This Time, Lelisa Desisa Wins Boston Marathon for Himself, Two hours after Lelisa Desisa won the Boston Marathon in 2013, two bombs ripped through the finish area, killing three spectators and wounding 264 others.
In the aftermath, Desisa formed a bond with the people of Boston and presented his winner’s medal back to the city.
On Monday, Desisa, a 25-year-old Ethiopian, won the men’s elite race in Boston again, pulling away from an uncommonly large pack of contenders in the last few miles for a commanding victory in 2 hours 9 minutes 17 seconds.
“This medal,” he said, grinning beneath his victor’s wreath, “is mine to keep.”
As he rounded Hereford Street for a well-honed sprint to the finish, he cast off his hat in pre-emptive triumph and waved to the crowd.
“I started waving my hands because I love the Boston people,” Desisa said.Yemane Adhane Tsegay, also of Ethiopia, was 31 seconds behind in second, his best finish in a major marathon. Wilson Chebet of Kenya was third.In the women’s race, Caroline Rotich of Kenya capped off a mile-long sprint to edge Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia by four seconds, finishing in 2:24:55. Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia was third.It was a breakout victory for Rotich, 30, whose previous best finish in a major marathon was fourth in Tokyo last year.
“I thought I’d finish second,” Rotich said as she described fading in the final miles. “Just like that I saw the finish line and was like: ‘I can kick! I can kick!’ ”
Dibaba had been among the favorites, having finished second in Chicago last year and third in Boston. Deba was the Boston runner-up last year. Dibaba and Deba were beaten in Chicago and Boston by Rita Jeptoo, who was later suspended for two years after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.Desiree Linden led much of the race and was the top American finisher, in fourth, with a time of 2:25:39. Whereas Rotich trains in New Mexico, Linden, who lives in Michigan, recently headed to the high-altitude camp at Iten, Kenya, to prepare for her Boston run.
She and Shalane Flanagan, of nearby Marblehead, Mass., were attempting to end a 30-year victory drought by American women. The last American woman to win the race was Lisa Weidenbach in 1985. Though Flanagan finished seventh last year, setting an American course record of 2:22:02, this year she was ninth.
“With the conditions and the course, I knew today was going to be a war of attrition,” Linden, 31, said. “My goal was to go out there and grind it out. I knew I couldn’t settle and let it get slow. And there’s no shame in losing to these three ladies, that’s for sure.”Americans also were strong in the men’s race. In his first Boston Marathon, Dathan Ritzenhein, 32, held the lead for much of the middle of the race, through the grueling Newton hills. When a pack began to pull away in the final miles, Ritzenhein let them go, he said, to avoid losing steam at the end. He finished seventh.
“I was nervous because I’ve often had so many problems closing the last couple miles,” said Ritzenhein, whose only coach is himself. “But I’m really happy with the day.”
Behind the elite competitors followed more than 27,000 runners, a field that has grown considerably despite rigorous qualifying standards since an increase in popularity that followed the bombing two years ago.Runners elite and recreational alike were apprehensive about the weather conditions: a chilly 43 degrees at the start, with a stiff headwind at times. Still, athletes were spared the worst. The race’s history book devotes an entire page to historical anomalies listed under categories spanning “snow,” “driving rain,” “extreme heat or unseasonable warmth” and “other unusual weather conditions,” examples of which include a partial solar eclipse in 1939 and the eruption of an Icelandic volcano in 2010.
Rotich said she was unfazed by the weather.
“Coming here, I knew Boston had had a lot of snow,” she said. “Today I got through it because I had been training in Santa Fe, and it’s been cold there.”
Both elite races were tactically different from last year. The 2014 men’s race was a departure, when Meb Keflezighi broke from the pack early in the race and ran alone, barely maintaining his lead as pursuers closed in to become the first American to win the marathon since 1983.
The pack was tighter this year until Desisa, who failed to finish last year’s race, and three others broke away around Mile 22.
Keflezighi, who turns 40 next month, started vomiting water toward the close of the race and had to force himself to finish. He crossed the finish holding hands with Hilary Dionne, an elite Boston-area runner he had never met.
