American Wins New York Marathon

While most people were recovering from Halloween Sunday morning, Meb Keflezighi became the first American runner to win the New York City Marathon since 1982, when Alberto Salazar came in first place. Keflezighi, who was born in Eritrea but later became a U.S. citizen, finished the race in 2:09:05 minutes, beating his competition—Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya—by 41 seconds. Cheruiyot is a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon and was looking to take home the prize from New York this time. Keflezighi earned a silver medal in the Athens Olympics but had previously never won a major marathon. He came through the finish line pointing at the “U.S.A.” letters on his jersey, and began crying after the race was done, saying, “U.S.A. gave me all the opportunity in the world, education, sports, lifestyle. This is so special to me.”