Gomes Reclaims Title; Goumri Second Again
Brazilian star reprises 2006 victory
Three men in this year's ING New York City Marathon field had won the race before, but the favorite was a man known for finishing second and third: Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco, the runner-up here last year. After at least eight other men had taken turns pushing the pace, Goumri made his own move at 19 miles; when his last challenger fell back three miles later, Goumri seemed assured of his first major-marathon victory. But marathons are very unpredictable things.
The race had opened strangely, with a contingent of Americans taking a lead over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into a substantial headwind. James Carney, Josh Rohatinsky, Nate Jenkins, and Abdi Abdirahman seemed to be illustrating the resurgence of American distance running, but when the inevitable pack of international marathon stars bridged the gap at four miles, only Abdirahman stayed at the front.
Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa, the 2004 champion here, made a trademark surge at five miles; Abdi countered with a break that lasted a mile. Kenyan 2:06 men Abel Kirui and Daniel Rono took turns at the front; next up was Morocco's Abderrahime Bouramdane, second in Boston this year. On First Avenue in Manhattan, with the pack still 13 strong, 2006 champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil slipped into the lead; he looked the smoothest of anyone except 2005 champion Paul Tergat of Kenya, who, like Goumri, had never led—just easily, ominously covered every move.
Then Goumri's move came, and the group strung out, weaknesses and strengths revealed. Abdi couldn't hold the pace. Bouramdane faded next, then Kirui. Rono and Tergat yielded only gradually, but Gomes matched Goumri stride for stride and even got a small gap on him as the two approached the Willis Avenue Bridge into the Bronx. Challenged, Goumri responded immediately and broke contact. Gomes never struggled visibly, but when the intensely focused Goumri increased the gap to more than 10 seconds, the race seemed over.
Gomes later said that he's never confident of winning a marathon until the finish line. Goumri would agree now: He reached Central Park South and found his energy waning; missed drinks at aid-stations may have contributed. He glanced back: Gomes was coming.
There's no doubting how much Goumri wanted this win; when Gomes passed him with a half-mile left, it had become a matter of physics. No matter how anticlimactic another second-place finish would feel, Goumri couldn’t make his legs go any faster. Gomes pulled away to win by 24 seconds, 2:08:43 to 2:09:07.
Rono held on for third in 2:11:22. Tergat cruised in at 2:13:10 for fourth at age 39. Bouramdane was fifth in 2:13:33—and then the Americans made good on their promise. Abdirahman (sixth, 2:14:17), Rohatinsky (seventh, 2:14:23), and Jason Lehmkuhle (eighth, 2:14:30) finished in quick succession, and Bolota Asmerom and Luke Humphrey took 10th and 11th in 2:16:37 and 2:18:38. This, added to Dathan Ritzenhein's ninth and Ryan Hall's 10th in the Beijing Olympics -- and Kara Goucher's third place here --make it unnecessary to speak of an American "resurgence." High finishes are becoming expected.
Gomes is an elegant runner, and when he ran smoothly through the tape today, his face registered as much relief as elation. His 2006 win has often been called a fluke; a result of his anonymity. The lead pack let him go on First Avenue that year, expecting him to fade.
This time, everyone knew who he was.
