NEW YORK, Nov 5 - Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil became the first South American to win the New York City Marathon while Latvia's Jelena Prokopcuka retained her women's title with a commanding performance on Sunday.

Winner Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil and women's winner Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia pose with during the awards ceremony for the 2006 New York City Marathon November 5, 2006. [Reuters]

The winners both made early moves that were not seriously challenged on a calm, cool day that provided ideal conditions for the 38,368 runners entered in the race.

The unheralded Gomes broke away from a pack that included four major marathon champions at the 19th-mile mark and held firm to post his first marathon victory ahead of four pursuing Kenyans with a time of two hours nine minutes 58 seconds.

Stephen Kiogora, fourth in the 2004 Boston Marathon, was second in 2:10:06, with world record holder and 2005 NYC champion Paul Tergat third another four seconds behind.

Prokopcuka, blowing kisses and waving to the Central Park crowd at the finish, clocked two hours 25 minutes five seconds to win by exactly one minute from Tatiana Hladyr of Ukraine, winner of this year's Rome Marathon.

The Latvian became the first woman to repeat as New York champion since Tegla Loroupe of Kenya in 1995.

Catherine Ndereba of Kenya was third, snapping a streak of finishing first or second in her last 15 marathons. Boston Marathon winner Rita Jeptoo was fourth in 2:26:59, one second behind compatriot Ndereba.

CONFIDENT GOMES

Men's winner Gomes, speaking through an interpreter, said: "I pushed the pace to get fewer people in the group. As I did that I kept pushing and they kept staying behind."

The 29-year-old, whose best finish in a major marathon was sixth in the 2004 Chicago race, showed his promise earlier this year when he set Brazilian records over 5,000 and 10,000 metres in a three-day span in June.

The top-ranked men's marathoners did not seem to take the move by Gomes seriously when he broke from a nine-man pack on First Avenue in Manhattan.

"Personally, I didn't know exactly who he was," Tergat told reporters. "Honestly, I didn't know he was a great threat.

"He ran an incredible race. I'm very happy for him."

Gomes said he was confident. "There were some great runners there, but I am one of them. To win you have to have courage and today I had courage to go out ahead and win the race."

The women's contenders were also content to let Prokopcuka run from the front as the Latvian used a pacesetter while the rest of the elite group stayed back.

"It was a situation I couldn't understand," Prokopcuka said about the lack of pressure from the trailing pack. Only Hladyr tracked her before falling well back in the 23rd mile.

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