Morocco's Mouaziz wins NYC Marathon
Morocco, Sports, 11/6/2000

Morocco's Abdelkhader El Mouaziz won on Sunday the New City Marathon, and wound up running mostly by himself along usually crowded streets, leaving Kenya's Japhet Kosgei and Shem Kororia far behind.

He ran the 42.195 km-long distance in 2:7.33 and his winning margin of 2 minutes, 21 seconds, was overwhelming in a race that often produces close finishes. At one point, he had a whopping 6 1/2-block lead on First Avenue. No one else was in sight along the 18- to 19-mile stretch of the race.

El Mouaziz, 31, who had finished fourth and seventh in his two previous NYC marathons, dedicated the victory to king Mohammed VI of Morocco. He became the first Moroccan champion and ending Kenya's three-year victory reign.

The women's race also produced a new winner. Ludmila Petrova became the first Russian champion, winning in 2:25:45, a career best by more than three minutes.

El Mouaziz, the seventh-place finisher at the Sydney Olympics five weeks ago, kissed the ground after crossing the finish line.

Kenya's Japhet Kosgei, undefeated in four previous marathons, finished second at 2:12:30. He was followed by two more Kenyans -- Shem Kororia (2:12:33) and Elijah Korir (2:13:00)

The Moroccan first moved among the world's elite marathoners by finishing second in the 1998 London Marathon in 2:08:07. He came back the following year and won London at 2:07:57, only two seconds off the course mark.

He ran London a third time in April and was the runner-up again in 2:07:33, his personal best.

This was his third New York City Marathon. He finished fourth in 1997 at 2:10:04 and seventh last year at 2:10:28.

El Mouaziz and Petrova each receive $65,000 for winning, plus a car and a scooter. El Mouaziz also earned a $10,000 time bonus and Petrova got $25,000.

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan born racer wins Chicago marathon   (10/23/2000)
  Morocco's Bahia Mouhtassine crowned African tennis champion   (10/13/2000)
  Morocco's El-Guerrouj will not Attend IAAF Grand Prix Final in Doha   (9/30/2000)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search