To no one's surprise, two Africans took the men's and women's titles at the 2008 Boston Marathon. But the women's race came down to a thrilling finish, and the winner was a bit of a surprise.
The victor in the men's division was a familiar face: Robert K. Cheruiyot of Kenya is the defending champion, and is looking for his fourth Boston Marathon title. Cheruiyot had an official time of 2:07:46, which is the sixth fastest time in Boston history.
For the women, Dire Tune was the victor, having the final winning kick in a thrilling sprint to the finish. She and second-place finisher Alevtina Biktimirova of Russia were running side by side with 400 meters to go, with the Russian ending up with a finish time only two seconds behind that of Tune.
Dire Tune becomes only the second Ethiopian woman to win the Boston Marathon. Her time was 2:25:25.
Two American runners finished in the top 20 in both the men's and women's fields of the 112th Boston Marathon. Nicholas A. Arciniaga came in 10th in 2:16:13, while Jason D. Schoener was 14th in 2:19:22.
On the women's side, Ashley A. Anklam had a time of 2:48:43 to finish in 15th place, less than a minute ahead of the second American women, Kim S. Duclos (16th place) in 2:49:31.
You can find full results at the official Boston Marathon Web page, www.bostonmarathon.org or at the home page of the race organizer, the Boston Athletic Association, at www.baa.org.
And if you want to be part of the excitement next year, check either of the Web sites above for information on how to qualify for the 2009 Boston Marathon.
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