New York, Nov.3 : Paula Radcliffe has become only the second woman to win the New York marathon thrice. Radcliffe finished almost two minutes ahead of her nearest rival.

According to The Sun, the win came exactly eleven weeks after her loss at the Beijing Olympics. She could only finish 23rd there after a stress fracture hampered her preparations.

In New York, a fit and healthy Radcliffe re-established herself as the world's best woman marathoner, clocking two hours 23.56 seconds. Among the first to congratulate Radcliffe on the podium was Norwegian legend Grete Waitz - a former Olympic silver medallist, who won the New York marathon nine times, the last 20 years ago. Radcliffe, who pocketed 110,000 pounds in fees and bonuses for her victory, said: "To win three times is very special. To be a third of the way to replicating what Grete did here is amazing. Grete was a huge inspiration to me."

Radcliffe has now won eight of the 10 marathons she has competed in - the only two missing being in Athens in 2004 and Beijing.

ANI