Historical Moments in NYC Marathon

Arthur Bryan Cooper is the former owner of Arthur Cooper Landscaping, a full-service landscaper specializing in rock gardens, rock waterfalls, and koi ponds. Away from work, Arthur B Cooper enjoys folk dancing, cooking, stamp collecting, gardening. He also participated in several marathons, including the NYC marathon.

Having had 53,600 finishers in 2019, the New York City Marathon is the largest in the world. Many athletic and noteworthy feats have been achieved since the annual marathon started in 1970. One historical moment from the NYC marathon is Bob Wieland’s four-day finish. Serving in Vietnam, Bob Wieland had been reported dead mistakenly after stepping on a mortar mine in 1969. He lost his legs due to the encounter, and in 1986, he became the first person to complete the NYC Marathon without legs. He only used his arms, crawling for four days, inspiring amputees worldwide.

Another historical NYC moment was in 2009 when Meb Keflezighi became the first American to win the marathon after 27 years. It is challenging to ignore Grete Waitz’s impressive NYC Marathon run when discussing historical moments in the annual competition. In the 1988 NYC Marathon, Grete Waitz won the ninth time, participating only eleven times in the race. She holds the record of the most marathon wins ever.