Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia set a blistering pace and held on to win the Boston Marathon on Monday, running alone through most of the course to finish in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 17 seconds — the 10th fastest time in the race's 128-year history.
The 2021 London champion, Lemma arrived in Boston with the fastest time in the field, becoming just the fourth person ever to break 2:02:00 when he won in Valencia last year. And he showed it on the course, separating himself from the pack in the first three miles and opening a lead of more than half of a mile.
Lemma ran the first half in 60:19 — 99 seconds faster than Geoffrey Mutai's course record pace in 2011, when he finished in 2:03:02 — the fastest marathon in history to that point. Fellow Ethiopian Mohames Esa closed the gap through the last few miles, finishing second by 41 seconds; two-time defending champion Evans Chebet was third.
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Hug earns 7th Boston Marathon wheelchair title
Marcel Hug of Switzerland overcame a crash and captured his seventh men’s wheelchair Boston Marathon title, setting in a new course record Monday of 1 hour, 15 minutes, 33 seconds.
It bests his previous course mark of 1:17:06 set last year and was just seven seconds from setting a new world record. It continues his streak of 11 consecutive major marathon titles.
American Daniel Romanchuk was second in 1:20:37, followed by Britain’s David of Weir in 1:22:12. The 38-year-old Hug took advantage of temperatures in the mid-50s at the start of the race and was more than 30 seconds ahead of his fellow competitors by the halfway mark.
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