By ROBERT McG. THOMAS Jr.

It may not be more important than an Olympic victory, as previous champions have suggested, but a day after they won the New York City Marathon over top international competition, German Silva of Mexico and Tegla Loroupe of Kenya had ample evidence yesterday that winning in New York can be a transforming experience.

They found themselves at the center of far-reaching attention that included almost nonstop international television interviews, an invitation to run with President Clinton, either today or tomorrow, and, in the case of Silva, who had to overcome an errant detour, a comic television turn -- a wrong one, to be sure -- with David Letterman last night.

Both took the attention in stride as they appeared at a day-after news conference at Tavern on the Green.

The 21-year-old Loroupe, who emerged as an instant feminist symbol after she became the first black African woman to win a major marathon, repeated the spirited comments she made on Sunday when she complained that Kenyan society discouraged women from running even as it lavished attention on their brothers.

As a result of her victory, she said, "They will see that we as women also have talent."

Silva, who had boldly predicted his victory, suggested that the self-imposed risk of ridicule had served its purpose.

"When you open your mouth," he said, "you have to do your best."

Yesterday was, just about everybody agreed, a perfect day for a marathon, a crisp fall morning with a bright November sun, clear skies, temperatures in the 50's and comfortably low humidity.

If there were any regrets that yesterday's sparkling running weather, enlivened by a brisk northwest breeze that kicked up the leaves in the park, came a day after the 25th New York City Marathon was run in overly warm, muggy conditions, nobody was complaining.

No wonder. From Monday's perspective, Sunday's success seemed even more spectacular.

There was, for example, the report from the marathon director, Allan Steinfeld, that 22,687 men and 6,941 women finished the race for a record total of 29,628.

Among other things, Steinfeld noted, the total was more than 3,000 more than finished last year and more than 1,000 more than had been expected after allowing for a 2,000-runner expansion to reflect the celebration of the 25th race.

What happened, Steinfeld suggested, was that after the death of the marathon's founder, Fred Lebow, on Oct. 9, hundreds of local runners who normally cancel, knowing that they will be guaranteed places the next year, decided to change their plans. "A lot of runners made the decision to run in Fred's memory," he said.

There was also the report from the marathon's marketing director, Scott Lange, that the overnight television ratings on the marathon's local broadcast on Channel 11 indicated that the marathon had reached a peak of more than 1 million households in the metropolitan area.

With an average of 2.3 viewers per household, the actual viewing audience could have been almost 2.5 million, but that seemed unlikely in view of the number of New Yorkers who were outside lining the 26.2-mile marathon route.

While nobody seriously believes the traditional estimate of 2 million spectators Lebow once attributed to an obliging police source, runners and officials insisted that Sunday's crowds were larger and more enthusiastic than ever.

They were just as enthusiastic, if a bit smaller, yesterday, when Zoe Koplowitz, a 47-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis, made her usual morning-after last-place finish, crossing the line in a time of 26 hours 30 minutes.

How other handicapped runners from the Achilles Track Club did may not be known for several days, race officials said.

With the singular exception of Arturo Barrios, a new United States citizen from Mexico, who finished third, American men were as usual largely absent from the elite ranks.

This was attributed in part to the dearth of American men among the sport's leaders (only one, Bob Kempainen, last year's runner-up, is among the 45 men who have run the marathon in under 2:11 this year) and a fear of conspicuous failure by American men of the next rank.

Barrios, who attributed Mexico's recent marathoning achievements to a self-fulfilling tradition in which good runners attract others, said his own success as an American offered hope.

"To run the best you have to run against the best," he said. "What I did for Mexico, I want to do here."

Copyright 1994 The New York Times Company