BOSTON (AP) – Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia has won the 119th Boston Marathon in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 17 seconds.
It’s his second victory here. He also won the 2013 race just hours before a pair of bombs exploded at the finish line. Desisa returned after the attacks to donate his medal to the city in memory of the victims.
Countryman Yemane Adhane Tsegay was second in 2:09:48, and Wilson Chebet of Kenya took third in 2:10:22. Dathan Ritzenhein was seventh overall and the first American in an unofficial 2:11:20, followed by last year’s winner, Meb Keflezighi, in 2:12:42.
Caroline Rotich (ROW-tish) won the women’s race in an unofficial 2:24:55. It’s the first Boston victory for the 30-year-old Kenyan. She finished fourth here in 2011.
Two years after the bombs killed three and wounded 260 more, the world’s most prestigious marathon took a tentative step back toward normal.
