VICTORY

Desiree Linden Wins Boston Marathon, First American Woman in 33 Years

First in 33 years, held on through the wind and rain to the bitter end.

Desiree Linden is the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years. She finished in 2 hours, 39 minutes, and 54 seconds, taking a wide lead at the 25.2-mile mark ahead of the rest of the women’s elite pack. Racers ran through terrible weather throughout the course–including cold winds and rains—to historically slow times. Yuki Kawauchi of Japan won the men’s marathon with a time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 54 seconds, in a come-from-behind victory, overtaking defending champion Geoffrey Kirui of Kenya at the 25-mile mark. Tatyana McFadden, a Russian-born American Paralympian, won the women’s wheelchair division, with the the slowest win time in 30 years, 2 hours, 4 minutes, 39 seconds. Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men’s wheelchair division in 1 hour, 46 minutes, and 26 seconds. The last U.S. woman to win Boston’s signature event was Lisa Larsen Weidenbach, in 1985.