Kenyan pulls away for Boston win
Kirui takes men’s division; Kiplagat is female champ
Geoffrey Kirui pulled away from Galen Rupp over the last few kilometres, winning the men’s division of the 121st Boston Marathon on Monday and ending Rupp’s bid to become the first American winner since 2014.
In the women’s division, Edna Kiplagat made the most of her first appearance in the Boston Marathon, separating from the pack at the 18-mile (29-kilometre) mark and cruising to a victory.
Kirui, a 24-year-old runner from Kenya, won in 2:09:37 on a warm day in Boston. Rupp, the Olympic bronze medallist in the event, finished second in his first big-city American marathon in 2:09:58 and Suguru Osako of Japan was third in 2:10:28. In his three marathons, Rupp has finished first (in the Olympic trials), third and second. “It lived up to and exceeded all my expectations,” Rupp told NBC. “(The crowd) really lifted me those last three miles (five kilometres).”
Kirui, who is a convert from track, called Rupp “a strong guy,” and admitted he tested him for about 1,650 feet (500 metres) to see how the Portland, Ore., native would respond. Now, after the win, he acknowledged in broken English: “I try too many times in track, but I think my future is in the marathon.”
One of the more emotional scenes of the day occurred when Meb Keflezighi crossed the finish line. Keflezighi won the men’s division of the first marathon after the 2013 bombings, becoming the first American winner since 1983. He has said this will be his final Boston appearance at the age of 41; his last, the 26th of his career, will come at the New York Marathon. He finished in 2:17:01, citing heat as one factor.
Keflezighi headed over to shake the hand of the father of Martin Richard, the eight-year-old who was killed in the 2013 bombings. The two have become close, he said, and he acknowledged that he’ll always be linked to the victims because of his emotional 2014 win.
Kiplagat, a 37-year-old mother of two from Kenya, won in an unofficial time of 2:21:52, with Rose Chelimo of Bahrain second in 2:22:51 and Jordan Hasay of the U.S. third in 2:23:00. Kiplagat added Boston to her New York, London and Los Angeles marathon victories.
The 121st running of the Boston Marathon — the fourth since the bombings — began on a warm Patriots’ Day, with mobility-impaired competitors setting out first from Hopkinton, Mass. That brought two Swiss athletes across the finish line first, with record-setting performances.
Marcel Hug won the men’s push-rim wheelchair division for the third straight year, finishing in 1:18:03, a world record. Not long afterward, Manuela Schar won the women’s division push-rim in 1:28:17, also a world record.