March 3, 2002

AP Photo By LOUINN LOTA

Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) Stephen Ndungu became the first back-to-back winner of the Los Angeles Marathon, leading a 1-2-3 Kenyan sweep Sunday on a flatter and faster course.

Ndungu finished in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 27 seconds, shaving 49 seconds from his personal best. He won last year's marathon in 2:13:13.

Russia's Lyubov Denisova won the women's division in a personal best of 2:28:49. She and Ndungu each won $50,000 in cash and a car.

Raymond Chemwela was second in the men's division in 2:12:19, followed 13 seconds later by Benson Mbithi, the 2000 L.A. Marathon winner.

About 23,000 runners participated in the 17th annual race. The runners started about 30 minutes late because authorities found a suspicious package on the route. The package turned out to be empty

The new course eliminated a climb from Mile 7 to Mile 21, where the elevation rose from 111 feet to 418 feet. The course now begins with a downhill, with the most significant climb from 115 feet to 210 feet between Mile 17 and Mile 20.

The men's course record of 2:09:25 was set by Simon Bor in 1999. The women's course record of 2:26:23 was set in 1992 by Madina Biktagirova.