(Associated Press) NEW YORK — Tadesse Tola of Ethiopia upset Patrick Makau of Kenya in the men’s NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, and Catherine Ndereba of Kenya won the women’s race to solidify her standing as a favorite in next month’s Olympic marathon.
Tola won a sprint to the finish in the 13.1-mile race, crossing in 1 hour, 58 seconds to edge Makau, a half-marathon specialist, by 1 second. U.S. Olympic marathoner Dathan Ritzenhein was third in 1:01:38 in his last competition before the Olympic marathon on Aug. 24 in Beijing.
“I came in really feeling strong the last few miles, and that is a good sign for me leading into Beijing,” Ritzenhein said. “This was a great last test for the Olympics, perfect for me. I am really thrilled with this.”
The 36-year-old Ndereba, the reigning marathon world champion, finished in 1:10:19 to beat Madai Perez of Mexico (1:10:26) and Yuri Kano of Japan (1:10:31). The Kenyan won this race in 2006 and marathon silver at the 2004 Olympics.
The race drew more than 10,500 runners.