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LONDON » Tiki Gelana felt the Olympic marathon slipping away when she tumbled on the rain-slickened street.
Around the halfway point of the race, the Ethiopian was knocked down by another runner as she reached for her water bottle, a hard fall that bloodied her right elbow. Already aching, Gelana thought about pulling out. Instead, she found new motivation, and headed on down the road.
Gelana recovered from the fall to win the marathon on Sunday in a race that began in a downpour, was briefly brightened by sunshine and ended in another drenching rain. She crossed the finish line in an Olympic record 2 hours, 23 minutes, 7 seconds to hold off Priscah Jeptoo of Kenya by 5 seconds. Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova of Russia won bronze.
Americans Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher finished a disappointing 10th and 11th, respectively.
