Ethiopia’s Lesisa Desisa won the New York City Marathon on Sunday in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 59 seconds, finishing just a few steps ahead of first and second runners-up. World Record holder Mary Keitany won the women’s race in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 48 seconds, her fourth victory in New York.
28-year-old Desisa surged ahead of compatriot Shura Kitata and defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya to win the 42-kilometer race for the first time. This year’s marathon had 50,000 runners who had to go past New York’s five boroughs in a cool, breezy morning in front of thousands of fans.
For 36-year-old Keitany, Sunday’s marathon was her sixth appearance in New York and her fourth win in five years. Her previous wins were 2016, 2015 and 2014. This year, the Kenyan emerged the winner after running far ahead of second place compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot and third place American, Shalane Flanagan.
Keitany had no company after she reached Manhattan and maintained the same pace until the finish line. While the top two spots were taken by Kenyans, the following ten positions were filled by a roster of American athletes who tried but couldn’t catch pace with the winner.
Keitany emerged second place to Flanagan last year but won the 2016 race by a mile ahead of her competitors.
