ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, November 5, 1996 TAG: 9611050127
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: Associated Press
It was supposed to be a race for marathoning heavyweights Cosmas Ndeti, Moses Tanui, Martin Fiz and Tegla Loroupe.
Instead, the New York City Marathon turned into a celebration for the unheralded.
Giacomo Leone, a 25-year-old policeman from Italy, and Anuta Catuna, 28, from Romania, were the men's and women's winners Sunday, leaving the expected top contenders far back.
Ndeti, Tanui and Fiz never were among the men's leaders, and the projected 1-2 finish by Kenyans never materialized. Instead, an Ethiopian with an intriguing runner's name, Turbo Tumo, was the runner-up, with Kenyans Joseph Kamau, a first-time marathoner, and John Kagwe, third and fourth, respectively.
Ndeti, the three-time Boston Marathon winner from Kenya, placed sixth, just ahead of Fiz, the 1995 world champion from Spain. Tanui, not among the top 100 finishers, ended up in the emergency room of Harlem Hospital, where he was given fluids.
Loroupe, the overwhelming favorite to win her third consecutive women's title, was on course-record pace early before fading over the second half and finishing seventh. After the race, she was taken to the medical tent by stretcher after suffering from dizziness.
Leone won in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 54 seconds on a perfect day for running, with the temperature in the mid-40s, low humidity and a wind from the west.
Leone made it look easy, though, beating Tumo by 15 seconds and Kamau by 46 seconds.
Catuna won in 2:28:18, 24 seconds ahead of Franca Fiacconi of Italy.
Kim Jones of Spokane, Wash., the women's runner-up in 1989-90 but a non-finisher in 1992, 1993 and 1994, was the only American in the elite men's or women's field and placed a distant fourth in 2:34:36.
LENGTH: Short : 43 linesby CNB