Ndereba, Tola take New York Half-Marathon titles

NEW YORK (AFP) — Kenya's Catherine Ndereba won the New York Half-Marathon women's crown on Sunday, solidifying her favorite status for the Beijing Olympics marathon, while Ethiopia's Tadesse Tola took the men's title.

Ndereba, the 2004 Olympic marathon runner-up, won the inaugural women's race here in 2006 and made her move in the final mile to win the 13.1-mile race in 1hr 10mins 19secs.

Mexico's Madai Perez, 28, was second, seven seconds back, and Japan's Yuri Kano, 29, was third, 12 seconds off the winning pace. Ndereba joined leaders Kano and Perez with four miles to go and surged ahead late.

"After 12 miles I was pushing hard, trying to push it a little harder," Ndereba said. "I surprised myself."

Australia's Benita Johnson, the 2006 runner-up, finished 11th in 1:14:14, the first time she missed the top three in seven career half marathon races.

Tola, 20, outdueled Patrick Makau, 23, to deliver the Kenyan's first defeat in four half-marathons this year.

"This tells me I'm in a good place for future," Tola said. "This was the biggest victory in my career."

Tola and Makau battled for the last eight miles before the younger runner won in 1:00:58, a second better than Makau.

"I was confident in my own finishing speed," Tola said.

US Olympic marathoner Dathan Ritzenhein, 25, was third in 1:01:38 in his final Beijing tuneup.

"I came in really feeling strong the last few miles, and that is a good sign for me leading into Beijing," Ritzenhein said. "This was a great last test for the Olympics, perfect for me. I'm really thrilled with this."