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BRITAIN'S Paula Radcliffe won the ING New York City Marathon yesterday, defeating Ethiopia's Gete Wami with a dramatic finish in Central Park, two years after competing in her last marathon.

Radcliffe, who gave birth to daughter Isla in January, clocked two hours 23 minutes and nine seconds, holding off Wami by 23 seconds.

Two-time defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka finished third, clocking 2:26.13.

The Briton picked up a winners' cheque for more than £62,000, 26 months after signing off with a World Championships marathon title run in Helsinki.

Wami was considerably rewarded for her second place, however. In beating Prokopcuka she picked up around £240,000 as the first winner of the World Marathon Majors Series.

Radcliffe, 33, had led the entire race with Wami in her shadow, just 35 days after the Ethiopian had won the Berlin Marathon.

The Briton headed straight to the front on the mile-long climb to the crest of the Verrazano Bridge that took the race from Staten Island to Brooklyn.

Wami immediately shadowed her, as did defending champion Prokopcuka, although the Latvian soon dropped off the pace as Radcliffe appeared to be on pace for a 2:20 time. Prokopcuka joined Lidiya Grigoryeva and Catherine Ndereba in a threewoman chasing pack four seconds back.

That was the way it stayed all through Brooklyn and Queens, and by the time the leading pair turned onto the Queensborough Bridge that would take them into Manhattan they had opened up a lead of two minutes and 40 seconds.

They were still forging further ahead as they raced up 1st Avenue, crossing the bridge into the Bronx at the 20-mile mark in 1:41:16 and with a 3:33 lead.

Radcliffe's split times were slowing gradually from 5:16 to 5:35 at mile 21 as decision time loomed in her duel with Wami as they prepared to cross back to Manhattan for the crucial last five miles.

Radcliffe started to show strain in her face as she led Wami through Harlem towards Central Park, though the Ethiopian was unable to see it as she continued to sit in the Briton's pocket.

Wami, Radcliffe's nemesis throughout her career having been outkicked by the African countless times on road, track and cross country trail, was sticking to the world record holder like a limpet.

Radcliffe made her move in the 24th mile, pulling away as they reached an incline along Central Park East. It looked as if the Briton had opened up a lead of around 15 yards but Wami dug deep and bridged the gap five minutes down the road as the course turned into the park itself.

The pair raced together on a brief descent but when the course reached another incline Radcliffe again opened up a small lead as they approached the final mile marker.

The last thing Radcliffe wanted was a sprint finish but when she put in another burst Wami overtook her for the first time.

Radcliffe fought back and went past the Ethiopian, who looked to have knocked herself out of the race with her first attack.

Radcliffe kicked on and finally broke free from Wami, the African finding no response as the leaders turned for home.

In an almost exact replica of her 2004 victory over Susan Chepkemei, Radcliffe sprinted ahead from the turn and up the final incline to the finishing line, to continue her record of having won every marathon she has finished.

In 2004 her win had exorcised the agony of her failure to finish the Olympic marathon in Athens nine weeks previously. This time, she laid down a marker that she is still a force to be reckoned with heading towards the Beijing Olympics next summer.

Radcliffe said: It was tough at the end. I've had years and years of her outsprinting me on the track and I thought she's not going to do it in a marathon.' I got a real shock when I crossed the line and looked behind because she was right alongside me at 400 metres to go.

"Beijing has always been the big target. This was about establishing myself to all the people who thought having a baby would be the end of career. I never thought it would be. I have my qualifying time now."

The men's event was won by Kenya's Martin Lel, who outkicked Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri on the final incline to win in 2:09:04, 12 seconds ahead.

9:08am Monday 5th November 2007

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