Bert Rosenthal (AP)
7 November 1999 – New York - Joseph Chebet made a vow before the New York City Marathon.
"If I lose this time, I will never go back to New York,'' the Kenyan told his coach.
Chebet can come back.
Ending the frustration of two straight second-place finishes, Chebet used a powerful finishing kick Sunday to outduel Portugal's Domingos Castro and win in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 14 seconds on a cool, windy day.
Chebet is the first marathoner to win in Boston and New York in the same year since Alberto Salazar in 1982. The only other runner to sweep those races in the same year was Bill Rodgers in 1978 and 1979.
"One day I was supposed to win New York,'' said Chebet, who also was second in Boston in 1998 before winning last April.
Adriana Fernandez, who also finished second last year, won the women's division by nearly 2 1/2 minutes and became the first Mexican woman to win an international marathon. She was timed in 2:25:06, the second-fastest in the race's history and only 26 seconds behind the record 2:24:40 by Australia's Lisa Ondieki in 1992.
"I was feeling very strong and decided to take off,'' Fernandez said about breaking away from defending champion Franca Fiacconi of Italy near mile 15. "It was very windy - some places almost stopped me. Probably without the wind, I could have broken the course record.''
Chebet had to contend with the formidable Castro before taking charge with his late kick.
"He tried to push me hard, and I tried to push him very hard,'' Chebet said. "He made four or five surges and I covered them. I made some surges and he covered them. Then, I made one final move and pulled away.''
Castro, the fourth-place finisher in the 5,000 meters at the 1988 Olympics after dogging gold medallist John Ngugi of Kenya most of the way, was timed in 2:09:20. His twin brother, Dionisio, finished 33rd.
"Chebet is a strong athlete all the time,'' Domingos Castro said. "When he pushed, I was a little tired in my legs. In the last mile, I thought I could beat Chebet. I pushed, pushed, pushed.''
Chebet and Castro ran side-by-side for about a mile until Chebet pulled away with about 1 3/4 miles to go. Between miles 24 and 25, he put in the fastest mile of the race, 4:43.
In winning, Chebet thwarted John Kagwe's bid to become only the third man to win New York three straight years. The only two were Salazar, from 1980-82, and Rodgers, from 1976-79.
After last year's heartbreaking loss, when he was beaten by three seconds, Chebet said he would change his tactics.
"It's hard to take second-place finishes so often,'' he said.
His strategy worked perfectly in a field estimated at 30,000 that ran on a brisk, 46-degree day.
When Chebet entered Central Park, his coach, Gabriele Rosa, jumped from his chair in the press room and paced back and forth until the finish. When his protege crossed the finish line, Rosa looked at the television screen and raised his arms in exultation.
"The race went as planned,'' he said. "He moved when I wanted him to.
"He is one of the top three marathoners in the world, in my opinion.''
For the first half of the race, the quartet of 1994-95 champion German Silva of Mexico, Robert Stefko of Slovakia, Leonid Shvetsov of Russia and Joao Ntyamba of Colombia did their job as pacesetters.
They ran consistently, reeling off miles of just under 5 minutes, while protecting the elite runners from the 20-30 mph headwinds.
Then, after the 13.1-mile point, all the pacers dropped out except for Silva, who continued on until between miles 17 and 18.
He then put on a big spurt, before jumping onto the camera truck.
The mile between 13 and 14 was the slowest, 5:05, and the pace remained slow for the next two miles before the leaders began attacking.
Finally, with just more than two miles left, it came down to a battle between Castro and Chebet, with Kagwe dropping back and finishing fifth in 2:09:39. Kenya's Shem Kororia, a training partner of Chebet's, finished third in 2:09:32, and Italy's Giacomo
Leone, the 1996 winner, was fourth in 2:09:36. Kenya's Elijah Lagat was the sixth runner under 2:10:00 at 2:09:59.
Kenyan men took five of the first 10 places, with the other being Simon Biwott, who finished eighth.
The always upbeat Kagwe said losing can sometimes help runners.
"Some days you don't go the way you want,'' he said. "When you lose, you come back stronger.
"I couldn't stay with Chebet. I lost my energy. I had the will. My body couldn't comply.''
Kagwe said he was tripped five times during the race and kicked in his right leg several times.
Kenya's Catherine Ndereba was a distant second among the women at 2:27:34, followed by Germany's Katrin Dorre-Heinig, winner of 23 marathons in 43 races, at 2:28:41. Fiacconi, who has been nursing a broken arm, wound up fourth at 2:29:49.
Chebet received 50,000 dollars for winning plus a car and 20,000 dollars bonus for going under 2:10:00. Fernandez also earned 50,000 dollars plus a car and 25,000 dollars for running under 2:26:00.
