Blasts spoil memories of Boston
A number of elite world marathoners, including Vancouver’s Robin Watson, struggled Monday with the ‘ senseless’ explosions that turned many personal triumphs into unforgettable tragedies.
BOSTON — Two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon finish line Monday two hours after Lelisa Desisa and Rita Jeptoo crossed it to win the race.
At least three people were killed and more than 140 were injured.
Race volunteers and public officials rushed to the aid of wounded spectators, and the medical tent set up to care for fatigued runners was quickly converted to a trauma clinic.
The explosion sent some runners tumbling to the pavement and others, already unsteady from the 42.195- kilometre run, were knocked down by those rushing toward the scene.
“It’s just so, so upsetting. It’s just terrible. Why would people do something like that?” said Vancouver runner Robin Watson, who finished 11th in the men’s race.
The blasts shattered the euphoria of what had been a pleasantly uneventful 117th edition of the world’s oldest and most prestigious annual marathon.
Desisa, of Ethiopia, won a three- way sprint down Boylston Street to finish in two hours 10 minutes 22 seconds and snap a string of three consecutive Kenyan victories.
“Here we have a relative newcomer,” said Ethiopia’s Gebregziabher Gebremariam, who finished third.
In just his second race at 42.195 kilometres, Desisa finished five seconds ahead of Kenya’s Micah Kogo to earn $ 150,000 and the traditional olive wreath. American Jason Hartmann finished fourth for the second year in a row.
“The Ethiopians run very good tactical races,” defending champion Wesley Korir, a Kenyan citizen and U. S. resident, said after finishing fifth. “One thing I always say is, ‘ Whenever you see more than five Ethiopians in a race, you ought to be very careful.’ As Kenyans, we ought to go back to the drawing board and see if we can get our teamwork back.”
Jeptoo, 32, won the women’s race for the second time. Jeptoo, who also won in 2006, finished in 2: 26: 25 for her first victory in a major race since taking two years off after having a baby.