Women's 2008 Story
Men's 2008 Story
Ethiopian wins in most-thrilling women's finish ever
By Barbara Huebner
When they turned the corner from Hereford onto Boylston, Dire Tune started her kick. Too early? The 22-year-old Ethiopian brought speed and promise from Addis Ababa, but did she bring a heart big enough to hang on?
Alevtina Biktimirova fell a step behind. Then two. Then: new life. From her depths, the 25-year-old Russian caught Tune, and the two ran side-by-side toward the finish in a sprint unlike any other in the long history of this race. In front of a crowd going wild on this cool, sunny spring day, Tune finally, breathtakingly opened a gap, hitting the tape in 2:25:25 and falling to her knees in thanks. Biktimirova was on her heels till the end, finishing just two seconds back in 2:25:27.
It was the closest women's finish in the history of the race, surpassing Rita Jeptoo's 10-second victory over Jelena Prokopcuka in 2006. Jeptoo finished third here today, in 2:26:34, while Prokopcuka - looking for her first Boston win after finishing second the last two years - was fourth in 2:28:12. First American was Ashley Anklam of Minnesota, who placed 15th in 2:48:43.
Winning the masters division was 46-year-old Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova of Russia, 13th in 2:47:17, and defending her title in the women's push rim wheelchair division was Japan's Wakako Tsuchida, who won in 1:48:32.
For her efforts, Tune will take $150,000 back to Addis Ababa, while Biktimirova earned $75,000. Asked when she knew she had the victory, Dire Tune (pronounced Deer-ay Too-nay) said through a translator: "When I hit the finish line." She almost certainly was not exaggerating.
The women took off in the separate elite women's start at 9:35 a.m., with Joan Samuelson firing the starter's pistol a day after running the U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women's Marathon. Under overcast skies with a temperature of 50 degrees, it was a great day to run a marathon, unlike last year's onslaught of wind and rain. Still, no one seemed to be in any hurry, either to reach the finish or take charge of the race. At least six women took turns leading the 10-woman pack through halfway, reached in 1:14:45 after early miles that ranged from the sharp downhill of Mile 1 (5:23) to Miles 10 and 11 (both 5:57).
At first, Prokopcuka led the pack, but at the first fluid station she tucked in behind others. After last year - when she reluctantly led most of the way only to be passed by Lidiya Grigoryeva in the late stages - she appeared willing to bide her time. With two consecutive second-place finishes here, she felt prepared to do what it took to win. Magdaline Chemjor of Kenya first took over the pace duties, followed by Italy's Bruna Genovese and then Ethiopia's Askale Tafa Magarsa. Around the 10K mark, defending champion Lidiya Grigoryeva and late entrant Nuta Olaru of Romania decided to take charge of the group.
The revolving door of leaders continued until Mile 11, when Prokopcuka once again stepped to the fore. In Mile 16, thanks to her 5:10 surge, the pack whittled itself to five: Prokopcuka, Biktimirova, Tune, Jeptoo and Magarsa. Defending champ Grigoryeva was gone. It looked as if the Latvian might be ready to take charge for good, but just as suddenly she faded, first from the pack and then from the race. Prokupcuka, too, gone.
Biktimirova promptly pushed the pace, with Tune comfortably on her shoulder. A 4:46 Mile 18 put Jeptoo and Magarsa in arrears for good. "I didn't pay attention to who was running," said Biktimirova, who came here off a win last December in the Honolulu Marathon. "I felt a pack of four runners and then I felt just one behind me."
Led by Biktimirova, the pair made their way up Heartbreak Hill in a 5:23 mile. The Russian appeared to be grimacing, but still looked strong. Tune took one brief stab at assuming the lead but then quickly tucked back in behind, not yet ready to show her cards. "I want to win Boston," said Tune when she arrived here, and she obviously hadn't altered her goal. Coming around Cleveland Circle, the two ran side by side.
The challenge was on. Mile 22: 5:08. Mile 23: 5:12 Mile 24: 5:12. Neither woman would give ground. One would pull a step ahead, the other would negate it. Rounding the bend from Hereford onto Boylston, it was either woman's race, although Biktimirova said afterward through a translator that she knew Tune had the advantage at that point. "I just didn't have enough speed," she said.
With 400 meters to do, the women were still sprinting elbow to elbow and the Boylston Street crowd - which included the only previous Ethiopian woman to win this race, three-time winner Fatuma Roba - was going wild. It was 26.2 miles pared to a 400-meter dash. Finally, Tune eased away, taking one quick glance back. And Biktimirova knew she had no answer.
