Kenya's Keitany wins New York Marathon for 4th time, Desisa wins men's race

Kenya's Mary Keitany has won the New York Marathon for the fourth time, having triumphed in the gruelling race in 2014, 2015 and 2016, while Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa won the men's race.

Keitany, 36, dominated the 42.2-kilometer (26.22 miles) race on Sunday to earn her fourth gold medal with a time of 2:22:48, the second-best women's time in the history of the race.

She crossed the finish line 3 minutes and 13 seconds ahead of fellow Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot, 35, who recorded a time of 2:26:02 and was 20 seconds in front of defending champion Shalane Flanagan, reports Efe news.

The 37-year-old Flanagan moved up from fifth place in the final kilometers until she managed to make it into the third spot, the fast American in the race with a time of 2:26:22.

In the men's competition, Ethiopia's Lelisa Desis, 28, won the race for the first time with a time of 2:05:59, the second-best time ever recorded for the men's side of the New York Marathon.

It was a tight final, with 22-year-old Shura Kitata, also from Ethiopia, coming in just 2 seconds back, and with favourite and title defender Geoffrey Kamworor, a 25-year-old Kenyan, crossing the finish line 26 seconds afterwards.

In the wheelchair competition, Switzerland's Manuela Schar won her second consecutive race for the women with a time of 1:50:27, while US athlete Daniel Romanchuk also won his second Marathon, defeating 2017 champ Marcel Hug with a time of 1:36:21.

--IANS

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