Boston Marathon
Some of you may have been looking forward to live coverage of the Boston Marathon here today, as I covered it last year. Alas, I’ve been way distracted, and to be honest, I was discouraged by OLN’s coverage of it last year, which despite being an NBC production (NBC also handles New York and does a fantastic job of it), was really lacking. Wait, is it Versus now? What a lame name for a network. Anyway…
In lieu of live play-by-play today (which, if the coverage was actually solid this year, would’ve been compelling because the weather’s been so brutal; I’ll have to see if they’re do an encore of the wrap-up), I will give you the leaderboards from today’s race with some notes:
Womens’ Finishers:
1. Lidiya Grigoryeva RUS 2:29:18
2. Jelena Prokopcuka LAT 2:29:58
3. Madai Perez MEX 2:30:16
4. Rita Jeptoo KEN 2:33:08
5. Deena Kastor USA 2:35:09
6. Robe Tola Guta ETH 2:36:29
7. Lyubov Denisova RUS 2:38:00
8. Alice Chelangat KEN 2:38:07
9. Ann M. Alyanak USA 2:38:55
10. Kristin M. Price USA 2:38:57
I seem to remember Grigoryeva putting in a good first half, first two-thirds of New York last year before something took her out of it (though my report doesn’t seem to reflect it), so good on her, winning today, especially under such tough conditions. ‘06 NYC winner Jelena Prokopcuka played bridesmaid again here, but still, two silvers and a gold in 3 marathons is damn good. Deena Kastor (6th in NYC ‘06) and ‘06 Boston winner Rita Jeptoo (who took 4th in NYC ‘06) both made showings today, apparently.
3 US runners and only 2 Kenyans in the top 10 here! That’s somethin’ else. It balances out a bit with the mens’ finish, though, as you’ll see next…
Mens’ Finishers:
1. Robert K Cheruiyot KEN 2:14:13
2. James Kwambai KEN 2:14:33
3. Stephen Kiogora KEN 2:14:47
4. James Koskei KEN 2:15:05
5. Teferi Wodajo ETH 2:15:06
6. Benjamin Maiyo KEN 2:16:04
7. Ruggero Pertile ITA 2:16:08
8. Peter M. Gilmore USA 2:16:41
9. Samuel Ndereba KEN 2:17:04
10. Robert Cheboror KEN 2:18:07
Wow, Cheruiyot repeated! Damned impressive. He took Chicago too, so that’s his last 3 races that he’s won. I wonder if he’ll go to Chicago again or give New York a shot.
7 out of 10 from Kenya, pretty huge comeback showing from a country that’s dominated for ages in “the big two” but lagged last year (4 of 10 in Boston, 5 of 10 in New York). Lotta names who didn’t place in ‘06, too. Have to watch for ‘em.
Peter Gilmore put up another solid outing today, was 7th in ‘06 Boston, 10th in New York and 8th today. Makes me wonder if he’ll become the next “Damn, so close” US runner, ala Meb Keflezighi (and yeah, I can spell his last name from memory now…). Good job, though. Weird to see that Meb didn’t do Boston this year, actually! Have to see what the story is there.
Womens’ Wheelchair Finishers:
1. Wakako Tsuchida JPN 1:53:30
2. Amanda M. McGrory USA 1:58:01
3. Sandra F. Graf SUI 2:02:30
McGrory almost got back-to-back NYC and Boston wins, but the veteran Tsuchida took it from her. Sandra Graf actually has a pretty nice collection of top 5 finishes over the past few years, so you could see her take New York, Boston, or another major very soon if she keeps at it (she’s 37, and I’m not sure how long wheelchair athletes remain competitive; it’s a legit question, and if anyone knows more on the subject, feel free to drop me a line…).
Mens’ Wheelchair Finishers:
1. Masazumi Soejima JPN 1:29:16
2. Krige Schabort RSA 1:36:27
3. Ernst Van Dyk RSA 1:37:10
Weird to see Van Dyk finishing Boston without winning it. He lost a 6 year streak today to Soejima, who made his first North American appearance today, after a reign of terror in the Pacific that included winning Tokyo and Honolulu since December! Entering 3 marathons of any kind in less than 6 months is one thing, but winning 3? Wow. I think we have a player on our hands.
Full results and more here, but before I go, here’s the only reason you really read this far:
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