African-American Man Wins the New York Marathon

A Black man made history today by being the first American to win the New York City Marathon since 1982, according to CNN.com. Meb Keflezighi, 34, won the 26.2-mile race in 2:09:15. He fled his war-torn land of Eritrea, East Africa, with his family (he’s one of 11 children) in 1987. Keflezighi, who lives in San Diego, became a U.S. citizen in 1998. He also won a silver medal in the 2008 Olympics.

An African woman won the race through the five New York boroughs. The female champion was Derartu Tulu, of Ethiopia–her time was 2:28:52. Tulu also won gold medals in the Olympics in 1992 and 2000; she also won the London Marathon in 2001.

Both Keflezighi and Tulu each win a prize of $130,000.