The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ethiopians cherish first Boston sweep
Country places top three men, top two women on podium.
The Ethiopians BOSTON — ran past the Kenyans on their way to the Boston Marathon finish line Monday and nearly swept them off the victory podium.
Lemi Berhanu Hayle won the 120th edition of the men’s race, and Atsede Baysa overcame a 37-second deficit on the women’s side for Ethiopia’s first sweep of the world’s most prestigious marathon.
Hayle finished in 2 hours, 12 minutes and 45 seconds to beat defending champion Lelisa Desisa by 47 seconds. Yemane Tsegay was an additional 30 seconds back to round out an all-Ethiopian top three.
“In sports, sometimes that happens. But not always,” said Desisa, who also won the 2013 race. “It is the performance on the day.”
Kenya had dominated the Boston Marathon since the professional era began in 1986, winning the men’s race 14 straight times from 19912004 and 20 out of 22 before Desisa earned the first of his two victories three years ago.
Hayle pulled away from Desisa as they crossed over the Massachusetts Turnpike heading into Kenmore Square. He tapped his chest as he ran down Boylston Street, held his arms out to bask in the cheers of the crowd and then, after crossing the finish line, did a celebratory skip-jump.
It was the first major marathon victory for Hayle, 21. He has run four smaller marathons since 2014, winning three and finishing in second place at Dubai in January.
Baysa trailed by 37 seconds at the 35-kilometer checkpoint before chasing down Tirfi Tsegaye on Beacon Street in Brookline, 2 miles from the finish line. The two-time Chicago Marathon champion won by a margin of 44 seconds in 2:29:19.
Joyce Chepkirui was third — the lone Kenyan to medal.
Most of the top Americans, including 2014 winner Meb Keflezighi, skipped the race after running in the U.S. Olympic trials in February. Other countries pick their Olympic teams by committee, and the performances in Boston could help Monday’s top finishers earn a ticket to Rio de Janeiro.
“This is a major marathon,” Baysa, 29, said through an interpreter. “We don’t know what they are thinking, but we are confident they will select me.”
Zachary Hine of Dallas was the top U.S. man, finishing 10th. Neely Spence Gracey, of Superior, Colorado, was the first American woman to finish, coming in ninth.
On a clear day with a slight headwind, cool temperatures at the start warmed to 62 degrees by the time the winners reached the Back Bay. It warmed further as the day went on — an added challenge for the 27,491 runners who left Hopkinton in four waves in the morning. Marcel Hug of Switzerland won his second straight wheelchair race in a three-man sprint to the finish. Ten-time champion Ernst Van Dyk was second by 1 second and he held off third-place finisher Kurt Fearnley in a photo finish, winning by the width of a tire.
Tatyana McFadden, of Clarksville, Maryland, won the women’s wheelchair race for the fourth year in a row.