 |
Ethiopian, Kenyan Win 2001 New York City Marathon Race
Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia won New York City Marathon Men's title in 2:07:43 hours Sunday in New York, breaking the event's record of 2:08:01 set by Juma Ikangaa of Tanzania in 1989.
The 25-year-old athlete, blind in his right eye, became the first Ethiopian to earn his place in the 32-year history of the New York City Marathon. He pulled away two Kenyan competitors in the last mile.
Kenya's Japhet Kosgei, the runner-up for the second straight year, finished 2:09:19 and Rodgers Rop, Kosgei's fellow countryman, was third in 2:09:51.
In the women's field, Kenya's Margaret Okayo won the title also in a record time of 2:24:21. The previous record of 2:24:40 was set by Australian Lisa Ondieki in 1992.
Kenya's Susan Chepkemei finished the 26.2-mile (some 42-kilometer) course in 2:25:12, and Russian Svetlana Zakharova one second later, winning the second and third places respectively.
A total of 514,000 U.S. dollars are offered with a top prize of 80,000 dollars for the men's and women's winners.
Some 30,O00 runners took part in the annual run in a sunny day, partly to show their will against terrorism. Police put more strength to ensure security amid terrorist threats following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center which killed more than 5,000 people.
In This Section
|