Lawrence Cherono wins men's Boston Marathon in sprint to tape; Worknesh Degefa wins women's race
The results from the 123rd Boston Marathon are in and there were some surprise winners this year. Despite high winds and rain, this year's marathon featured a photo finish on the men's side and a dominant performance by Worknesh Degefa on the women's side.
Degefa of Ethiopia easily won the women's race to capture her first Boston Marathon. Degefa, 28, pulled into the lead during mile four and never looked back, at one point opening up a three-minute lead on the rest of the pack. She finished with an official time of 2:23:30.
On the men's side, Lawrence Cherono of Kenya won the men's Boston Marathon in a photo finish sprint against Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia. Cherono was trailing Desisa in the final block, but sprinted ahead to pass Desisa in the final stretch. Cherono ran an official time of 2:07:57, two seconds better than Desisa's 2:07:59.
American Daniel Romanchuk of Urbana, Illinois won the men's push rim wheelchair division of the race, crossing the finish line with an unofficial time of 1:21:36. The 20-year-old Romanchuk is youngest man to win the race and the first American to win the wheelchair division of the race since 1993.
Manuela Schar of Switzerland was the winner of the women's wheelchair division. She crossed the finish line with the unofficial time of 1:34:18.
The Boston Marathon is a 26.2-mile race whose route begins in Hopkington, Massachusetts, and crosses around the greater-Boston area to reach the finish line at Copley Square in downtown Boston. The race has been held annually since 1897 and is the world's oldest annual marathon.
