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By Parker Morse
NEW YORK -- Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil was the unexpected men's winner of the ING New York City Marathon, finishing in 2:09:58. On the women's side, Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia successfully defended her title in 2:25:05.
As usual, the men's race was a huge pack for the first half, with 28 runners behind pacemakers Joseph Kariuki and Julius Kibet. The first big move came on the Queensboro Bridge, as Moroccan Youssef Galmin jumped out in front. Galmin's move did not survive First Avenue, as Hendrick Ramaala led eight other men out of the pack and past Galmin.
It looked like the race was on now, but Ramaala wanted to thin the pack, not set out on his own. The new pack stayed largely intact for a little while, but then came dos Santos.
Dos Santos took the lead late on First Avenue, breaking away from a pack of nine just after the 30 km mark. That pack included both defending champion and world record holder Paul Tergat, and 2004 champion Hendrick Ramaala, and they declined to take dos Santos' move seriously. He took advantage of their disregard, building a 38-second lead by 35K.
When the pack woke up, it was Tergat who led the pursuit, joined by Stephen "Baba" Kiogora. This pair chased dos Santos through Central Park, trimming his lead to fifteen seconds at the 40K mark and, finally, eight seconds at the end. Kiogora gained the advantage over Tergat, finishing second in 2:10:06 to Tergat's 2:10:10.
"I wasn't surprised," dos Santos said through translator Luis Posso. "To win a marathon you need to have courage, and today I had courage to go to the front and win. In the marathon, you don't look around. There were top runners there, but I was one of them." Dos Santos ran Brazilian national records for 5000m (13:19.43) and 10,000m (27:48.49) on the track this June.
"Paul told me we would have to push a lot," said Kiogora. "I knew here you could not run for time, but for place."
"We had to try every way possible to close the gap," said Tergat, "But we were too late. When he opened the gap, everyone wanted to wait. I didn't know exactly who he was. Any move Ramaala made today, we would have covered. It was [dos Santos'] day today, and I'm happy for him."
Jelena Prokopcuka signaled her intention to do what she needed to win when she was the only woman to follow pacemaker Luminita Talpos out at course-record pace in the early miles. When it became evident that nobody else would join her, however, Prokopcuka dropped back to join the pack, leaving Talpos irrelevant in the front until she eventually dropped out.
Prokopcuka was never far from the lead, and when at halfway Ukraine's Tatiana Hladyr bid to escape the pack it was Prokopcuka on her shoulder. Once the pair drew away, they wouldn't be seen again by the rest of the pack until the finish. They ran in lockstep up First Avenue and into the Bronx, and when Catherine Ndereba finally led the chase pack in spirited pursuit, it was too late. Prokopcuka broke away from Hladyr shortly before the 35K mark, and ran unchallenged to the finish in 2:25:05; Hladyr was a minute behind in 2:26:05. Ndereba and Kenyan Rita Jeptoo dueled to the line for third, with Ndereba prevailing, 2:26:58 to 2:26:59.
Prokopcuka also takes the lead in the World Marathon Majors leader board with 40 points, with Jeptoo and Berhane Adere, last month's winner in Chicago, tied for second with 30 points apiece. The men's standings changed little, with all five leaders new to the standings.
"My plan was to run the first part with the pack," said Prokopcuka. "Today's first 5K was completely disorienting, because I couldn't run with the pacemaker, but the other women were behind me. When Tatiana caught me, I decided to run with her."
"Before the half-marathon, I was surprised that the pace wasn't very fast, but I was happy that nobody came with us when we pulled away."
"I was very, very happy. It was a sweet victory."
"This year, I trained more seriously for this marathon," said Hladyr, who finished 11th in last year's race. "And the result speaks for itself. It was a big surprise that nobody supported Jelena and I [when we broke away], but tactically, I was prepared for it."
Leading results; look for deeper results in Monday's RRW.
MEN -
1. Marilson Gomes dos Santos, BRA 2:09:58 $155,000 +
2. Stephen Kiogora, KEN 2:10:06 80,000 +
3. Paul Tergat, KEN 2:10:10 55,000 +
4. Daniel Yego, KEN 2:10:34 35,000 +
5. Rodgers Rop, KEN 2:11:24 20,000 +
6. Stefano Baldini, ITA 2:11:33 10,000
7. William Kipsang, KEN 2:11:54 7,500
8. Hailu Negussie, ETH 2:12:12 5,000
9. Hendrick Ramaala, RSA 2:13:04 2,500
10. Peter Gilmore, USA 2:13:13 21,000 *
11. Dathan Ritzenhein, USA 2:14:01 15,000 *
12. Youssef Galmin, MAR 2:14:54
13. Thomas Nyariki, KEN 2:15:58
14. Elias Kemboi, KEN 2:16:33
15. Simon Wangai, KEN 2:16:59
* Includes U.S. Division prize money
+ Includes time bonuses
WOMEN -
1. Jelena Prokopcuka, LAT 2:25:05 $155,000 +
2. Tatiana Hladyr, UKR 2:26:05 80,000 +
3. Catherine Ndereba, KEN 2:26:58 55,000
4. Rita Jeptoo, KEN 2:26:59 40,000 +
5. Lidiya Grigoryeva, RUS 2:27:21 25,000 +
6. Deena Kastor, USA 2:27:54 40,000 + *
7. Nina Rillstone, NZL 2:31:19 7,500
8. Lornah Kiplagat, NED 2:32:31 5,000
9. Katie McGregor, USA 2:32:36 17,500 *
10. Susan Chepkemei, KEN 2:32:45 1,000
11. Silvia Skvortsova, RUS 2:33:17
12. Samia Akbar, USA 2:34:14 10,000 *
13. Claudia Camargo, ARG 2:35:04
14. Sonia O'Sullivan, AUS 2:42:05
15. Magdalena Lewy Boulet, USA 2:42:38 3,000 *
* Includes U.S. Division prize money
+ Includes time bonuses
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