The Kenyans Robert Cheruiyot and Rita Jeptoo were the winners of the 110th Boston Marathon on Monday. Nothing unusual for Kenyans.
American men finished third (Meb Keflezighi), fourth (Brian Sell) and fifth (Alan Culpepper), and two others were in the top 10. Most unusual for Americans.
Keflezighi's finish was the highest by an American since Gary Tuttle was second in 1985. Three Americans had not finished in the top five since 1982. Five Americans had not finished in the top 10 since 1985.
PHOTO: AP
Those achievements came in the era before Kenyans began to dominate the most prestigious marathons in the world. Kenyan men have won 14 of the last 16 Boston Marathons and Kenyan women the last three, and six of the last seven. US marathon officials and coaches have been trying to raise their program to the highest international level, and the results here delighted them. The runners were pleased, too.
"For those of us in it," Culpepper said, "we're probably not as surprised as other people. We've been working on programs the last six years. I think this bodes very well for the future."
Cheruiyot also won the men's race here in 2003. On Monday, on a crisp, cloudy afternoon with a slight headwind near the finish, Cheruiyot finished in two hours, seven minutes and 14 seconds. It was a course record, a second faster than the time Cosmos Ndeti of Kenya ran in 1994 in the second of his three consecutive victories.
PHOTO: AFP
After a frighteningly fast pace, the race was decided in the 31st kilometer. As the runners approached the top of one of the Newton hills, Cheruiyot caught up to Benjamin Maiyo, another 27-year-old Kenyan.
They looked at each other, chatting briefly. Minutes later, atop Heartbreak Hill, Cheruiyot took off, quickly opened a big gap and held on to beat Maiyo (2:08.21) by more than 300m.
Keflezighi (2:09:56) finished almost half a kilometer back.
What was that chat all about?
"I was trying to tell him to assist me," Maiyo said. "I wanted him to take the lead. He wouldn't."
As he spoke, Maiyo smiled and turned toward his conqueror.
Cheruiyot smiled back.
Sell, the least heralded of the top Americans, ran 2:10:55, his fastest time. Culpepper, fourth last year, ran 2:11.02. The other American leaders were Peter Gilmore, seventh in 2:12:45, and Clint Verran, 10th in 2:14:12.
Culpepper was running fourth until the corner before the finish line. That is when Sell, who had backed off discretely from the fast early pace, shot past him.
"When Brian went by me, I thought it was some guy who ran onto the course," Culpepper said.
The best credentials in the women's race belonged to Reiko Tosa of Japan, who had run 2:22:46. She led most of the way until Jeptoo took command with 4km left. Jeptoo, 25, won by 45m in 2:23:38. Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia took second in 2:23:48 and Tosa third in 2:24:11.
This was Jeptoo's first race in the US, and it was remarkable that she was there at all. Jeptoo was in Italy and lost her passport.
She applied for a new one and was told she had written to the wrong address. A new passport finally came through, and she arrived in Boston on Friday.
Her coach had visa problems and never got there.
"I didn't see the course until today," Jeptoo said.
She was not the only one missing clues.
"I didn't even know where Heartbreak Hill was," Tosa said.
The American men and the spectators knew who two of the US stars were, because Keflezighi and Culpepper wore US jerseys.
"The crowd was screaming, `Go, USA. Go, USA,'" Keflezighi said. "The crowd was phenomenal. It forced us to go hard. I think we performed the way we should. That's the results."
In addition to their appearance fees, Cheruiyot and Jeptoo each earned US$100,000 for winning. Cheruiyot made an extra US$25,000 for setting the course record.
Hailu Negussie of Ethiopia, the men's winner last year, dropped out after the halfway point with stomach problems.
Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, the women's winner in 2004 and last year, did not enter.
The masters winners were the 43-year-old Sammy Nyangincha of Kenya among the men (2:26:37) and Madina Biktagirova, 41, of Russia (2:30:06).
Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa and Edith Hunkeler of Switzerland, the wheelchair winners in the New York City Marathon last November, also won here, Van Dyk in 1:25:29 and Hunkeler in 1:43:42.
It was Van Dyk's sixth straight victory in Boston.
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