NEW YORK: Evans Chebet completed a brilliant Kenyan clean sweep of the world’s major marathons on Sunday with a superb victory in the New York City marathon as compatriot Sharon Lokedi took the women’s crown in her first race over the distance.
Chebet — who also won the Boston Marathon in April — patiently waited for Brazilian front-runner Daniel do Nascimento to implode before hitting the front at the 20 mile mark.
The 33-year-old looked in total control over the closing stages, holding off the challenge of Ethiopia’s Shoura Kitata comfortably to win in a time of 2hr 08min 41sec.
Kitata trailed home in second place, 13 seconds adrift of the lead, while Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands was third. Chebet’s win means Kenyan runners have won all six of this year’s major marathons — the first time that has happened since the circuit expanded in 2013 with the addition of the Tokyo Marathon. “Boston was actually harder but it was good preparation for the win in New York,” Chebet told ESPN through an interpreter following his win.