Meb Keflezighi became the first U.S. runner to win the New York City Marathon race since 1982 when Alberto Salazar took top honors. In fact, six of the top finishers were Americans – the most in 30 years.
American men in the top ten were Ryan Hall finishing 4th place, Jorge Torres finishing 7th, Nick Arciniaga finishing 8th, Abdi Abdirahman finishing 9th, and Jason Lehmkuhle finishing 10th. Best U.S. women’s finisher was Magdalena Lewy Boulet in 6th place.
The 34-year-old was born in Asmara, Eritrea and raised in San Diego, one of eleven children. He became a U.S. citizen in 1998.
Meb ran the race today in a personal best time of 2 hours, nine minutes and 15 seconds, quite a feat considering he spent the past 18-months undergoing therapy for a stress fracture in his hip.
Watching Keflezighi from the sidelines, near the finish line, were his wife Yordanos Asgedom and their two young daughters. They were recently photographed on a trip to Yosemite National Park – see photo below.
View more photos and video footage at the finish line below.