Giacomo Leone, a 114-pound Italian policeman, went on a high-speed chase to fame Sunday at the New York City Marathon.
He turned what was expected to be a Kenyan intrasquad race into his own coming-out party, winning in 2 hours 9 minutes 54 seconds.
“I don’t know about him,” said Cosmas Ndeti, the three-time winner of the Boston Marathon, who finished sixth in 2:11:53.
“The Italian was the one I least expected to win,” said Andres Espinosa of Mexico, the 1993 champion, who placed fifth in 2:11:39.
Who was the 25-year-old Leone to argue?
“I had a feeling (only) my friends were expecting something from me, nobody more,” said Leone, who outraced runner-up Turbo Tumo of Ethiopia (2:10:09) and Joseph Kamau of Kenya (2:10:40) at the finish, earning $50,000.
The women’s race was no less startling as Anuta Catuna, a 28-year-old Romanian, parlayed a late charge into a winning time of 2:28:18, 14 seconds ahead of Italian Franca Fiacconi. Tegla Loroupe, the overwhelming favorite to win her third consecutive women’s title, was on course-record pace early before fading over the second half and finishing seventh.
