Mary Keitany first woman to win three New York marathons in a row for 30 years
Kenya’s Mary Keitany has become the first woman to win three consecutive New York Marathons for 30 years.
Keitany, 34, ran a time of two hours 24 minutes 26 seconds to become the first to accomplish the feat since Norway’s Grete Waitz – who won five in a row.
“Winning three times means a lot to me. It’s not easy but I got it,” she said.
Eritrean world champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, 20, beat Kenya’s Lucas Rotich in the men’s race to become New York’s youngest ever winner.
Ghebreslassie, who finished fourth at both the London Marathon and the Rio Olympics this year, crossed the line in 2:07:51 to deny Kenya a fourth consecutive double in the New York men’s and women’s races.
“I am really proud with my victory today to be the first one from my country [to win the race],” he said.
American Tatyana McFadden won her fourth straight New York women’s wheelchair race in one hour 47 minutes 43 seconds.
The win means she has won the last 17 major marathon races – London, Boston, Chicago and New York – including four calendar-year clean sweeps.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.