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 Lemi Berhanu Hayle won for the men in a dramatic late surge
against defending champ and fellow Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa, covering
the notoriously hilly course in two hours, 12 minutes and 45
seconds, as thousands of spectators cheered him.
Hayle said through an interpreter after the race that winning "feels
like his birthday."
Ethiopian men have won the Boston marathon six times since 1989, but
have never before taken all three spots on the podium. No country
has swept the top three spots in the Boston Marathon since Kenya did
it in both the men's and women's divisions in 2012, according to
marathon officials.
On the women's side, Ethiopian Atsede Baysa won in 2:29:19,
overcoming a 37-second deficit in the last five miles (8 km) of the
race against training mate Tirfi Tsegaye.
It was the 120th running of the world's oldest continually run
annual marathon, and the third since a pair of ethnic Chechen
brothers killed three people and injured more than 260 with a bomb
attack at the finish line.
Most top U.S. marathoners sat out Boston to train for the Rio Games
in August. But Ethiopia and Kenya - whose runners dominated the lead
packs - have yet to pick their teams for the Olympics and will
consider the Boston results.
The 21-year-old Hayle won the race by pairing off with Desisa to
break from the mainly East African pack late in the course. He then
drafted off his countryman before surging past him in the final two
miles.
Hayle's finish time was slower than the personal best of 2:04:33 he
posted in Dubai earlier this year. The Boston marathon record of
2:03:02 was achieved by Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai in 2011.
The top placing American on Monday was Zachary Hine, who took 10th
place with a finish of 2:21:37.
Among the women, Baysa, 29, is one of the world's most prolific
marathoners and has posted top four finishes in five world marathon
majors, including wins in Paris and Chicago.
Kenyan Caroline Rotich, who was defending her 2015 win in Boston and
was widely seen as a favorite in Monday's women's race, dropped out
early after appearing to hobble around mile four.
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The top placing American woman was Neely Spence Gracey, who finished
in 9th place in her marathon debut with a time of 2:35:00. She was
born 26 years ago on race day as her father, Olympian Steve Spence,
ran the course.
"I was told the crowds were pretty spectacular and I was not
disappointed," Neely said, adding she achieved her goal of making it
into the top 10.
In total, about 30,000 people attempted the world-renowned course,
which brings out crowds of spectators holding signs, cheering,
drinking beer and barbecuing.
"It's always been a dream of mine to run Boston," said David Harris,
42, of Atlanta, who qualified for the race.
Harris said the 2013 bombings motivated him.
"That whole thing made me want to do this race even more," Harris
said, echoing the feeling voiced by many other runners. "As tragic
as these things are, it makes us want to come together and show what
we can do."
American Meb Keflezighi won Boston in 2014 on the anniversary of the
bombings, an emotional win that many said was symbolic of the city's
recovery.
The men and women's winners this year will receive $150,000.
(Additional reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Jeffrey
Benkoe and Tom Brown)
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