New York Marathon: Ghirmay Ghebreslassie and Mary Keitany make history

Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, a 20-year-old Eritrean, became the youngest winner in the history of the New York Marathon.

Meanwhile, Kenyan Mary Keitany became the first woman to win the race in three consecutive editions since Grete Waltz's five consecutive victories between 1982 and 1986.

In his New York debut, Ghebreslassie clocked a time of 2 hours, 7 minutes, and 51 seconds.

Keitany broke away at the 24-kilometer mark and finished with a time of 2:24:26, just one second behind her record last year.

For much of the race, the men's competition was a three-way battle between Ghebreslassie, Kenyan Lucas Rotich, and Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa. But from the 32-kilometer mark, Ghebreslassie gradually pulled away.

Ghebreslassie finished 62 seconds ahead of Rotich. The youngest winners of the race had been Alberto Salazar in 1980 and Tom Fleming in 1973, both at the age of 22.

Defending champion Stanley Biwott had to drop out at the 16-kilometer mark due to a calf injury. The Kenyan also had to withdraw from the Rio Olympics due to illness.

American Abdi Abdirahman completed the podium.

Desisa, second in New York two years ago and a two-time winner of the Boston Marathon, abandoned the race at the 35-kilometer mark.