by RBR Admin
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by Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com), used with permission
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
This Day in Track & Field–November 3
TCS NY City Marathon
1991—Just two months after winning the 10,000-Meters at the World Championships in Tokyo, and less than a year after giving birth to daughter Eilish, Scotland’s Liz McColgan won the women’s race in 2:27:32, the fastest debut ever for the distance (at the time). Being a rookie in the event, McColgan, who said she was prepared to run 2:24, ran cautiously until she was challenged by Russia’s Olga Markova (2:28:27) with less than 4 miles to go. “I was surprised to see her,” McColgan said of Markova, who would finish 2nd. “She put me into action. For the first time, I was striding out and felt better for the last few miles than I had at any point during the race.” McColgan was named to the NYRR Hall of Fame in 2021.
Fading to 6th after being among the leaders for much of the race was Joan Benoit-Samuelson (2:33:48), the winner of the first Olympic Marathon for women in 1984.
It was a big day for Mexican men, who finished 1st (Salvador Garcia/2:09:28), 2nd (Andrés Espinosa/2:10:00), and 5th (Isidro Rico/2:11:58).
Garcia broke away from the field after 16 miles, with no one willing to go with him. Kenya’s Ibrahim Hussein, the 1987 winner, said, “There were so many people cheering on First Avenue. I just thought he was responding to the crowd. I have run this race before, so I let him go. I was wrong. It was a perfect move.” Hussein would finish 3rd in 2:11:07.
Other Notable Finishers (25,775 total)
Women: 3.Lisa Ondieki (Australia) 2:29:02, 4.Alena Peterková (CZE) 2:30:36
Men: 9. John Treacy (Ireland) 2:15:09…13.Juma Ikangaa (Tanzania/defending champion) 2:17:19
Results: https://results.nyrr.org/event/911103/finishers/1389658
Top 20: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_New_York_City_Marathon
ABC Coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em-tbnCo4LM
Women’s Finish: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1826991310644294
1996—Winners this year were Italy’s Giacomo Leone (2:09:54) and Romania’s Anuța Cătună (2:28:18).
Other Notable Finishers
Men: 2. Tuma Turbo (Ethiopia) 2:10:09, 3.Joseph Kamau (Kenya) 2:10:40, 4.John Kagwe (Kenya) 2:10:59 (would win in 1997), 5.Andrés Espinosa (Mexico) 2:11:39, 6.Cosmas Ndeti (Kenya) 2:11:53, 7.Martin Fiz (Spain) 2:12:31…24.Joe McVeigh (1st American) 2:21:12; DNF-Stefano Baldini (Italy), Moses Tanui (Kenya)
Women: 2.Franca Fiacconi (Italy) 2:28:42, 3.Joyce Chepchumba (Kenya/would win in 2002) 2:29:38, 4.Kim Jones (USA) 2:34:46…7.Tegla Loroupe (Kenya/2-time defending champion) 2:37:19
Results: https://results.nyrr.org/event/961103/finishers
Top 20: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_New_York_City_Marathon
Highlights(Includes a look at the 1st five-boro race in 1976): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dHdLbmGsjI
2002–For the first time in a major U.S. marathon, the women’s professional field in the New City Marathon started separately, 35 minutes before the professional men and the rest of the field. The separate women’s start highlighted race history’s most competitive women’s field. After three top-five finishes, Joyce Chepchumba (2:25:56) finally scored a victory. She was followed across the line by Russia’s Lyubov Denisova (2:26:17) and fellow Kenyan Esther Kiplagat (2:27:00). Legally blind Marla Runyan (2:27:10) was fourth, the highest placing by an American since Kim Jones’s runner-up finish in 1989. Other notable finishers included Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan (11th/2:32:06) and American Sylvia Mosqueda (12th/2:33:47)
The move to have separate starts for men and women this year was in sharp contrast to what took place at the 1972 race, when the six female entrants, protesting an AAU ruling that they had to start 10 minutes before their male counterparts, sat on the starting line before joining the men when they started! (The AAU was sued for discrimination when they added 10 minutes to the women’s times!).
As marathons grew in size and the quality of the women’s fields increased, it was felt that the women deserved their own time in the spotlight. It also eliminated the perception that women were being unfairly paced by men when the two genders competed together.
Following his Boston Marathon victory in April, Rodgers Rop (2:08:07) won a close men’s race over fellow Kenyan Christopher Cheboiboch (2:08:17). Other notable finishers in the men’s race included Italy’s Stefano Baldini (5th-2:09:12), who would win Olympic gold in 2004, former Providence star Mark Carroll of Ireland (6th-2:10:54), and future legend Meb Keflezighi, who finished 9th (2:12:35) in his debut at the distance! (31,838 finishers)
Results: https://results.nyrr.org/event/NYC2002/customStatistics
Top 20: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_New_York_City_Marathon
A Look Back (2017): https://www.nerunner.com/2017/10/31/15-years-ago-nyc-marathon-put-women-first/
ESPN’s 30 for 30/Six Who Sat:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/sports/women-new-york-marathon.html
2013—The Marathon returned to the streets of New York a year after the 2012 race was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy.
