Ethiopia’s Lemi Berhanu Hayle won the elite men’s division of the Boston Marathon in an unofficial time of 2:12:45 Monday, completing a sweep by runners from that country.
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Baysa, 29, took the lead with just two miles to go, passing another Ethiopian runner, Tirfi Tsegaye, and unofficially clocking in at 2:29:19.
In the first surprise of the day, last year’s champion Rotich dropped out only 8K (5 mi) into the race.
Moreover, you can get the race live updates on the official marathon Twitter handle or just text RUNNER to 234567 (charges may apply). Two-time champ Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa ws going for his for third title against Kenyan Wesley Korir, who won in 2012, along with Yemane Tsegay (Ethiopia) and Wilson Chebet (Kenya) who were second and third in Boston past year.
More than 500 police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics attended these training courses leading up to the race, and over 1,800 individuals have been trained over the past two years.
Zachary Hine of South Hadley was the top American. It may have helped she was near the front through the first seven miles before falling behind the leaders.
Nobody was thinking that much about Atsede Baysa as the first women’s pack ran through the hills in Newton Monday.
Elsewhere, Kenya’s Duncan Maiyo overcame a tightening left hamstring to retain the men’s title at the 2016 Brighton Marathon while compatriot Grace Momanyi made it a Kenyan double as she claimed the women’s crown. Waters crossed the finish line a short while later to place 1,741st in her 18 to 39 age group with a time of 3:41 and a 9,717th place finish overall among women. She was one of 21 survivors competing this year. The men’s elite field will start racing at 10 a.m. EST. Lativia’s Jelena Prokopcuka placed fourth in 2:32:28, while USA’s Neely Spence Gracey secured a top-10 place, clocking 2:35:00 for ninth.
All three U.S. Olympic Team members are sitting out Boston. It won’t be hard to spot Patrick Downes and Adrianne Haslet-Davis, each of whom will be running on a prosthetic blade. “The energy of the Boston Marathon is truly spectacular and I was happy to be a part of it”. He and Desisa were running side-by-side after breaking away early and stayed that way nearly to the end of the 26.2 miles.
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Most top USA marathoners sat out Boston to train for the Rio Games in August. Her father, Steve Spence, was a bronze medalist at the 1991 world championships. As a young reporter, I certainly didn’t win, but I must admit: When I nabbed that one-one-one interview with Ruiz after the race, it was obvious that her acting skills were superb as I fell into one of the most infamous hoaxes in sports history.
