93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
(AP) – Lawrence Cherono has won the Boston Marathon for the first time.
Cherono needed every bit of his speed to outkick two-time winner Lelisa Desisa in a sprint to the tape, passing him just steps away from the finish line to win the 123rd edition of the race in 2 hours, 7 minutes 57 seconds. Cherono had won marathons in Seville, Prague, Honolulu and twice in Amsterdam but never in a major event before Monday.
Worknesh Degefa broke away from defending champion Des Linden and the rest of the women’s pack in the Framingham flats and ran alone for the last 20 miles to claim the women’s race. Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat was second, reducing a gap of more than two minutes to 42 seconds at the finish.
Daniel Romanchuk, 20, became the youngest-ever men’s wheelchair champion in Boston, finishing in 1:21:36 for the fastest time ever for an American. Manuela Schar won the women’s wheelchair race for the second time.
