ormer University of Louisville track Wesley Korir may have positioned himself as a spokesman for Subway after winning the Los Angeles Marathon in record time Sunday. He completed the 26.2-mile race in two hours, eight minutes and 24 seconds. This after ordering a pair of Subway sandwiches.
He planned to eat one for lunch and the other for dinner but gave one to a homeless woman he encountered outside a hotel in downtown Los Angeles, according to the LA Times.
Asked whether he preferred six-inch subs or foot-longs, Korir said, “Six inches. I can’t finish a foot-long.”
Subway executives hadn’t contacted Korir in the first hour after the race, but it could be only a matter of time before he winds up in a commercial.
“I would be open to that suggestion,” said Korir, who could afford plenty of $5 foot-longs after taking in a winner’s prize of $160,000 and a new car.
Korir, you may recall, was the U of L athlete who escaped Kenya in the midst of turmoil that claimed thousands of lives, including three of Korir’s fellow runners, after fighting erupted Dec. 29. Bodies in the street, homes, churches burnt to the ground, as reported by the LA Daily News.
He was only to be in Kenya for a short visit, a charity mission, visiting churches and offering shoes from his Louisville Cardinals teammates. Korir was trapped in Africa for more than three weeks, eventually escaping to Uganda after several days, the deadline already having past to renew his visa.
Thanks to Card Game visitor Robert Pipal for passing along the tip about Korir’s achievement.