Meb Keflezighi's victory in the New York marathon Sunday (Nov. 1) was the biggest men's marathon triumph by an American in at least seven years. Born in Eritrea, Keflezighi came to the U.S. with his family when he was 12. He surpassed another naturalized American, Moroccan-born Khalid Khannouchi, as the top U.S. men's marathon runner in 2004, when Keflezighi earned the Olympic silver medal in Athens.

But Americans have won few major marathons recently, even on native soil. Among the three major U.S. marathon events -- Boston, New York and Chicago -- Keflezighi's victory was only the fourth by a U.S. runner since 2000. Deena Kastor won in Chicago in 2005, while Khannouchi, the former men's world record-holder, was the Chicago winner in 2000 and 2002.

The 1990s were even worse, as no Americans won in either New York or Boston, while only Kristy Johnston (1994) and Linda Somers (1992) triumphed in Chicago. Keflezighi was the first American man to win in New York since Alberto Salazar in 1982. No woman has won the New York Marathon since Miki Gorman in 1977. The last U.S. victories in Boston came in 1985 (Lisa Larsen Weidenbach) and 1983 (Greg Meyer).

The Olympics and World Championships tell a similar story. Frank Shorter (1972) is the only American man to win an Olympic marathon gold medal since 1908. Keflezighi's silver medal in 2004 was the first U.S. Olympic marathon medal of any kind since Shorter's runner-up finish in 1976. American Joan Benoit won the first Olympic women's marathon in 1984, but Kastor's 2004 bronze is the only U.S. women's medal since. Marianne Dickerson, who took the silver in 1983, is the only American woman to win a World Championship marathon medal, while the men possess just two: Mark Plaatjes' gold in 1993 and Steve Spence's bronze in 1991.

Will the next ten years be any brighter for U.S. marathon runners? At the moment, the 34-year-old Keflezighi remains the top American hope. American runners haven't been close to medals at either the Olympics or World Championships the past two years, although Keflezighi missed the Beijing Games due to injury. Other U.S. hopes include Ryan Hall, who was tenth in Beijing, third in Boston this year and fourth in New York Sunday, and Dathan Ritzenhein, who finished ninth in the 2008 Olympics and an impressive third at the 2009 World Half Marathon Championships. On the women's side, Kara Goucher was third in both New York in 2008 and in Boston this year before placing tenth in the World Championships, just ahead of fellow American Desiree Davila in 11th.

Meb Keflezighi Photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images

As soon as Rio de Janeiro was selected as the first South American host for an Olympic Games, in 2016, speculation began - in this blog and elsewhere - that an African nation could be in line to play host to the 2020 Olympics. Four years before the 2020 host is selected, several African countries are already gearing up to become the first nation on that continent to hold an Olympic Games. Rabat, Morocco will definitely make a bid for the 2020 Games. It's been reported that Egypt will also apply. But the very, very early African front-runner is South Africa.

Once a pariah country during its apartheid era, South African athletes were banned from several Olympic Games. A free South Africa, however, is very much a part of the family of athletic nations.

During the past 15 years, South Africa has played host to major world events in sports such as cricket and rugby. Next year the nation will play host to the FIFA World Cup, the world's biggest football (that's soccer, to us Americans) event.

Significantly, the International Olympic Committee will hold its 2011 general congress in Durban, South Africa. This will be a significant congress, in which the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics will be announced. This will provide South Africa with plenty of exposure on the world stage, and give that country's officials an excellent opportunity to give IOC delegates a first-hand look at what South Africa has to offer.

These and perhaps other African nations will have to compete with many other countries for the 2020 Games - the U.S., certainly, will make a bid, after failing to land the 2016 Games - but the IOC will no doubt feel great pressure to hold the Olympics on a continent which has provided track and field, and other sports, with many outstanding champions.

Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang continued his comeback this week by winning the Chinese National Games championship.

Major track meets worldwide are generally scarce each year following the aptly-titled World Athletics Final. But this year, the National Games are an exception. An Olympic-style event in which track and field is just one of 33 sports, China currently holds these Games every four years. This 11^th version of the event concludes tomorrow (Oct. 28).

Liu, the former Olympic champion and world record holder, previously won China's 110-meter hurdles championships in 2001 and 2005. He won his third straight title on Sunday in a time of 13.34 seconds, running into a 0.9 meters-per-second headwind. This was Liu's second event of the season after missing more than a year due to injury. Liu ran 13.15 and finished a close second to Terrence Trammell in a Shanghai meet last month.

In another interesting result from the Chinese Games, 30-year-old Li Yanfeng (shown above) won the women's discus last Thursday with a 2009 world-leading toss of 66.40 meters (217 feet, 10 inches). Li is a solid thrower who's competed in two Olympic finals - placing seventh in 2008 - but with a previous personal best of 64.34/211-1, her effort last week was surprising. There is a history of throwers reaching their peak well past age 30 - four-time Olympic discus gold medalist Al Oerter set his personal best at age 43 - so it'll be interesting to see if Li's performance was a one-day exception, or if she continues to throw in the 66-meter range next year.

It'll also be interesting to see if Liu Xiang regains the form that put him on top of the 110 hurdles world and made him China's most popular athlete. Next year is the one year in every four without a major outdoor event (i.e., either an Olympics or a World Outdoor Championship), but the World Indoor Championships in March could provide him with a chance to regain international glory. Liu is the defending World Indoor 60-meter hurdles champ.

Photo: Li Yanfeng threw a 2009 world-best 66.40 meters to win the discus throw at the 2009 Chinese National Games. Harry How/Getty Images.

Amy Palmiero-Winters of Hicksville, NY, is USA Track and Field's athlete of the week after winning the Heartland "Spirit of the Prairie" 100-Mile Endurance Run on Oct. 11. That feat would be impressive enough, but Palmiero-Winters is a below-the-knee amputee who runs with the aid of a customized running prosthesis on her left leg.

Palmiero-Winters, 37, was injured in a 1994 motorcycle accident and eventually had her left leg was amputated below the knee. She didn't run again until 1997. In 2004 she finished second in her division in the Silver Strand Marathon, despite have a walking prosthesis on her left leg, and being five months pregnant with her second child. She placed third in her division in a triathlon the following year, still employing only the walking prosthesis..

Palmiero-Winters gained her running prosthesis, as well as a customized biking leg for use in triathlons, from A Step Ahead Prosthetics. She competes as a member of Team A Step Ahead, a group of disabled athletes.

At the Oct. 11 race, Palmiero-Winters posted the second fastest time in the event's history, finishing the 100 miles in 18 hours, 54 minutes and 13 seconds, with a 23-minute advantage over the race's runner-up. She's the first woman amputee to finish a 100-mile run.

Read more about Amy Palmiero-Winters and Team A Step Ahead on their respective Web sites.