Tesfaye Jifar became the first Ethiopian to win the New York Marathon today in a record time of two hours, seven minutes and 43 seconds. It was Jifar's seventh marathon attempt and he finished 18 seconds inside the course record ahead of the Kenyan pair of Japhet Kosgei and Rodgers Rop. Margaret Okayo of Kenya won the women's race with an unofficial course record time of two hours, 24 minutes and 21 seconds. The 25-year-old finished ahead of compatriot Susan Chepkemei with Svetlana Zakharova of Russia coming home third.
An estimated thirty thousand runners took part in this year's event, which had the strictest safety measures ever in light of the terrorist attacks that took place in New York on September 11. The race was dedicated to the memory of the victims and many members of the New York City fire and police departments took part in place of entrants who had died in the terrorist attacks.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