“I would have loved to have had a shot at it in the last mile, but that’s what racing is,” said Keflezighi, who was eighth. “I love the sport, it’s done a lot for me. We’re all runners, we inspire each other, and hopefully this was a good enough performance to inspire others too.”
On Monday, Desisa, a 25-year-old Ethiopian, won the men’s elite race in Boston again, pulling away from an uncommonly large pack of contenders in the last few miles for a commanding victory in 2 hours 9 minutes 17 seconds.
“This medal,” he said, grinning beneath his victor’s wreath, “is mine to keep.”
As he rounded Hereford Street for a well-honed sprint to the finish, he cast off his hat in pre-emptive triumph and waved to the crowd.
“I started waving my hands because I love the Boston people,” Desisa said.Yemane Adhane Tsegay, also of Ethiopia, was 31 seconds behind in second, his best finish in a major marathon. Wilson Chebet of Kenya was third.In the women’s race, Caroline Rotich of Kenya capped off a mile-long sprint to edge Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia by four seconds, finishing in 2:24:55. Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia was third.It was a breakout victory for Rotich, 30, whose previous best finish in a major marathon was fourth in Tokyo last year.
“I thought I’d finish second,” Rotich said as she described fading in the final miles. “Just like that I saw the finish line and was like: ‘I can kick! I can kick!’ ”
Dibaba had been among the favorites, having finished second in Chicago last year and third in Boston. Deba was the Boston runner-up last year. Dibaba and Deba were beaten in Chicago and Boston by Rita Jeptoo, who was later suspended for two years after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.Desiree Linden led much of the race and was the top American finisher, in fourth, with a time of 2:25:39. Whereas Rotich trains in New Mexico, Linden, who lives in Michigan, recently headed to the high-altitude camp at Iten, Kenya, to prepare for her Boston run.
She and Shalane Flanagan, of nearby Marblehead, Mass., were attempting to end a 30-year victory drought by American women. The last American woman to win the race was Lisa Weidenbach in 1985. Though Flanagan finished seventh last year, setting an American course record of 2:22:02, this year she was ninth.
“With the conditions and the course, I knew today was going to be a war of attrition,” Linden, 31, said. “My goal was to go out there and grind it out. I knew I couldn’t settle and let it get slow. And there’s no shame in losing to these three ladies, that’s for sure.”Americans also were strong in the men’s race. In his first Boston Marathon, Dathan Ritzenhein, 32, held the lead for much of the middle of the race, through the grueling Newton hills. When a pack began to pull away in the final miles, Ritzenhein let them go, he said, to avoid losing steam at the end. He finished seventh.
“I was nervous because I’ve often had so many problems closing the last couple miles,” said Ritzenhein, whose only coach is himself. “But I’m really happy with the day.”
Behind the elite competitors followed more than 27,000 runners, a field that has grown considerably despite rigorous qualifying standards since an increase in popularity that followed the bombing two years ago.Runners elite and recreational alike were apprehensive about the weather conditions: a chilly 43 degrees at the start, with a stiff headwind at times. Still, athletes were spared the worst. The race’s history book devotes an entire page to historical anomalies listed under categories spanning “snow,” “driving rain,” “extreme heat or unseasonable warmth” and “other unusual weather conditions,” examples of which include a partial solar eclipse in 1939 and the eruption of an Icelandic volcano in 2010.
Rotich said she was unfazed by the weather.
“Coming here, I knew Boston had had a lot of snow,” she said. “Today I got through it because I had been training in Santa Fe, and it’s been cold there.”
Both elite races were tactically different from last year. The 2014 men’s race was a departure, when Meb Keflezighi broke from the pack early in the race and ran alone, barely maintaining his lead as pursuers closed in to become the first American to win the marathon since 1983.
The pack was tighter this year until Desisa, who failed to finish last year’s race, and three others broke away around Mile 22.
Keflezighi, who turns 40 next month, started vomiting water toward the close of the race and had to force himself to finish. He crossed the finish holding hands with Hilary Dionne, an elite Boston-area runner he had never met.
“I would have loved to have had a shot at it in the last mile, but that’s what racing is,” said Keflezighi, who was eighth. “I love the sport, it’s done a lot for me. We’re all runners, we inspire each other, and hopefully this was a good enough performance to inspire others too.”
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