Margaret Okayo surged past her closest competitors and took the lead with about 11km to go in the New York City Marathon.
There was no doubt she would win. Only one question remained: What would the new course record become?
Okayo shattered the mark she set here in 2001 by nearly two minutes on Sunday, finishing in 2 hours, 22 minutes, 31 seconds, and then dropped to her knees to kiss the ground. She led a Kenyan contingent that again dominated the race. Countryman Martin Lel won his first marathon ever, finishing in 2:10.30.
PHOTO: AFP
Perhaps Okayo should be nicknamed The Course Record Breaker. She also holds record times in the Boston Marathon and the San Diego Rock `n' Roll Marathon.
"I didn't know I was going to break my own record, but I was just trying to do my best," Okayo said.
Reigning world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya was second among the women in 2:23:04, followed by Lornah Kiplagat, a native Kenyan who became a Dutch citizen this year, in 2:23:43. They also beat the previous course record.
PHOTO: AP
"It's such an honor," Ndereba said about the Kenyan dominance. "We are very proud of us. We feel we've made our flag fly high."
With 35,104 entrants for the 42.2km run through the city's five boroughs, Okayo beat a strong field.
Following Lel, defending champion Rodgers Rop of Kenya was second among the men in 2:11:11 and countryman Christopher Cheboiboch was third in 2:11:23.
Seven of the top 10 men and four of the top 10 women were from Kenya. Five of the last seven men's champions have been from Kenya. The top three men last year were from Kenya.
"I am very happy because for sure we are representing our country," Lel said.
Lel and Okayo each won US$100,000, with Okayo getting a US$60,000 bonus for finishing under 2:23.
Nine runners were bunched through the first half of the women's race, including Okayo, Kiplagat, former winner Ludmila Petrova, Ndereba and last year's NYC Marathon winner Joyce Chepchumba.
At the halfway mark, the women were on pace to set the record after covering 21.1km in 1:12:04.
Okayo, Kiplagat and Petrova pulled away from the front-runners at the 27km mark. Ndereba started to make a move around kilometer 29km. With Kiplagat opening a small lead over Okayo, Ndereba passed Petrova for third.
But Okayo turned it on. She overtook Kiplagat for first and cruised to victory. Last year, she finished fifth after having back problems and was taken to the hospital after the race.
This year, she spent three months training for the NYC Marathon in the northern Italian town of Brescia.
"She's a strong runner up and down hilly courses like this," said her coach, Gabriele Rosa. "Good for Athens, that's a hilly course, too. She'll run the marathon in the Olympics."
Julio Rey withdrew after twisting his right ankle while reaching for water at the first station around the 6.5km mark. Rey, who was attempting to become the first Spaniard to win in New York, finished second in the world championships this summer.
Through the first 29km, Lel, Rop, Cheboiboch, Laban Kipkemboi and Elly Rono led the way. Then Rop and Lel emerged as the front-runners and were side-by-side with a few miles to go. Lel surged ahead in the final kilometer.
"When I took Rodgers Rop, I was excited because I didn't know whether I would be able to drop him," Lel said.
Last year, Lel started focusing on his running after opening up a small grocery store in Kenya to help support his family. At the urging of his family, Lel gave control of the store to a cousin and started more serious training.
He finished third in Boston this year and won the world half-marathon title in October.
In the wheelchair division, Krige Schabort of South Africa won his second straight NYC Marathon in 1:32.20, breaking his old mark of 1:38.27 set last year. On the women's side, American Cheri Blauwet also won for the second straight year in a course record 1:59.30.
Hip-hop music and fashion entrepreneur Sean "P. Diddy" Combs completed the marathon, despite suffering leg cramps for about half the distance, as part of an effort to raise millions of dollars for needy city children.
Combs, who performs as "P. Diddy" after becoming one of hip-hop's most successful stars as "Puff Daddy," ran the course in the official time of four hours, 14 minutes and 54 seconds.
"I've never experienced mental or physical pain like that," Combs told reporters after becoming the 11,359th to cross the Central Park finish line. "But it was a beautiful experience."
Combs said he raised US$2 million for New York's public schools, children suffering from HIV and AIDS and his own charity to foster social programs.
The rap impresario, who had undercover police officers assigned as bodyguards, was shown on the live NBC-TV broadcast grimacing in agony from cramps and fending off admirers.
"I was in real trouble and I wanted to stop. It was a life changing experience because I did not stop," said Combs, who ran the marathon, his first, under his proper name.
Combs, who called the effort "Diddy Runs the City," said in a marathon diary published by the <
He said his goals were to finish under four hours and quicker than popular talk show host Oprah Winfrey's 1994 US Marine Corps marathon time of 4 hours 29 minutes.
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