NAIROBI, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Olympic 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya has moved quickly to assure her fans that she will be ready for the London marathon despite failing to finish Sunday's New York Half marathon race.
"I had breathing problems caused by the cold weather and was unable to finish the United New York Half marathon. I was taken to hospital afterwards for a check up and given the all clear. Back home to Kenya now to continue preparations for the London Marathon," Cheruiyot said on Monday in Nairobi.
In chilly weather the diminutive Kenyan struggled and could not withstand the challenge and was forced to drop out at the 13km mark.
Buze Diriba, of Ethiopia, crossed the line with a time of 1:12:23, beating the second-place finisher, American Emily Sisson. Diriba who clocked a time of 1:12:23 out-sprinted Emily Sisson with Norway's Karoline Grovdal taking the third spot on the podium in 1:12:43. Ethiopia's Mamitu Daska was fourth in 72:50.
Betsy Saina was the top Kenyan finisher in seventh with a time of 73:31. "I am happy for the opportunity. But it was not the result I wanted. It went otherwise and I was not tough enough to handle the cold. Well, thanks the organizers for the opportunity, it's always a pleasure to be in the city," Saina said.
On the men's side, Ben True became the first American winner of the men's race with a time of 1:02:39. Dathan Ritzenhein came in second.
Dathan Ritzenhein (62:42) finished second with Chris Thompson finishing third. Ethiopia's Teshome Mekonen was fourth in 62:44 while pre-race favorite Wilson Chebet from Kenya, the only runner in the field with a sub-one hour personal best time, had to settle for ninth.
