08:24 ahead of Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede.
Kebede finished second almost a minute behind Mutai in 2:09:16, but was rewarded for his consistency through the series by clinching the $500,000 bonus World Marathon Majors men’s title. The World Marathon Majors series includes Six major marathons – Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, the Olympics and world championships where the runners accumulate points over a two-season cycle.
In the third place, 31-year-old South African Lusapho April produced a gutsy performance to shatter his personal best, crossing the line in 2:09:45 for a podium finish.
In her New York Marathon debut, Priscah Jeptoo, the 2012 Olympic silver medallist and 2013 London Marathon Champion won the women’s race ahead of 2011 runner-up Buzunesh Deba from Ethiopia.
Jeptoo, 29, overtook Bronx resident Deba with an impressive final kick and sped across the finish line to thunderous applause, clocking 2:25:07 for the grueling 42km race. With the victory, she received a $500,000 bonus for also capturing the World Marathon Majors women’s title.
Deba finished runner-up for her second consecutive race in New York in 2:25:56 while Jelena Prokopcuka, 37, of Latvia, the 2005-06 New York winner placed third in 2:27:47.
Veteran SA wheelchair racer Ernst van Dyk finished second in a tight sprint finish to Swiss winner Marcel Hug in 1:40:14.
More than 50,000 runners started the race through the five boroughs of the city. The double win for Kenya marked the third time that the country has captured the men’s and the women’s race titles.
Selected Results:
Men
- Geoffrey Mutai, 02:08:24, Kenya
- Tsegaye Kebede, 02:09:16, Ethiopia
- Lusapho April, 02:09:45, South Africa
- Julius Arile, 02:10:03, Kenya
- Stanley Biwott, 02:10:41, Kenya
- Masato Imai, 02:10:45, Japan
- Jackson Kiprop, 02:10:56, Uganda
- Peter Cheruiyot Kirui, 02:11:23, Kenya
- Wesley Korir, 02:11:34, Kenya
- Daniele Meucci, 02:12:03, Italy
Women
- Priscah Jeptoo, 02:25:07, Kenya
- Buzunesh Deba, 02:25:56, Ethiopia
- Jelena Prokopcuka, 02:27:47, Latvia
- Christelle Daunay, 02:28:14, France
- Valeria Straneo, 02:28:22, Italy
- Kim Smith, 02:28:49, New Zealand
- Sabrina Mockenhaupt, 02:29:10, Germany
- Tigist Tufa Demisse, 02:29:24, Ethiopia
- Edna Kiplagat, 02:30:04, Kenya
- Diane Nukuri-Johnson, 02:30:09, Burundi
(Photo copyrights: ING NYC Marathon)
Meet The Authors
Yomog Meje is a former Nigerian junior athlete and the Associate editor at Athletics Africa.
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