FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lelisa Desisa, Mary Keitany, Daniel Romanchuk, and Manuela Schär Win
2018 TCS New York City Marathon Titles
Desisa and Keitany clock second-fastest times in history, while Romanchuk
becomes first-ever American and youngest athlete to win men's wheelchair
division
New York, November 4, 2018 - Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa won his first TCS New
York City Marathon and Mary Keitany won her fourth - both recording the
second fastest times in history in the open division for men and women,
respectively. At 20 years old, Daniel Romanchuk became the first-ever
American and youngest athlete to win the men's wheelchair division at the
TCS New York City Marathon, while Switzerland's Manuela Schär won her
second consecutive title in the women's wheelchair division.
Desisa held off fellow Ethiopian, 22-year-old Shura Kitata, by two
hundredths of a second to finish in 2:05:59. It was his first victory in
New York and fourth podium appearance. He already had two Boston Marathon
titles to his name.
"This is my dream to be champion in New York," Desisa said. "I've
participated here four times, and I've tried very hard to become the
champion."
Kitata was second in 2:06:01 - his second runner-up appearance in an Abbott
World Marathon Majors race this year - and last year's champion Geoffrey
Kamworor of Kenya was third in 2:06.26.
Keitany became the second woman to win in New York four times, recording
the second-fastest time ever in event history with a 2:22:48. It was her
fourth win in five years, and she's now the only woman other than Grete
Waitz to win the event four times. Her training partner, Vivian Cheruiyot,
was second 2:26:02.
"I was able to run a very nice race," Keitany said. "I was just thinking of
trying to win, but not actually the course record. But I came to see that I
missed just by 70 seconds. But for me, winning was the most important."
Last year's champion Shalane Flanagan was the first of four American women
to finish in the top seven, placing third in 2:26:22, which was 31 seconds
faster than last year. Molly Huddle was fourth in 2:26:44 - a personal best
in her third career marathon - while this year's Boston Marathon champion
Des Linden was sixth in 2:27:51. Allie Kieffer recorded her second
consecutive top-10 finish in the event in 2:28:12 to take seventh.
Earlier in the day, Romanchuk broke the tape in the men's wheelchair
division in 1:36:21. It marked his second Abbott World Marathon Majors race
victory, coming less than a month after he won the Bank of America Chicago
Marathon.
"It's an amazing experience to be able to win two major marathons in a
row," Romanchuk said. "It still hasn't sunk in yet."
Switzerland's Marcel Hug, a three-time winner in New York City, fell short
of defending his title, finishing second in 1:36:22. Great Britain's David
Weir, racing the event for the first time since winning in 2010, was third
in 1:36:23.
Schär became just the fourth women's wheelchair athlete to win back-to-back
titles, claiming her second consecutive title at the TCS New York City
Marathon in 1:50:27. It marked her third consecutive Abbott World Marathon
Majors race victory in Series XII, having already won in Berlin in
September and in Chicago in October.
"I just gave everything I had left for that pretty little downhill in the
park, and I was actually finally able to get away a little bit," Schär "I
still can't believe it was enough."
Five-time race winner and NYRR Team for Kids Ambassador Tatyana McFadden
was second in 1:50:48, and the reigning Paralympic marathon champion Zou
Lihong of China was third in 1:56:14.
Romanchuk and McFadden both earned bonus points on the Abbott World
Marathon Majors leaderboard by being the first wheelchair athletes to pass
the 20K mark - part of the new bonus points sprint competition for Series
XII.
The TCS New York City Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors,
a series made up of the world's six largest and most renowned road races -
the Tokyo, Boston, Virgin Money London, Bank of America Chicago, and TCS
New York City Marathons. Points are allocated to the top five finishers in
each race, with the top three men's and women's finishers in both the open
and wheelchair divisions earning prize money.
About the TCS New York City Marathon
The TCS New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world and the
signature event of New York Road Runners (NYRR), the world's premier
community running organization. The race is held annually on the first
Sunday of November and includes over 50,000 runners, from the world's top
professional athletes to runners of all ages and abilities, including over
9,000 charity runners. Participants from approximately 140 countries tour
the diverse neighborhoods of New York City's five boroughs-Staten Island,
Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Race morning also features the
Rising New York Road Runners Youth Invitational at the TCS New York City
Marathon, a race within Central Park that finishes at the same finish line
being crossed hours later by the marathon field. More than one million
spectators and 10,000 volunteers line the city's streets in support of the
runners, while millions more watch the globally televised broadcast. Tata
Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and
business solutions organization, is the premier partner of NYRR and the
title sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon. The 48th running of the
TCS New York City Marathon is set for November 4, 2018. To learn more,
visit www.tcsnycmarathon.org
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