A marathon to remember
The New York City marathon was unlike any other - and not just because both winners set course records.
Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia and Margaret Okayo of Kenya pulled away for comfortable victories in yesterday's red-white-andblue affair dedicated to the victims of 11 September.
Those colors were everywhere along the 26.2-mile course through the city's f ive boroughs with balloons spanning the bridge at the start and where 50 doves were released.
"It was very moving. Every time I went by a firehouse, I couldn't help but tip my hat," said 1984 Olympic champion Joan Benoit-Samuelson, who finished 21st in the women's section.
There were about 25,000 runners, roughly 5,000 fewer than normal, a disparity race organisers attributed to fears about safety. The unprecedented marathon security also included more than 2,800 police officers and a noflight zone banning private planes over the route.
Jifar won in 2hrs 7mins 43secs to become the first Ethiopian to win the race. He broke the 12-year-old mark of 2:08:01 set by Tanzania's Juma Ikangaa.
Okayo finished in 2hrs 24mins 21 secs trimming 19 seconds off the race record set by Australia's Lisa Ondieki in 1992.
