New York Marathon 2013: Geoffrey Mutai and Top Stories from Sunday
The New York Marathon made a triumphant return in 2013 after being canceled last year due to Hurricane Sandy. Kenyans Geoffrey Mutai and Priscah Jeptoo were the first-place finishers in the men’s and women’s races, respectively, but the event is about so much more than when you finish.
Here are the top storylines from Sunday’s marathon:
Is Geoffrey Mutai the Greatest Marathon Runner Ever?
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Mutai was the first person to cross the finish line, doing so in a dizzyingly fast two hours, eight minutes and 24 seconds.
He set the record for the event back in 2011, and the victory makes him the first back-to-back winner of the NYC marathon since 1998. Next year, he’ll attempt to become the first person to win the race three consecutive times since 1982.
Mutai also holds the record for the fastest marathon ever, completing the 2011 Boston Marathon in 2:03:02.
He’s been a dominant force in long-distance running for the past decade, and his performance on Sunday cemented his place as one of the sport’s greatest competitors.
Kenyan Dominance
The success for the Kenyan runners didn’t end with Mutai. Jeptoo was the fastest woman, and there were Kenyans with high finishes across the leaderboard.
| 1 (Men) | Geoffrey Mutai | 2:08:24 |
| 4 (Men) | Julius Arile | 2:10:03 |
| 5 (Men) | Stanley Biwott | 2:10:41 |
| 8 (Men) | Peter Cheruiyot Kirui | 2:11:23 |
| 9 (Men) | Wesley Korir | 2:11:34 |
| 1 (Women) | Priscah Jeptoo | 2:25:07 |
| 9 (Women) | Edna Kiplagat | 2:30:04 |
Two women and five men placed inside the top 10 of their respective races, continuing the dominance of Kenya in marathon running.
Tatyana McFadden Sweeps the Marathons
Mutai’s race may have reminded us that he’s one of the best, but nobody had a better year than Tatyana McFadden.
The 24-year-old completed an unprecedented marathon “Grand Slam,” winning the races in London, Boston, Chicago and New York this year.
Nobody else had ever done that, and McFadden still has plenty of racing left in her to fill up the record books.
Redemption of the Marathon
The marathon was canceled last year due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. As such, it was a joyous occasion to see the marathon take place this year, but there were more pressing concerns as preparations for the race began to develop.
Following the tragic bombing at the Boston Marathon earlier this year, security was a priority for Sunday’s event.
Runners and fans went through security checkpoints, and police officers with bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the entire course.
The marathon went off without a hitch, and the added security measures didn’t affect the number of people who ran nor the fans who witnessed the rave and cheered on the competitors. A record 50,740 runners took part, including the millionth runner in the race's history.
A ton of credit needs to be given to the organizers, security officials and police officers, without whom the fantastic event couldn’t have taken place.
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