His name sounds like ``chariot,'' and he certainly charged through the streets of Boston, from Hopkinton to Heartbreak Hill.
Robert Cheruiyot became the 12th Kenyan in 13 years to win the Boston Marathon on Monday, and his compatriots took the next four spots in the 107th running of the race.
With the top three finishers running for the first time in Boston, Kenyans seem poised to keep their grasp on the race.
``I was well-prepared,'' said the 24-year-old Cheruiyot [pronounced cheh-REE-yot]. ``It is a marathon to make your name known in the world.''
Svetlana Zakharova of Russia won the women's race to prevent a second straight Kenyan sweep. Marla Runyan, who is legally blind, was fifth -- the best finish for a US runner since 1993.
The men's and women's winners in the field of 20,260 each won US$80,000.
Cheruiyot pulled away from Timothy Cherigat at the 35km mark, led by 16 seconds with 2.4km left and won by 23 seconds in a time of two hours, 10 minutes, 11 seconds.
``I like the way people make encouragement along the way,'' Cheruiyot said. ``They are happy about Africans and I like that very much.''
Cheruiyot won his only other marathon, last December in Milan, and primarily has competed in 10km races, and half-marathons.
But he handled the longer
distance extremely well even though the temperature at the noon start in Hopkinton, 42km west of the finish line, was 21?C with a light wind.
It got a bit warmer as the runners reached the midpoint, then dropped to 14?C as the leaders approached the finish.
Benjamin Kimutai finished second, Martin Lel third, Cherigat fourth and Christopher Cheboiboch fifth.
Another Kenyan, Vincent Kipsos, came into the race with the best time of any runner in the field and set a fast pace.
He led for most of the first half, then dropped out at about 23km.
The first non-Kenyan to finish was 43-year-old Fedor Ryzhov of Russia, who came in sixth and also won the men's masters division.
``It was a surprise for him to be in the top 10,'' Ryzhov said through an interpreter.
Ryzhov finished one place ahead of 27-year-old defending champion Rodgers Rop of Kenya. But at one point, 25km into the race, Kenyans held the first nine spots.
Eddy Hellebuyck, a native of Belgium who became a US citizen in 1999, was the first American to finish, coming in 10th.
``It's disappointing,'' said Hellebuyck, who lives in New Mexico. ``I'm representing the US and I'm 42 years old. Where is everybody?''
Kimutai, the runner-up in 2:10:34, was blunt when asked if Kenyans always would win the Boston Marathon.
``No,'' he said. ``Coming to Boston is how prepared are you mentally and physically. It can't always be Kenyans.''
At least in the women's division.
Zakharova snapped Kenya's three-year winning streak as Russians took the top two women's spots and four of the top seven.
``It's a difficult course,'' said Zakharova, whose time of 2:25:20 beat runner-up Lyubov Denisova of Russia by one minute, 31 seconds. ``Russian women like to go through certain difficulties. Maybe that's the reason," Zakharova said.
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