Sport
Kenya’s Wesley Korir, Sharon Cherop win Boston Marathon titles
Wesley Korir, of Kenya, smiles after crossing the finish line to win the 116th Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts April 16, 2012. PHOTO/Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters
Trailing the leaders by 200 yards when the Boston Marathon slogged through Heartbreak Hill, Wesley Korir passed them one by one until he took the lead on his way out of Kenmore Square.
That’s when leg cramps forced him to slow down and relinquish the lead.
“It’s hot out there, in case you didn’t know,” he told reporters after enduring temperatures that rose into the 80s to win the 116th Boston Marathon on Monday. “I knew it was going to be hot, and one important thing that I had to take care of today, was really hydrate as much as possible. I guess my biology degree kicked in a little bit.”
Singing religious songs as he plodded along the scorching pavement, the native Kenyan, a permanent resident of the United States, retook the lead from Levy Matebo in the final mile to win in a heat-slowed time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, 40 seconds.
It was almost 10 minutes behind the world best established here a year ago by Geoffrey Mutai and the second-slowest Boston victory since 1985. Mutai, who was hoping a repeat victory would earn him a spot on the Kenyan Olympic team, dropped out after 18 miles with stomach cramps.
Instead, it was Korir who may have won a ticket to the London Games.
“To me, I think running the Boston Marathon is an Olympic event,” the two-time Los Angeles Marathon winner said. “I don’t care what comes up after this, but I’m really, really happy to win Boston.”
