NEW YORK—A new course record was set by the winner of the New York City marathon on Nov. 6. Geoffrey Mutai finished at 2:05:06, and the first three to cross the finish line in the men’s division beat the 2:07:43 course record set a decade ago by Tesfaye Jifar.
This isn’t a first for Mutai, a 30-year-old from Kenya. He enjoyed a brief victory when he broke the Boston Marathon course record in April, with a world record time of 2:03:02. Yet, the record was later retracted because the course is considered too straight and downhill.
Emmanuel Mutai, also a Kenyan—and not related to Geoffrey Mutai—finished second at 2:06:28. Tsegaye Kebede from Ethiopia came in third, 46 second behind Emmanuel Mutai.
Each of the three top finishers received a $70,000 prize for setting the track records. Geoffrey Mutai also took home $130,000 for winning the race.
Ethiopian Gebre Gebremariam, who won last year’s NYC marathon on his first attempt, came in fourth, just 45 seconds behind Kebede.
There was a surprise finish in the woman’s race. Mary Keitany led the way from the first mile, keeping a huge gap between herself and the rest of the pack for a full 24 miles.
Keitany slowed down after reaching Manhattan, allowing Firehiwot Dado and Buzunesh Deba to pass her in Central Park, in the last 2 miles of the race.
Dado, a 27-year-old from Ethiopia took first place in the women’s division at 2:23:15, just a minute over the track record, and will receive $130,000 for winning the race. Dado is a well-known runner, and has won the Rome marathon three years in a row.
Deba, an Ethiopian who lives in the Bronx, finished second, just four seconds behind Dado. Keitany, representing Kenya, finished in third.
