NYC Marathon 2017: Marblehead's Shalane Flanagan Wins

NEW YORK, NY — Marblehead's Shalane Flanagan ran into the history books Sunday, becoming the first American woman since 1977 to win the New York City Marathon. Flanagan, who was in tears as she approached the finish line, finished with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 26 minutes, 53 seconds.

Kenya's Mary Keitany finished about a minute after Flanagan. Keitany had won three straight New York marathons.

The last American woman to win New York was Miki Gorman, who won consecutive titles in 1976-77.
Flanagan finished second in New York in her first marathon in 2010 but hadn't run this race since. After a fracture in her lower back kept her out of the Boston Marathon, Flanagan trained hard for New York with an eye on Keitany.

Flanagan called Keitany "the alpha racer" and said she was ready to "suffer dearly" while keeping up with the unpredictable Kenyan. Flanagan had said she may retire if she won New York.

Flanagan has gone from a Marblehead High star to one of the sport's premier athletes. While at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she won the National Cross Country championships in 2002 and 2003. She has won several USA National championships as a pro and won the silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics for the 10,000 meter.

Her win came five days after the bike path terror attack in lower Manhattan killed eight and raised questions about security for Sunday. That hit home for Flanagan, who completed the 2013 Boston Marathon shortly before a bomb went off at the finish line, killing three and wounding more than 260 others.

"It's been a tough week for New Yorkers, and a tough week for our nation," Flanagan said. "I thought of, 'What a better gift than to make Americans smile today?'"

Lead image by AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Materials from The Associated Press was used in this report

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