Kenyan wins Boston Marathon again

BOSTON: Robert Cheruiyot won the Boston Marathon yesterday to give  Kenya their 12th victory in 13 years.

Russia’s Svetlana Zakharova won the women’s race to prevent a second consecutive Kenyan sweep. Cheruiyot is the eighth Kenyan to win the race since his country began their domination in 1991. It was just his second career marathon; he won his debut in Milan in December. Cheruiyot (pronounced Cheh-REE’-yot) finished in two hours, 10 minutes, 11 seconds, to win by 23 seconds and earn US$80,000, an olive wreath and a bowl of beef stew. Kenyans swept the first five spots in the race, with Benjamin Kimutai second and Martin Lel third. Zakharova finished in 2:25:20. Her biggest challenge was staying on the course when the television truck turned away before the Back Bay finish line. She is the first Russian to win since 1993.

American Marla Runyan was fifth — the best finish for a US runner since 1993. Runyan, who is legally blind, trailed a bicyclist who provided her with her times at the checkpoints and guided her to her water bottles. She traded positions with defending champion Margaret Okayo of Kenya and the two Russians until Zakharova pulled ahead to pass the 13.1-mile mark with a time of 1 hour, 12 minutes and 39 seconds. South African Ernst Van Dyk earned his third consecutive victory in the men’s wheelchair race, finishing in 1:28:32 without a competitor in sight. Christina Ripp of Savoy, Illinois., who finished second last year, won the women’s wheelchair race in 1:54:57.