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115th Boston fastest marathon in history; Davila nearly steals win
BOSTON
– Perfect weather, a generous tailwind and fabulous competition made
the 115th Boston Marathon the fastest men’s marathon ever run, while
Desiree Davila came within two seconds of history in the women’s race.
Geoffrey
Mutai of Kenya ran the fastest marathon in history with a spectacular
win in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 2 seconds, outsprinting countryman Moses
Mosop (2:03:06). Both times were nearly a full minute better than Haile
Gebrselassie’s world record of 2:03:59, but due to the elevation drop
and point-to-point measurements of the Boston course, Monday’s
performances are not record-eligible.
Tailwinds
at roughly 10 miles per hour and gusting higher buffeted ING New York
City Marathon champion Gebre Gebremariam to third in 2:04:53, and Ryan
Hall became the fastest American in history with his fourth-place time
of 2:04:53. Khalid Khannouchi’s American record of 2:05:38, like
Gebreselassie’s world record, likewise still stands due to technical
record requirements.
Given
his slower-than-usual Boston prep races, Hall was perhaps looked upon
skeptically when he led the early portions of Monday’s race. As is his
wont, he faded back and returned to the lead periodically, leading the
pack through the half-way mark at 1:01:57. Mutai led at 25km, but Hall
was once again out front at 1:28:23. Mutai took the lead for good
shortly before 35km, and the race was on. Mutai and Mosop made it a
two-man race and dueled it to the finish.
Desi (almost) does it
Desiree
Davila’s composed, well-paced and gutsy performance compelled the press
room to break the cardinal journalistic rule that forbids cheering.
The
race that led to that breach of etiquette was both compelling and
unpredictable. New Zealand’s Kim Smith took a big lead from the start,
putting as much as 50 seconds between herself and the lead pack at the
halfway mark, which she passed in 1:10:52. But Smith suffered what
appeared to be leg cramps at roughly 20 miles, and Davila, who had been
comfortably in sixth for much of the race, eventually took the lead.
Davila
led three Kenyans in the four-woman pack that included Caroline Kilel,
Sharon Cherop and Alice Timbilili. They passed 35k in 1:58:37 as
Timbilili fell off, leaving a three-woman race remaining. At 2:10 into
the race, Kilel made a break and Davila fell to third.
The
first press-room gasp came with Davila moved back into the lead, but an
outright cheer erupted with she surged around a right turn onto
Hereford street less than a mile from the finish. Kilel took back the
lead as they turned to the final stretch down Boylston, and Davila’s
legs looked to be tiring and appeared unlikely to be able to respond. So
when the 5-2 Davila – whose leg speed was illustrated by her runner-up
finish in the 3,000m at the 2010 USA Indoor Championships – came up with
one more surge halfway down Boylston, the room again
erupted.
Alas,
the long-striding Kilel found the speed she needed to edge past Davila.
At the finish Kilel collapsed to the ground in tears and was taken to
the medical area. Although Davila looked relatively fresh, she admitted
“I gave it all I had. It was the most incredible experience of my
running career. My legs were shot. There was nothing left.”
Kilel
won in 2:22:36, with Davila second in 2:22:38 to become the
third-fastest American woman in history behind Deena Kastor and Joan
Benoit Samuelson. Cherop was third in 2:22:42, Caroline Rotich of Kenya
was fourth in 2:24:26, and Kara Goucher was fifth in a personal-best
time of 2:24:52. It was Goucher’s first marathon since having a child in
September.
Japan on the podium
Japanese
athletes scored emotional victories in the wheelchair division races as
that country continues to rebuild and cope with aftershocks related to
the earthquake and tsunami that hit in March. Masazumi Soejima sprinted
past nine-time champion Ernst Van Dyk to win the men’s division in
1:18:50, with Kurt Fearnly of Australia second in 1:18:51 and Van Dyk,
of South Africa, third in an identical time. Wakaka Tsuchida had a much
easier time of it in the women’s race, winning in a course-record
1:34:06. American Shirley Reilly was second in
1:41:01.
For complete results from the 115th Boston Marathon, visit www.BAA.org
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by Larry Eder
