For years, predicting the winners of the Boston Marathon was simply a matter of selecting the correct Kenyan runner. Times have changed, and Monday it was the country of Ethiopia that stood tall.
Lemi Berhanu Hayle captured the 2016 men’s title with a time of two hours, 12 minutes and 45 seconds, while Atsede Baysa won the women’s race with a time of 2:29:19.
“I am very happy,” Baysa told WBZ through a translator. “To win Boston is not easy. Even the name is very big.”
Defending men’s champ Lelisa Desisa, also from Ethiopia, could not keep pace with Hayle late in the race and finished second (47 seconds behind Hayle). Yemane Adhane Tsegay finished third, making it an all-Ethiopian top three in the men’s field. The next four men to finish were Kenyan and the first American to finish was Texas’ Zachary Hine, who finished tenth (2:21:37). Hine is originally form South Hadley, Massachusetts. Baysa came from behind to edge fellow Ethiopian Tirfi Tsegaye by 44 seconds. Joyce Chepkirui, of Kenya, placed third in the women’s race. Colorado’s Neely Spence Gracey (2:35:00, ninth) and North Carolina’s Sarah Crouch (2:37:36, 11th) were the first female Americans to cross the finish line. Sox dumped inMarathon Monday game
In the traditional Patriots’ Day Red Sox game, which begins each year at 11:05 a.m., the home team was the squad that looked like it could use some coffee. Boston’s bullpen was brutal, allowing four runs in the eighth inning, as the Blue Jays won, 4-3. The Sox split their four-game series with the Jays, 2-2. The Sox host the Rays tonight at Fenway (7, NESN).
Zachary Hine, Neely Spence Gracey first Americans to cross 2016 Boston Marathon finish line
