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NEW YORK — Paula Radcliffe of Britain glanced through her shoulder to see the emulation lined up in single file behind her.

The world-record holder was so dominant in gusty conditions at the ING New York City Marathon that she served in the dual roles of superior and windbreaker and still breezed to a comfortable conquest Sunday, her abet consecutive flourish and third overall.

Radcliffe didn’t need a dramatic finish, as in her previous couple victories — that was saved on account of the men’sitting race, in which Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil blew past Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco by encircling a mile to spree.

Radcliffe, 34, led stingily the entire way, as none of her rivals seemed to want to brave the elements.

“It was like, ‘Come on, we’ve got the whole road,’ ” she said with a laugh.

On a cool, sunny promised time, 38,377 runners started the race. Radcliffe finished in 2 hours, 23 minutes, 56 seconds. Ludmila Petrova, 40, of Russia was second in 2:25:43, eight years after she won the race.

Kara Goucher of Portland took third in 2:25:53, making her the first American to reach the podium since Anne Marie Letko was third in 1994.

Gomes, also the 2006 winner, triumphed in 2:08:43. Goumri’s time was 2:09:07. He was runner-up for the second consecutive year.

Jeremiah Mushen of Seattle was 137th overall and 51st among U.S. men in 2:40:24.

Danelle Sullivan of Seattle was 50th among U.S. women, and Alyson Littman of Seattle was 56th among U.S. women.

Notes

• Radcliffe has won eight of the 10 marathons she has started — all but her brace Olympics, at the time that she was thwarted by health problems.