Trailing by 3:30 at the halfway point of the women’s race, Kenya’s Priscah Jeptoo (2:25:07) patiently worked her way up toward the front, eventually taking the lead from Ethiopia’s Bizunesh Diba (2:25:56) near the 24-mile marker and pulling away for the win.
Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai (2:08:24) repeated his win from 2011, beating runnerup Tsegay Kebede (Ethiopia/2:09:15) by almost a minute.
Both winners received $100,000 in prize money, with Jeptoo earning an additional $500,000 as the World Marathon Majors title winner.
Starters: Total-50,740, Men-31,002, Women-19,738; Finishers: Total-50,266, Men-30,699, Women-19,567
Other Notable Finishers
Men: 5. Stanley Biwott (Kenya) 2:10:41 (would win in 2015)…13.Ryan Vail 2:13:23…15.”Bob” Tahri (France/world-ranked steeplechaser) 2:18:16; DNF-Martin Lel (Kenya/winner in 2003, 2007)
Women: 3.Jeļena Prokopčuka (Latvia/winner in 2005,2006) 2:27:47…6.Kim Smith (New Zealand) 2:28:49…9.Edna Kiplagat (Kenya, 2010 winner) 2:30:04…13.Adriana Nelson (1st American) 2:35:05…20.Amy Cragg 2:42:50
Results: https://results.nyrr.org/event/40/finishers
Top 20: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_New_York_City_Marathon
https://www.letsrun.com/events/2013-ing-new-york-city-marathon/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ouf2rVTT_U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ233tUHdH8
2019—Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor (2:08:13) and Joyciline Jepkosgei (2:22:38) were the TCS NY City Marathon winners. It was the 2nd win in NY for Kamworor, who also finished 1st in 2017. Jepkosgei, making her debut at the distance, was the upset winner over her friend and fellow Kenyan, Mary Keitany (2:23:32), a 4-time winner in NY. Her winning time is the 2nd-fastest in the race’s history (CR is 2:22:31). It was the 2nd win in NY this year for Kepkosgei, who won the NYC half-marathon in March.
Kamworor was greeted at the finish by his training partner and mentor, Eliud Kipchoge, the World Record holder in the Marathon (at the time). “I didn’t want to disappoint him,” Kamworor said. “That gave me a lot of motivation.”
The top American finishers were Jared Ward (2:10:45) and Des Linden (2:26:46), who placed sixth in their respective divisions.
Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa, the defending men’s champion, dropped out early in the race, apparently not fully recovered after winning at the World Championships a month earlier.
With 53,627 finishers, this year’s race became the largest marathon in history. (30,886 men. 22,741 women)
Results: https://results.nyrr.org/event/M2019/finishers
Top 25: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_New_York_City_Marathon
Video(Full Race): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-i8EaOaiqM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPdH7I_Jnu8
By The Numbers: https://www.nyrr.org/media-center/press-release/20191105_tcsnycmbythenumbers
https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a29689691/new-york-city-marathon-2019-finisher-record/
Photos: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/sports/nyc-marathon-photos.html
T&F News Coverage:
Men: https://trackandfieldnews.com/article/nyc-marathon-men-kamworor-cruises/
Women: https://trackandfieldnews.com/article/nyc-marathon-women-fine-debut-by-jepkosgei/
Past NY City Marathon Winners: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_winners_of_the_New_York_City_Marathon
Media Guide (2024):
Through The Years:
Also
2007—Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Brian Sell finished 1-2-3 at the U.S. Marathon Trials in Central Park to qualify for the 2008 Olympic team, but their celebration was cut short when they learned that Ryan Shay, one of the pre-race favorites, had collapsed and died just 5-1/2 miles into the race. It was later determined that his death was caused by an irregular heartbeat that stemmed from an enlarged and scarred heart.
“It’s heart-wrenching,” said NYRR President Mary Wittenberg. “These things happen, but they’re not supposed to happen at the height of an athlete’s life and career and on one of the biggest days of their career. There must be a reason, but it’s unclear to us right now.”
Check these links for the full story:
NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/sports/othersports/04marathon.html?ref=othersports
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/sports/othersports/19runner.html?_r=0
Runner’s World(for subscribers)
https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a20967138/pure-heart/
A Year Later: http://www.runnersworld.com/masters/ryan-shay-remembered-in-central-park-ceremony
10 Years Later—LetsRun’s Jonathan Gault writes about Shay’s legacy of inspiration
Ryan’s Bench: http://www.runblogrun.com/2012/11/walking-in-central-park-visiting-ryan-shays-bench-by-larry-eder.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Shay
https://und.com/ryan-shay-tribute-notre-dame-mourns-the-death-of-a-champion/
