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It was a great victory for Paula Radcliffe of UK, and a great return to running marathons (or half) after being sidelined for a long time due to injury. And this fantastic victory in New York City Half Marathon, within 2 seconds of the course record, the result speaks much about how eager Radcliffe is to get back to what has been her turf. Radcliffe finished in 1:09:45 for a fabulous seventh straight win at New York City. Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia was second in 1:11:04 while Catherine Ndereba of Kenya was third in 1:11:56.
In the mens race, it was a sweet second victory for defending champion Ethiopian Tadese Tola, who won in 1:01:06, leading from front and never giving it up all the way. Moroccan Ridouane Harroufi was second in 1:02:33 while the much fancied America, and Boston marathon bronze medalist Ryan Hall was third in 1:02:35.
More than 10,000 runners participated in the event in New York City. Other notable performance from the team USA were Abdi Abdirahman finishing 4th in Mens, and Deena Kastor finishing 7th in Womens events.
Results (Men):
- Tadese Tola (ETH) 1:01:06
- Ridouane Harroufi (MOR) 1:02:32
- Ryan Hall (USA) 1:02:35
- Abdi Abdirahman (USA) 1:02:51
- Hendrick Ramaala (SA) 1:04:02
Results (Women):
- Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 1:09:50
- Mamitu Daska (ETH) 1:11:04
- Catherine Ndereba (KEN) 1:11:56
- Nadia Ejjafini (Bahamas) 1:12:47
- Buzunesh Deba (Ethiopia) 1:13:17
Radcliffe took the lead roughly at half way, and was in control all the way from there. Win in New York sets of the stage for Radcliffe to decide upon her participation in the upcoming World Championships in Berlin, where the Womens marathon will take place on Aug 23rd. This may happen in the upcoming week, but whether she will be able to repeat the performance is another question. Incidentally, Radcliffe confirmed her entry to the New York event just 3 days back.
Complete results of the event are awaited on the official website results page.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
@Reiko: Congratulations on a great time in those really challenging conditions! And that's a first for the design of the medal which I am hearing, those guys are really some thinkers
Hi Tanvir -
The half was a tough one. It was a steamy 74% humidity and the average temp was 77F. But it was really fun! There is nothing like running in the middle of the street through Times Square! Tola is simply amazing and so young too. I cannot imagine what he will be doing in a few years.
The field was over 10,000 runners and we did one steamy loop around Central Park (which is quite hilly) and then out onto the flat streets of New York and all the way down to the financial district at the southern tip of Manhattan. Lots of musical bands and Gatorade along the way. It was all over before we hit the daily high of 92F (typical August weather here).
The medal was nice: a copy of a NYC manhole cover! Ha ha! It was a great run!
-Reiko (1h55:48)