American runner Meb Keflezighi wins NYC marathon

For the first time since 1982, an American has won first place in the annual NYC Marathon.

2004 Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi completed the New York City Marathon in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 15 seconds- beating out Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya by 41 seconds. Born in Eritrea, Keflezighi became a US citizen in 1998. Keflezighi said:

“The USA gave me all the opportunities there is in education, sports and lifestyle,” he said. “To be able to represent the USA is a big thing for me.”

Derartu Tulu of Ethopia came in first in the women’s race, with Paula Radcliffe, the two-time defending champion, coming in at fourth. Ludmila Petrova of Russia came in second for the second year in a row, and Christelle Daunay of France was third. Jaouad Gharib of Morocco came in third in the men’s race, and Ryan Hall finished fourth.

2010 marked the 40th New York City Marathon, and nearly 44,000 runners participated.

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