Korir, Petrova take titles at Los Angeles Marathon

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wesley Korir set a course record Monday in capturing the Los Angeles Marathon, the 11th straight year a Kenyan man won. Russia's Tatiana Petrova was the top woman.

Korir, who ran at the University of Louisville, covered the 26.2 miles in a personal best of 2 hours, 8 minutes, 24 seconds. Ethiopia's Tariku Jafar was second in 2:09:32 and Kenya's Laban Kipkemboi was third in 2:10:29.

Paul Kosgei was taken to a hospital for dehydration but is expected to be fine, race officials said.

Korir broke the course record set by Kenya's Benson Cherono of 2:08:40 set in 2006. He took the pace at the 15-mile mark. He and Jufar exchanged the lead several times down the stretch, but Korir stepped up the pace when he passed the women's field at the 24-mile mark.

Korir eased to the finish line and didn't look fatigued, flashing smiles and shaking hands with fans. He earned $100,000 as part of The Challenge, a battle-of-the-sexes format that allowed the top women to start nearly 17 minutes ahead of the men. He also picked up an additional $60,000 for time bonuses.

Petrova broke away from the pack after 19 miles. She surged past Ethiopia's Amane Gobena to finish in 2:25:59, 49 seconds shy of the course record. Another Russian, Silvia Skvortsova, was third in 2:28:35.

Some of the elite runners were worried about the race date, but the weather was 59 degrees with 76 percent humidity at the start and 62 degrees when the field finished.

Nuta Olaru shared the lead for the first 10 miles, but the 39-year-old Romanian fell back and dropped out after 15 miles.

The lead pack started to string out soon after, with Petrova leading and Kenyans Alice Chelangat and Magdaline Chemjor close behind.

Petrova, who competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Beijing Olympics, earned $40,000 for the win. Her goal was to qualify for the road race at this year's world championships in August. The Russian federation will decide this week whether Petrova will represent her country in the event.

The race was under new management this year. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt bought the operating rights in September under his new company, Going the Distance, and the date for the race was switched to Memorial Day.