Nov 6, 2006, 11:46 GMT
New York - Long-distance running unknown Marilson Gomes dos Santos, 29, of Brazil easily won Sunday's New York City Marathon, shocking a field of much-fancied African racers.
It was the first time in 10 years that the famous marathon's winner was not an African.
It was Gomes' first-ever marathon victory and his first try in New York. His winning time was two hours, nine minutes and 58 seconds.
But much of the attention at this year's marathon was focused not on the champion - who led by 30 seconds or more for much of the final 11 kilometres - or his surprised pursuers but on a runner attempting his first-ever marathon: newly retired cycling champion Lance Armstrong.
The winner of seven consecutive Tours de France, Armstrong made the New York City Marathon his first public competition since bidding adieu to cycling this summer.
He admitted afterward that he was inadequately prepared but still just met his goal of three hours on the 42-kilometre course with a time of 2:59:36, placing in the top 900.
He later told reporters: 'I can tell you, 20 years of pro sports, endurance sports, from triathlons to cycling, all of the Tours, even the worst days on the Tours, nothing was as hard as that, and nothing left me feeling the way I feel now in terms of just sheer fatigue and soreness.'
Kenyan Stephen Kiogora was second at 2:10:06, and countryman Paul Tergat was third at 2:10:10. Tergat, the marathon world-record holder, was the defending champion in New York.
In a race run in what runners consider a comfortable 7 degrees Celsius, Gomes' time was more than two minutes slower than the New York Marathon's course record.
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