Kenya’s Mary Keitany wins 3rd straight NYC marathon

NEW YORK – Mary Keitany has won her third straight New York City Marathon to become the first woman to win three consecutive marathons in New York since Grete Waitz’s five-year run from 1982 to 1986.

The 34-year-old Kenyan defended her title Sunday in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, 26 seconds, beating countrywoman Joyce Chepkirui by nearly four minutes.

Lanni Marchant of London, Ont., was seventh in 2:33.50, making her New York City Marathon debut. In previous years, Marchant had been chasing qualifying standards for various events, and so scheduled her racing accordingly.

Last year, Keitany pulled away around the 21-mile mark. On Sunday, she began getting a sizable lead at the 15-mile mark as the race crossed the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan.

Keitany reached Manhattan in less than 90 minutes. As she began running up First Avenue, television commentators referred to her as “The Boss of New York City,” and following the 20-mile mark, Keitany led by more than two minutes.

Molly Huddle placed third in her debut after setting an American record at the 10,000 metres in the Rio Olympics.

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This story has been corrected to show that previous winner’s last name is spelled Grete Waitz, not Waltz.