American runner Molly Huddle claimed a dramatic last-gasp victory in the New York City Half Marathon on March 20th, but allegations she held an opponent back at the finish line have emerged.
The 31-year-old was locked in a race to the finish line with Joyce Chepkirui of Kenya, with it appearing that the eventual winner blocked the African runner’s path at the last minute – as can be seen in the video below.
The pair were both given the time of 1:07:41, with Huddle recording victory by the smallest of margins – .08 of a second.
Chepkirui has not made a complaint about what happened and Huddle’s win is set to stand.
The prize money for the race was $20,000, with the Kenyan claiming $10,000 for finishing second.
One more look at last Sunday's #UnitedNYCHalf photo-finish w/ Joyce Chepkirui & @MollyHuddle #TBT pic.twitter.com/mE43sqOD46
— NewYorkRoadRunners (@nyrr) March 24, 2016
When asked about the incident, Huddle maintained her innocence.
“I kind of was just trying to get my body across the line and not fall at the same time,” she said.
So that’s just — like I wasn’t even conscious of what my arms were doing. Yeah, I just was trying to get there. I was pretty tired.”

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