Two-time Boston Marathon winner Lelisa Desisa won the 2018 New York City Marathon in dramatic fashion on Sunday, outlasting fellow Ethiopian Sharu Kitata by just two seconds after a sprint to the finish line. Desisa’s winning time of 2:05.59 was the second fastest in course history; Kitata finished two seconds behind at 2:06.01.
Before their last-minute sprint, Desisa and Kitata had shaken loose defending champion, Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor, in the latter stages of the race. Desisa, who had previously earned a second-place finish and two third-place finishes in the New York Marathon, earned $100,000 for his inaugural win. And Desisa has Kitata to thank for helping him pick up another paycheck—since Desisa finished under 2:06.00, he took home another $45,000 in bonus pay.
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