Kiwi finishes 5th in New York Marathon

New Zealand Olympic athlete Kimberley Smith, seen here racing at the Beijing Olympics, placed 5th at the New York City Marathon, ensuring she'll be at the London Games next year. Photo / AP

New Zealand's Kimberley Smith produced an outstanding performance at the New York Marathon this morning, finishing in fifth place in a time of 2hr 25min 46sec, just 25 seconds outside her New Zealand record of 2hr 25min 21sec.

Smith ran conservatively in the middle stages, at one stage she was four minutes behind Kenya's Mary Ketany, who lead for the first 40km of the race, before finishing well to close on the leaders over the last 10km.

The race was won by Ethiopian Firehiwot Dado (2hr 23min 15sec), followed by compatriot Buzenesh Deba, three seconds back, with Ketany third.

The time for Smith is well under the 2 hours 32 minutes required by Smith for London Olympic selection.