To those who follow the sport, Tune's victory was no shock despite her youth. She wasn't even 20 when she was chosen to compete for Ethiopia at the World Championships, and in 2006 she broke Ingrid Kristiansen's 23-year-old course record when she won the Chevron Houston Marathon in 2:26:52. She won again this January in an even-faster time, 2:24:20. She may have been lacking in years, but hardly in confidence. All week, she had a look about her of quiet readiness.
The quiet was broken on Boylston Street, where the cheers of the crowd still echo.
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Cheruiyot wins - again
By Jim O'Brien
The conjecture surrounding the men's race at the 112th Boston Marathon was all about Robert Cheruiyot. And the most burning question of all was, "Could he make it number four?" Cheruiyot is nothing if not a man who encourages questions. Could he overcome an upbringing of virtual destitution to become a top class marathon runner? He did that, courtesy of his first Boston win back in 2003. Could he take the next step and move from a runner of ability to a dominant force? He did that, with wins in Chicago and Boston in 2006. Could he recover from a debilitating finish line fall in Chicago in 2006 and return to full health and fitness? He affirmed that he could, with his third win in Boston, last year, and a win in the inaugural World Marathon Majors series. Finally, could he, this year, take it up a notch even further and accomplish what none of his Kenyan compatriots had done - win Boston for the fourth time? Simply put, the answer, as it has always been, was "Yes."
Cheruiyot stamped his authority on this year's Boston Marathon almost from the first step, always holding his position at the front of the field, and storming to an unassailable lead through the Newton Hills. Even though he clearly suffered in the closing miles - falling from sub-2:06 pace a handful of miles earlier - his buffer of 30 or so seconds at the top of Heartbreak Hill expanded to well over a minute by the finish line. At the tape, his time of 2:07:46 was the sixth fastest in the history of the race. Second place went to the unheralded Abderrahime Bouramdane (MAR) in 2:09:04, with the even less heralded Khalid El Boumlili (MAR) third in 2:10:35. For his victory, Cheruiyot earned $150,000, the largest guaranteed first place prize (meaning, not dependent on time bonuses) ever paid in any marathon. Bouramdane earned $75,000. El Boumlili took $40,000.
In contrast to 2007, when rain and blustery winds buffeted the course, this year's field was greeted by near perfect conditions. Temperatures remained in the mid-50s from start to finish, and wind speed hovered at or near zero mph. Even so, the early miles were cautious. A large, cumbersome group lumbered through the opening two miles in 5:16 and 5:02, before the prime contenders elected to make things honest. With Cheruiyot always at the front of the pack, three miles was reached in 15:11 (4:53), and all of a sudden, the race was as it should be - intense.
Thereafter, a string of miles in the 4:40s brought the pack to 10K in 30:20, to 10 miles in 48:21, and to half way in 1:03:07. By this point, the group was down to nine, with Cheruiyot, Lawrence Saina (KEN), Bouramdane, James Kwambai (last year's second placer), El Boumlili and Kasime Adillo (ETH) among the contenders. It was high speed, but it was cat and mouse, nonetheless.
Surprisingly, it was Cheruiyot who was the constant aggressor. He rarely took a step that was not at the forefront of the field, and he never allowed his competitors to sense that there was anybody other than he who was the master of this campaign. The tipping point came in the Newton Hills, as it so often does. With attrition having taken its toll on all but Cheruyiot, Bouramdane, Adillo and Kwambai, the defending champ unleashed a wicked 4:37 between miles 18 and 19, and the race was over. Cheruiyot was a picture of a man in charge, as he stormed away and into the pantheon of Boston heroes. No question, he suffered in the final miles, slowing to 5:17 between 20 and 21, and 5:00 between 22 and 23. But the stats were incidental, this was about the win and nothing else; and Cheruiyot was every inch the winner.
"This is not a very easy course," he explained after claiming number four. "Last year, I ran 2:14. This year, I wanted to run 2:07. I wanted to make the race much faster. My training went well, despite the problems in Kenya. We shifted to Namibia for training and went back to Kenya once the problems were contained. When something happens like this, I could not think about what was happening. I was lucky to continue my training in a peaceful country. But this [victory] was harder than the last one."
With this win, Cheruiyot stands in second position in the 2007-08 World Marathon Majors standings with 55 points. (Cheruiyot's other points-scoring races were his win here in 2007, and his 4th place finish in Chicago last year). London winner, Martin Lel, leads the standings with 75 points.
The masters' competition, for men over 40, was claimed by 41 year-old Gino Van Geyte from Belgium, who finished in 2:23:36, a scant 20 seconds up on former elite Canadian, Bruce Deacon, also 41, who finished in 2:23:56. Russian native, Oleg Strizhakov, living in Florida, took third in 2:24:16. They earned $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively.
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