Meb Keflezighi wins the NYC Marathon
by admin on Nov.01, 2009, under Athletics
The choice of jersey had not been entirely Meb Keflezighi’s, but in one triumphant surge in Central Park on Sunday, he became the perfect person to be wearing a U.S.A. shirt at the New York City Marathon. He was one of several Americans striving to break the 27-year men’s drought in the race, but he represented the American dream more than any of them.
A child immigrant from war-torn Eritrea, and one of 11 siblings in a village with no electricity, Keflezighi traveled an arduous journey to the finish line here and carried decades of American hopes with him.
Keflezighi pointed to those U.S.A. letters as he neared the finish line, riding the roar of the Central Park crowd to become the first American man to win the race since Alberto Salazar in 1982. He did it by vanquishing two Kenyans considered the favorites, a rare feat for an American in any distance race.
And he played the lead in a huge United States resurgence: six Americans finished in the top 10, a number not seen since 1979.
“It was a great day for me and a great day for us American guys,” Keflezighi said. “And I think we are only the start of it.”
Keflezighi (pronounced ka-FLEZ-ghee) dropped to the ground, tears streaming down his face, when he won in his best time of 2 hours 9 minutes 15 seconds — 41 seconds ahead of Kenya’s Robert Cheruiyot, a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon and one of the most accomplished marathoners in history.
