new york city marathon results

Washington/New York (dpa) - Kenya's Martin Lel won the men's New York marathon on Sunday, after a neck and neck contest with Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri.

The two pulled away from a crowded lead pack late in the race, similar to the battle the two waged in the London Marathon earlier this year, The New York Times reported.

Lel was only 12 seconds ahead of Goumri, capping his second victory in New YOrk in 2 hours 9.03 minutes.

The women's race also saw a tense race over the final distance, with Britain's Paula Radcliffe holding off Gete Wami of Ethiopia by only 23 seconds. It was her second win of the New York marathon.

Radcliffe covered the 42.2-kilometers through the five boroughs of New York City in 2 hours, 23 minutes, 9 seconds , according to unofficial results. Wami came in second 23 seconds later.

Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia, the two-time defending champion, finished third, Bloomberg news agency reported. The women runners began before the men on the cool, sunny autumn day.