New York Marathon Results 2014: Finishing Times and Top Performances
Neither wind nor cold could stop Wilson Kipsang and Mary Keitany from giving Kenya a pair of New York City Marathon winners.
Kipsang blazed through the 26-mile trek in two hours, 10 minutes and 55 seconds. The former world-record holder, who was racing in his first New York City marathon, battled the frigid post-Halloween conditions to clear Lelisa Desisa by 11 seconds. He said he was able to hold off Desisa by conserving energy while in the lead, a strategical must in less-than-ideal conditions.
"Towards the end, I saw Desisa was very close to me and very strong," Kipsang said, per Yahoo Sports. "I saved some energy for that final sprint. I knew in the final 100 meters he couldn't beat me."
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Keitany, one of the most accomplished women marathoners on the planet, won a slightly closer race in two hours, 25 minutes and seven seconds. Racing competitively for the first time since the 2012 Summer Olympics, Keitany eclipsed Jemima Sumgong's time by just three seconds.
| 1 | Wilson Kipsang | 2:10:59 | Kenya |
| 2 | Lelisa Desisa Benti | 2:11:06 | Ethiopia |
| 3 | Gebre Gebremariam | 2:12:13 | Ethiopia |
| 4 | Meb Keflezighi | 2:13:18 | United States |
| 5 | Stephen Kiprotich | 2:13:25 | Uganda |
| 1 | Mary Keitany | 2:25:07 | Kenya |
| 2 | Jemima Sumgong | 2:25:10 | Kenya |
| 3 | Sara Moreira | 2:26:00 | Portugal |
| 4 | Jelena Prokopcuka | 2:26:15 | Latvia |
| 5 | Desiree Linden | 2:28:11 | United States |
As noted by Rachel Cohen of The Associated Press, Sunday's win helps atone for previously disappointing performances. Keitany twice finished third in one of the sport's marquee events, including in 2011 when she squandered an early lead.
"I worked hard for this opportunity," Keitany said. "I'm happy because I have a victory today, because I know I've been coming to New York two times, and I was in that position. So I'm happy today because it was a good day and I win."
For Kipsang, winning the New York Marathon helped earn him a much larger prize. With the victory, the 32-year-old clinched the World Marathon Majors and its $500,000 prize. A bronze medalist at the 2012 London Games, Kipsang has been racking up wins of late. He set the former world record last year in Berlin and took the London Marathon at a pace that was just behind his personal best.
While Sunday was far from a record pace—Kipsang's time was nearly eight minutes off the world record of 2:02:57, which was set by Dennis Kimetto at the 2014 Berlin Marathon—it's nonetheless an impressive accomplishment.
Desisa is a 24-year-old up and comer with the potential to become a generational talent within the sport. Keitany holding him off proves that he's still got a ton left in the tank, even against someone eight years his senior.
"After running in such tough conditions, I'm very happy," Kipsang said, per Emily Ngo and Jordan Lauterbach of Newsday. "The finish was very close and the speed was very high. It was not easy."
The triumphs were not quite the same for Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi, who came in fourth. Keflezighi's win in Boston marked one of the more special moments in recent memory, as the Eritrean-born American captured the title a year after the Boston Marathon bombings. His 2:13:18 time was nearly five minutes off his mark from Boston.
Fourth place is still a solid outcome for the 39-year-old, but he seemed at peace this week regardless of his result.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself, but my career has been solidified as 110 percent complete,” Keflezighi said Thursday, per Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports.
Perhaps the most notable American accomplishments came from people within other sports. Tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, who has taken criticism for her marathon training, finished with a strong time of three hours, 26 minutes and 33 seconds. A "nervous" Wozniacki was able to overcome her fears of not finishing the race—and was thankfully not carried to the finish line on a wheelchair.
“I had a few dreams that night that I didn’t finish [the marathon],” Wozniacki said this week, per Zaccardi. “I had to be carried through with a wheelchair.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver was also at the starting gates as one of 24 people who decided to relay while working with New York Road Runners, a group that encourages youth exercise. Silver has previously completed the marathon himself twice.
"I felt awkward running only a leg of the marathon and not the entire marathon, having remembered some famous New York stories of people who started and didn't necessarily finish," Silver told AP reporter Rachel Cohen (via ABC News).
While Silver may have felt "awkward," his and the NBA's efforts are a good cause worth celebrating. If anything, the attention brought by the NBA and the $500,000 prize won by Kipsang on Sunday may help breed the next generation of competitive marathoners.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.
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