West News Wire: On Monday, Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir won the women’s division of the 126th Boston Marathon in a thrilling sprint to the finish line, while fellow Kenyan Evans Chebet beat a strong field to win the men’s race.
Jepchirchir raced ahead of Ababel Yeshaneh with less than two kilometers remaining in the 42.19km (26.2-mile) race, but the Ethiopian runner refused to bow and retook the lead as the pair battled down the final stretch.
Jepchirchir, who triumphed in New York in November, used every ounce of her might to break the tape in two hours, twenty-one minutes, and one second barely four seconds faster than her opponent.
“Above all, I was feeling she was strong and I pushed it, I feel I’m tired. I go behind, but I didn’t lose hope,” Jepchirchir told reporters after the victory. “The course is tough but thank God I managed to win the race.”
Monday’s event marked the first time in three years that the world’s longest-running annual marathon returned to its traditional spring date.
The 125th Boston Marathon was first postponed, then called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic the first cancellation since the event began in 1897 while in 2021, it was postponed until October.
On the men’s side, Kenyan Evans Chebet pulled away with about 6.4km (4 miles) to go to win the race, picking up his first major victory in two hours, six minutes and 51 seconds, with fellow Kenyans Lawrence Cherono and Benson Kipruto coming in second and third.
A huge leading pack stuck together through 35km (21 miles) before Chebet pulled away, securing an 18-second advantage over 2019 winner Cherono with 1.6km (one mile) left.
The bells of the Old South Church rang and a roar came up from the crowd along Boylston Street as he ran towards the finish line.
Six of the top 10 women’s finishers on Monday and five of the top 10 men were Kenyans.
Meanwhile, American Daniel Romanchuk won his second career men’s wheelchair title in one hour, 26 minutes and 58 seconds, while Switzerland’s Manuela Schar won her second straight Boston crown and fourth overall, finishing in one hour, 41 minutes and 8 seconds in the women’s wheelchair race.
Fans waved Ukrainian flags in support of the few dozen runners whose run in Boston was the easiest part of their journey. Athletes from Russia and Belarus had been disinvited in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
