Brazil's Gomes, holder Prokopcuka win NYC Marathon

NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil today became the first South American to win the New York City Marathon and Latvia's Jelena Prokopcuka retained her women's title with a commanding performance.

Gomes, 29, broke away from a pack that included four major marathon champions at the 19th-mile mark and held firm to post his first marathon victory ahead of four pursuing Kenyans with a time of two hours nine minutes 58 seconds.

Stephen Kiogora, fourth in the 2004 Boston Marathon, was second in 2:10:06, with world record holder and 2005 NYC champion Paul Tergat third another four seconds behind.

Prokopcuka, blowing kisses and waving to the Central Park crowd at the finish, clocked two hours 25 minutes five seconds to win by exactly one minute from Tatiana Hladyr of Ukraine, winner of this year's Rome Marathon.

The Latvian became the first woman to repeat as New York champion since Tegla Loroupe of Kenya in 1995.

Catherine Ndereba of Kenya was third, snapping a streak of finishing first or second in her last 15 marathons. Boston Marathon winner Rita Jeptoo was fourth in 2:26:59, one second behind compatriot Ndereba.

GOMES SATISFIED ''I'm very thankful and very satisfied to win,'' Gomes said through an interpreter. ''The New York Marathon is best of the best.'' Gomes, whose best finish in a major marathon was sixth in the 2004 Chicago race, showed his promise earlier this year when he set Brazilian records over 5,000 and 10,000 metres in a three-day span in June.

The top-ranked men's marathoners did not seem to take the move by Gomes seriously when he broke from a nine-man pack on First Avenue in Manhattan.

The women's contenders were also content to let Prokopcuka run from the front as the Latvian ran with a pacesetter while the rest of the elite group stayed back on a cool, calm day that offered ideal conditions for 38,368 runners entered in the race.

''It was a situation I couldn't understand,'' Prokopcuka said about the lack of pressure from the trailing pack. Only Hladyr followed her pace before dropping well back in the 23rd mile.

''I don't know why,'' the 30-year-old Latvian said. ''I'm very happy. I wanted to do it and I did it.'' The marathon winners each took away a 130,000 dollars top prize.

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