VIDEO: Spectacular finish at the Houston Half-Marathon
Watch as the top two runners at the Houston Half-Marathon clock identical times in an elbow-filled sprint to the finish.
The first- and second-place finishers of the Houston Half-Marathon clocked an identical time on Sunday morning.
American Leonard Korir and Ethiopian Feyisa Lelisa, who is currently residing in the U.S. on a special skills visa, were involved in a wild finish at the end of the 21.1K race in Texas. Also, the third- and fourth-place finishers also had a battle of their own as they bumped crossing the finish line.
RELATED: VIDEO: Thrilling end to Great Edinburgh XC, Mo Farah has “hard day at the office”.
Korir edged out Lelisa and both finished in 1:01:14 as the two traded surges in the final 100m. Hiskel Tewelde Ghebru and Fikadu Tsadik, both of Ethiopia, finished with the same 1:01:17 for third and fourth in another tight battle. Lelisa, as he did at the Olympics winning a silver medal in the marathon, protested the Ethiopian government by crossing his arms in an “x” as he finished. His protest at the Olympics led him to the United States rather than returning home to Ethiopia.
Video
What a finish to the men's half marathon! @houstonmarathon pic.twitter.com/Uzi1AgDVzV
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) January 15, 2017
Alternative angle
What a finish in the Aramco Half Marathon. Leonard Korir on the inside wins at the finish line. @HoustonMarathon @abc13houston pic.twitter.com/RNxKlAvAog
— Bob Slovak (@BobSlovakSports) January 15, 2017
It was Korir’s second consecutive victory in 2017 following his triumph at the Great Edinburgh Cross-Country Challenge overseas last weekend. That race too had a wild finish. Sunday’s finish had announcers ask, “was that a foul?” though bumpy finishes are not rare in many races.
Leonard Korir wins, Feyisa Lelisa supports his people, @houhalf, #houhalf, #houmarathon, #skechersperformance, #runhou pic.twitter.com/r2CBPARJ6k
— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) January 15, 2017
The women’s finish was much more comfortable for winner Veronicah Wanjiru as she edged out second place by eight seconds.
American Jordan Hasay, who is running Boston in April, ran 68:40 for fourth. According to FloTrack, her time ranks her sixth all-time among Americans on a record-eligible course. The woman with the best half-marathon debut ever for an American, Kara Goucher, was in the broadcast booth for the Houston Half.
Hasay’s half-marathon finish
Solid finish to the women's #HouHalf! Congratulations! @houstonmarathon #HouMarathon pic.twitter.com/6RGNqbAbOH
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) January 15, 2017
In her HM debut at #HOUMarathon @JordanHasay went 68:40 making her the #5 American of all-time. "I'm upset; I wanted to run 68:00," she said pic.twitter.com/DqL8uOl2d1
— David Monti (@d9monti) January 15, 2017
Canadians
There were 60 Canadians in both the half-marathon and marathon on Sunday including 37 in the 42.2K event, according to statistics on the Houston Marathon results page. Thomas Toth (1:06:48) and Natasha LaBeaud (1:19:49) were the top Canadians in the half. Preliminary results have Trevor Zimak (2:34:06) and America Aznar (3:23:17) atop the list of Canadians in the marathon.
Top ?? results from the @HoustonMarathon Half:
Thomas Toth – 1:06:48 (38th)@tashyrunner – 1:19:49 (26th)
Link: https://t.co/ciBqaDqqjz pic.twitter.com/5U77r4TSEA
— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) January 15, 2017
Conditions were tough on Sunday as weather reached highs of 23 C with 90 per cent humidity. Houston’s races began under a yellow flag, a moderate risk, as organizers urged participants to exercise caution throughout the half-marathon and marathon.
Kenya’s Dominic Ondoro (2:12:05) and Ethiopia’s Meskerem Assefa Wondimagegn (2:30:18) won the Houston Marathon.
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
