Two Ethiopian runners wore the golden laurels denoting winners of the Boston Marathon Monday, marking the first time in the race’s 120 years that Ethiopian racers won both the men’s and women’s divisions.
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Crouch finished 11th with a time of 2:37.36. The 21-year-old pulled away from defending champion Lelisa Desisa and won by 47 seconds.
The success kept coming for Ethiopia as two-time Paris Marathon victor Atsede Baysa clinched the women’s title to ensure a first-ever double for the country.
Men’s division victor Lemi Berhanu Hayle, of Ethiopia, finished the 2016 Boston Marathon at an impressive 2:12:45. Fellow Ethiopian Tirfi Tsegaye came in second with 2:30:03 and Kenyan Joyce Chepkirui grabbed third with 2:30:50.
Reimer crossed the finish line in 2 hours 58 minutes and 35 seconds, not only breaking the three hour mark but setting a Personal Best at the same time.
Tatyana McFadden won the women’s wheelchair division for the fourth year in a row, posting a time of 1:42:16.
Another American athlete made the podium in front of her home fans as Susannah Scaroni clocked 1:57:21 for bronze.
“There was this one guy laying down on the lawn in the shade and it was a sign for me to take a (water) break”, she said. The three-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings was Friday, and the victims were honored during an interfaith service of resiliency at the Old South Church near the finish line.Hayle had to pause during a post-race interview, tearing up with emotion after winning his first major marathon.
Downes’ father, Brian Downes, said after the race both his son and daughter-in-law overcame obstacles yesterday.
Meanwhile, Jason “J-Mac” McElwain, 27, of Greece ran 3:14:04 in his third straight Boston Marathon.
Last month, Londonderry’s Erica LeBlanc announced she was running the Boston Marathon to raise money for the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “I ran two more past year and ended up qualifying my second time”. “I’m just very, very happy that it was over, and I’m happy that it was a good experience”.
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“A marathon hurts. You get to the last stages of the race, and you’re in a lot of pain and there’s finally this big relief”.
