Meb Keflizighi Wins 2009 ING NYCM, First American male since 1982! by Larry Eder

Meb from Falmouth, August 2009, photo by PhotoRun.net.
Meb Keflizighi, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist, came back from a discouraging 2008 Olympic Trials and ran the perfect race on this tough marathon course. Keeping his emotions in tact, Meb, who has taken second and third in the race, observed the race of attrition correctly, until it came down to Robert Cheruiyot and himself.
Just before twenty-four miles, Meb made a charge past Cheruiyot and did not look back. Charging away, Meb took five meters, and built it to 41 seconds over the last 2.2 miles!
This is the first win by an American male since 1982 and Alberto Salazar. Meb Keglizighi is a father of two, one of 11 children, who are a perfect example of what America has to offer! A family who escaped from civil strife in Eritrea, Meb ran well in high school and met up with Coach Bob Larson at UCLA.
Bob Larson, considered one of best U.S. distance coaches of all times, has worked with Meb for over a decade now. Meb’s race today showed a maturity that comes with racing, training well, fighting the good fight. Today, Meb, an Olympic silver medalist, won his FIRST marathon ever, and lead six American males into the top ten!
Meb was very emotional after his race, ” It is for me and for the U.S.A. I was thinking of my friend Ryan Shay..when you dream of winning the Olympics and win NYCM…I tried to test out for Robert, I knew I would give it a push, he let me go, I expanded the lead…USA has given me all of the opportunity, I am delighted to give it back to the US…”
Meb won in 2:09:15, and won $170k for first place and US championships!
(We were stopped on twitter due to reaching their day long capacity use in three hours! )
More details to come!
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