Wesley Korir repeats as Los Angeles Marathon champion [Update]
Pulling away from a pair of fellow Kenyan countrymen in the 25th mile, Wesley Korir defended his Los Angeles Marathon title Sunday morning by winning in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 20 seconds. It was the third-fastest time in race history and about a minute behind the 2:08:24 Korir ran last year in setting the race record.
Korir, who is honeymooning in Los Angeles this week after marrying his college sweetheart a week ago, became the first repeat winner since Stephen Ndungo of Kenya in 2001-02. [Update 10:30 a.m.: Richard Limo finished second in 2:09:48 and Paul Samoei third in 2:09:54. Both are Kenyan.]
Edna Kiplagat of Kenya surged ahead of Teyba Naser of Ethiopia in the 23rd mile to win the women's race in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, 38 seconds. Kiplagat also won a $100,000 bonus by becoming the first person to finish the race, having begun with a head start of 18 minutes, 47 seconds over the men's field.
-- Ben Bolch
Photo: Wesley Korir hits the finish line to win the L.A. Marathon on Sunday in Santa Monica. Credit: Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times
