Yuki Kawauchi on Monday became the first Japanese man in 31 years to win the Boston Marathon with his fourth marathon triumph of the year, while Desiree Linden became the first US women’s winner in Boston since 1985.
Both surprise champions endured the coldest start in 30 years at 3.3°C, as well as gusting winds and steady rain in taking landmark triumphs in the 122nd edition of the famed 42.1km showdown.
“For me, these are the best conditions possible,” Kawauchi said through a translator.
Photo: Winslow Townson-USA Today
Kawauchi overtook defending champion Geoffrey Kirui of Kenya over the final 2km in heavy rain to win in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 58 seconds with Kirui finishing in 2 hours, 18 minutes and 23 seconds and American Shadrack Biwott 12 seconds further back in third.
“This is the greatest day of my life,” said a tearful Kawauchi, who does not have a coach or sponsorship and works a full-time job.
Kawauchi became the first Japanese men’s winner in Boston since Toshihiko Seko captured his second title in 1987 and the eighth Japanese man to win the race.
The 31-year-old covered the final mile in 5 minutes and 8 seconds to win after jumping ahead at the start, running the first mile in 4 minutes and 37 seconds, then falling back most of the race.
It was Kawauchi’s fifth consecutive marathon victory after last year’s Hofu Marathon in Japan, a New Year’s Day marathon at Marshfield, Massachusetts, Japan’s Kitakyushu Marathon and Taiwan’s Wanjinshi Marathon.
Linden overtook Ethiopia’s Mamitu Daska and Kenya’s Gladys Chesir at Heartbreak Hill after the 32km mark and kept the lead from there to win in 2 hours, 39 minutes and 54 seconds.
Sarah Sellers, an Arizona nurse who was running only her second marathon after starting training about seven months ago, was second with 2 hours, 44 minutes and 4 seconds, and Canada’s Krista Duchene came third another 16 seconds adrift.
No US woman had won the Boston crown since Lisa Larsen Weidenbach 33 years ago, but Linden did it in the sixth Boston start of her 16 marathons.
“I love this city, this race, this course. It’s storybook. I’m thrilled to be here and to get it done,” Linden said. “This is a race the entire city cares about. Even on a day like today when it’s pretty miserable the people show up and embrace the race.”
Linden lost by only two seconds in 2011.
Linden, 34, said she felt early on as if she would not be able to finish the race, but slowed early to help compatriot Shalane Flanagan recover after a toilet stop and found herself boosted by working to help the reigning New York Marathon champion, who placed seventh.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier