For being the first to reach the Boylston Street finish line in the heart of downtown, Baysa received $150,000 and an olive wreath – the same prize as the men’s victor.
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In 1966, Roberta (Bobbi) Gibb had been refused a spot in the race but she chose to run it anyway. Her father, Steve Spence, won the 1992 Olympic Trials marathon and finished third at the 1991 world championships. Others ran for charity, for a personal best time or just to prove to themselves that they could do it.
It is the third major marathon crown for Baysa after claiming the Chicago Marathon in 2010 and 2012.
Desisa was timed at 2:13:32 3 while Yemane Adhane Tsegay completed the Ethiopian sweep in 2:14:02 4.
Baysa finished 44 seconds ahead of fellow Ethiopian Tirfi Tsegaye. Down the stretch, the 21-year-old Hayle had more reserves left and pulled away over the final mile from Desisa, 26.
But Boston’s historic up-and-down course and lack of pace-setters leads to the kind of tactical racing that runners are likely to see in Rio de Janeiro. “But there are four Ethiopians in the field of London in our group“.
Tatyana McFadden, from Maryland, won her fourth straight Boston women’s wheelchair race.
Jaiden Brandt, 25, of Lynchburg, Virginia, son of USC Aiken women’s basketball coach Mike Brandt, crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 39 minutes and 23 seconds, according to the marathon’s website. She fell back earlier in the run because of pain in her left hamstring, but came back to win. Numerous top Americans are in Boston, although they didn’t hit the pavement.
The top USA women’s finisher was Neely Spence Gracey, who finished ninth with a time of 2:35:00. The eight-time NCAA Division II national champion in distance races was making her marathon debut.
“Today ended up going out very, very slow in the beginning”, she said. It may have helped – she was near the front through the first seven miles before falling behind the leaders. “The energy was spectacular”, said Gracey, who ran against Crouch in college.
Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. But qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon requires much longer workouts and necessitates longer recovery time, not to mention you must meet the qualifying standards and to maintain the fitness required to run more than one marathon in one or two years. “We just took a second to really enjoy that moment”. He won by 47 seconds.
“It was a insane finish. I kept them close to my heart and mind throughout the race and it reminded me of why I was racing”.
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Five miles into the Boston Marathon, defending champion Caroline Rotich stopped running and moved to the side of the road.
