Athletics: Jifar wins NYC marathon
Tesfaye Jifar won the New York City Marathon in record time Sunday, pulling away from his lone challenger with three miles left in a race dedicated to victims of Sept 11.
Jifar ran the 26.2 miles in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 43 seconds 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.
The women’s winner also set a race record. Margaret Okayo of Kenya finished in 2:24:21, trimming 19 seconds off the mark set by Australia’s Lisa Ondieki in 1992.
Jifar, whose first competitive race was only three years ago, was making his debut in New York.
The 32nd NYC Marathon adopted the motto "United We Run" and there were reminders everywhere of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center: from a view of lower Manhattan as runners crossed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge shortly after the start, to the red and white stripes added to the traditional blue to mark the route.
