HOUSTON (AP) Ethiopia's Gebo Burka and Biruktayit Degefa came from behind to win the men's and women's Houston Marathon on Sunday.
Burka trailed Poland's Artur Kozlowski by 1 minute, 1 second through 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) but rallied to overtake Kozlowski by 24.8 miles (40 kilometers).
He pulled away from countrymen Girmay Gebru with less than a mile to go to win in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 54 seconds. Gebru was second, behind Burka by 11 seconds. Kozlowski finished fifth.
The win was Burka's fifth career marathon victory. The last one came in Sydney in 2014.
In the women's race, Degefa trailed Australian Lisa Weightman by 44 seconds through 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) before claiming the lead at 18.6 miles (30 kilometers). Vomiting several times while passing Weightman, Degefa pulled away from there. She won in 2:26:07. It was her first victory since October in Des Moines.
Weightman finished second, 1:28 behind Degefa.
