INTERNATIONAL AUTHORITY OF BOSTON — For the 50th anniversary of women running the Boston Marathon, the event was headlined by the reigning Olympic champion, Peres Jepchirchir, who ran a time that bested every other female finisher in the race.
On Monday, the world’s oldest and most renowned annual marathon resumed to its traditional spring start for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic. The 28-year-old Kenyan won in a see-saw sprint down the stretch.
Olympic Champion Peres Jepchirchir Wins The 50th Womens Boston
Jepchirchir and Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia switched positions eight times in the last mile of the 50th anniversary of the first official women’s race before Jepchirchir finally pulled ahead on Boylston Street.
“In my gut, I knew she was formidable. That’s because I pushed it “said Jepchirchir, who won $150,000 in addition to her Olympic gold medal and the 2021 New York City Marathon. “A gap opened up and I couldn’t keep up. Still, I didn’t give up hope.”
Evans Chebet, the third and last member of the Kenyan sweep, won the marathon in a time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 51 seconds by pulling away from Gabriel Geay with approximately four miles to go. Geay dropped to fourth place, 30 seconds behind the 2019 winner Lawrence Cherono and the defending champion Benson Kipruto.
Champaign, Illinois native Daniel Romanchuk won his second wheelchair race in a time of 1:26:58, extending his record. Switzerland’s Manuela Schar ran the marathon in a time of 1:41:08 to win her fourth Boston title and second in a row.
More than 28,000 runners took to the streets from Hopkinton to Copley Square six months after a smaller and socially distanced event, the only fall race in its 126-year existence, on a Patriots’ Day weekend that also featured the Red Sox home opener, the city’s main athletic rite of spring.
In a show of support, spectators waved Ukrainian flags as the runners completed the 26.2-mile marathon on Monday, the shortest leg of their journey. There were 44 Ukrainians that signed up for the race, but only 11 actually participated.
Dmytro Molchanov, a Ukrainian resident of New York, stated, “I chose to come here to show that Ukrainians are powerful, we’re fighting, and we hope peace will come soon.”
Last Words
“It’s incredibly tough, basically, being here while all my family, friends, and Ukrainians are fighting over there for peace in my country, in Europe, and in the globe generally,” said Molchanov, who completed the race in 2:39:20. “When things became rough, I pushed through and fought with myself a little bit, just like the Ukrainians are fighting Russia now.”
