May 6, 2002 2 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Reuben Chesang of Kenya beat his fellow countryman Eliud Kering by three seconds after Kering almost missed the final turn in the Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday. “I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to catch him, but I didn’t want to pass him too soon,” said Chesang, who was a top track runner prior to his career as a marathon runner. “I knew I had a good kick. I just had to wait for the right time.”

Kering, who had led since mile 19, almost ran past a tunnel to the finish line in Heinz Field, giving Chesang an opening to win the race in the last 1,000 meters.

Chesang finished in 2 hours, 14 minutes, 53 seconds to lead a Kenyan sweep of the top three. Kering finished three seconds back, while Gilbert Rutto, 41, was third with 2 hours, 15 minutes, 34 seconds.

Violetta Kryza, 33 of Poland, finished in 2 hours, 31, minutes, 45 seconds – the fastest time for a woman since 1990 – to become the second woman to win back-to-back titles.

“Last year, I used my father as inspiration,” said Kryza, who dedicated that win to her father who had died four months prior to the race. “This year, I wanted to run my personal best.”

Kryza shattered her previous personal best (2 hours, 33 minutes, 44 seconds) by almost two minutes and earned a $7,500 bonus for finishing with a time of 2:35:00 or better.

“I didn’t feel well during the first half of the race and ran a 1:16:35,” said Kryza, who has won 21 marathons in 32 attempts. “I ran much faster in the second half of the race.”

Kryza made her move during the 11th mile and ran by herself the rest of the race. Magdalena Lewy, of Berkley, Calif., was a distant second at 2:36:48. Larisa Timkina, of Moldova, was third with a time of 2:38:07.

Pittsburgh Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy, in his first marathon, finished in 3 hours, 59 minutes, 15 seconds (1,039th overall) and raised more than $70,000 for cancer research.

The men’s open wheelchair division was won by Ernst Van Dyke of South Africa, who finished the course in 1 hour, 34 minutes, 49 seconds.