BOSTON — The 123rd Boston Marathon Monday featured one of the closest finishes ever, as Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono — running in the marathon for the first time — edged out Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa by 2 seconds. It was the third-closest finish in Boston Marathon history.
Cherono and Desisa were neck-and-neck headed to the finish line on Boylston Street when Desisa’s legs appeared to give out and he stumbled behind Cherono, who won in a time of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 57 seconds.
“I’m so happy,” Cherono, 30, said after the race. “I was so determined to win.”
On the women’s side, Worknesh Degefa, 28, of Ethiopia, won with a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, 29 seconds. Degefa took an early lead and ran the last 20 miles of the race alone in first place.
“When I turned around … there was nobody in sight,” Degefa said through a translator to WBZ’s Steve Burton. “I’m happy.”
She added the crowd was the largest she’s ever seen. Crowds lined the streets from Hopkinton to Boston and came to cheer on the runners.
Laura Obando who lives near Cleveland Circle said she’d only watched the race once before, when her dad ran some years back. This year, she and her dog were out watching at Chestnut Hill Avenue in Brighton.
“I’m excited to see the women. Gotta give them support especially since they weren’t allowed originally,” said Obando.
The first woman, Kathrine Switzer ran the race in 1967. But it wasn’t until 1972 that women were permitted to race. Seven years later Joan Benoit Samuelson ran it and won. Her goal was to finish within 40 minutes of her winning time in 1979, which was two hours and 30 minutes and 35 seconds. She did.
“I’m really happy about it” said Samuelson, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist, is celebrating the 40th anniversary of her 1979 victory with a run of three hours five minutes and 18 seconds.
Earlier in the day, Daniel Romanchuck became the first American since 1993 to win the men’s wheelchair race, as the sun started to push through the clouds. He finished with a time of 1 hour, 21 minutes and 36 seconds.
“There’s really no way to describe it,” he told WBZ after receiving his medal.
Behind him, Manuela Schär, of Switzerland won the women’s wheelchair pushrim race with a time of 1 hour, 34 minutes and 19 seconds. Schar timed a blistering 1:28:17 from Hopkinton to Boston in 2017, becoming the first woman ever to dip under the 1:30 barrier in Boston.
This year, the elite women started off nice and easy. American Sarah Hall was leading the first couple of miles, setting the pace out of Hopkinton and then at mile 4 Degefa of Ethiopia took the lead and took a half-mile lead by the halfway point. Before Heartbreak Hill, she was running a 5:16 pace. Edna Kiplagat was leading the pack of the rest of the elites about 2 minutes behind, Des Linden started making a push to close the gap just after mile 16.
Last year, Des Linden became the first American to win the marathon in 33 years. Her winning time was the slowest in 40 years — a trend that stretched across the divisions as runners worked through the pouring rain. Her official time was 2 hours 39 minutes 54 seconds. This year she came in fifth for the women but ran a faster race.
In the men’s race last year, Yuki Kawauchi of Japan rode a late surge to the gold medal with a time of 2:15:58, last year, the slowest winning time since 1976. But he was the first Japanese man to win the marathon since 1987. He came in 17th in this year’s race.
This year, American Jared Ward, who has run in the Olympics, was out in front of the pack of elite men headed to the halfway point. Then, Lawrence Cherono, of Kenya, broke out front at the halfway point, running about a 4:44 minute mile. He kept the lead for the rest of the race. Ward came in eighth place.
Boston Marathon 2019 Results
Men’s race (elite)
Top American men:
Women’s race (elite)
Top American women:
Men’s wheelchair:
Women’s wheelchair:
Tracking your favorite Boston Marathon runner
The best place to keep track of the leaderboard is here, at the BAA website. The best spot for live results is also at the BAA website. If you are looking to live stream or watch the 2018 Boston Marathon on TV, click that link.
Want to keep up with a friend or your favorite runner? There’s a way to do that, too. Track a Boston Marathon runner to (virtually) run the race with them — just know their bib number. You can search the Boston Marathon entry list for your runners’ bib numbers.
Jenna Fisher can be reached at [email protected] or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).
Click Here: Cheap Chiefs Rugby Jersey 2019