Shalane Flanagan becomes first American woman since 1977 to win NYC Marathon

Shalane Flanagan won the New York City Marathon on Sunday to become the first American woman to win the race since Miki Gorman in 1977.

Flanagan finished the 26.2 miles in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 53 seconds, about a minute faster than second-place finisher Kenyan Mary Keitany, the three-time defending champion.  

Sunday marked the first major marathon victory for Flanagan, 36.  She finished second in the 2010 race, her first marathon, but had not competed in the event since. She was slated to run in the Boston Marathon this past spring but after sustaining a fracture in her back, she turned her focus to New York, per the Associated Press (via CBS News).

Flanagan won the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in the women’s 10,000 meters and was later given the silver because of a failed drug test by the original silver medalist, Turkey’s Elvan Abeylegesse.

Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor won the men's division of Sunday's marathon with a time of 2:10:53, three seconds better than countryman Wilson Kipsang.