The 28-year-old Kenyan won a seesaw sprint on Monday when the world’s oldest and most famous annual marathon returned to its traditional spring start for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. On the 50th anniversary of the first official women’s race, Jepchirchir swapped places with Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia eight times in the final mile before finishing well on Boylston Street and finishing in 2 hours, 21 minutes, and 1 second. “It simply came to our notice then. I pushed it, “said Jepchirchir, who won $ 150,000 and the traditional gold-plated olive wreath to win the Olympic gold medal and the 2021 New York City Marathon title.” I was left behind. “But I did not lose hope.” Evans Chebet completed the sweep of Kenya, leaving Gabriel Geay with about four miles to finish in 2:06:51 for his first big marathon victory. 2019 winner Lawrence Cherono was second, 30 seconds behind, defending champion Benson Kipruto was third and Geay dropped back to fourth. Daniel Romanchuk from Champaign, Illinois, won the second title of his wheelchair career in 1:26:58. Switzerland’s Manuela Schar won her second consecutive crown in Boston and her fourth overall, finishing in 1:41:08. Sharing a Patriots Day weekend with the Red Sox home opener – the other spring town sports rite – more than 28,000 runners returned to the streets from Hopkinton to Copley Square six months after a smaller and more socially isolated event that was the only autumn race in its 126-year history. Fans waved Ukrainian flags to support runners whose 26.2-mile run on Monday was the easiest part of their journey. Forty-four Ukrainian citizens had registered for the struggle. only 11 started and it all ended. “I decided to come here and show that the Ukrainians are strong, we are fighting and we hope that peace will come soon,” said Dmytro Molchanov, a Ukrainian living in New York. “It’s very difficult, basically, to be here while my whole family, my friends and the Ukrainians are fighting there for peace in my country, in Europe and in the world as a whole,” said Molchanov, who finished in 2:39. : 20. “When it was very difficult, I tried not to give up and I tried to push, to fight with myself as the Ukrainians are fighting against Russia at the moment.” Athletes from Russia and Belarus were excluded in response to the invasion. Ukrainians who failed to reach Boston were offered a deferral or refund. “Whatever they want to do, they can do it,” said Tom Grilk, president of the Boston Athletic Association. “Run this year, run next year. Do you want a puppy? Whatever. There is no team in which we want to be more useful “. Jepchirchir and Yeshaneh, who finished third in New York last fall, spent most of the morning running shoulder to shoulder – or even closer: Immediately after 25 miles, Ethiopia’s eyes went off course and into Jepchirchir. Yeshaneh extended her hand to apologize and the two shook hands as they continued. “On the run, we understand each other and maybe someone came and hit, but it does not matter,” said Jepchirchir. “It was not a competition. it was just an accident. “ Defeated, Yeshaneh finished four seconds behind. Mary Ngugi of Kenya finished third for the second time in six months, following her podium in October, after the 125th race was delayed, canceled and delayed again. About 20 men stayed together – with American CJ Albertson leading much of the way – before Chebet and Geay left the herd as they left Heartbreak Hill. Chebet left a few miles later. “It simply came to our notice then. “We wanted to keep running as a team,” said Chebet, who finished fourth in London last fall. “I noticed that my colleagues were nowhere near me and that motivated me.” This fight marked the 50th anniversary of Nina Kuscsik’s victory in the first official women’s race. (But not the first woman to finish: This honor belongs to Bobbi Gibb, who first ran in 1966 among the unofficial runners known as robbers.) At Wellesley College, a girls’ school near the middle of the street, the iconic “screaming tunnel” is back after an absence caused by the pandemic – and louder than ever. A spectator in Wellesley held up a sign reading “50 Years of Women Running in Boston,” along with the names of the eight who broke the gender barrier in 1972. Five of the original champions returned for this year’s celebration, including Valerie Rogosheske, who finished sixth in ’72. She served as an honorary starter for the women’s stadium and ran the race with her daughters, who held banners marking the anniversary as they passed the finish line. Rogosheske, who wore the Bib No. In 1972, he said at the start that he planned to hide in the bushes and run as a robber 50 years ago until the women got the green light a few weeks before the race. “It’s a reminder that we did it very easily,” said 2018 winner Des Linden, who finished 13th on Monday. “Fifty years ago, they broke the barriers and did the hard part. “I really do not like that there are 126 years of racing history here, and we are ‘Ra! Rach! “At 50,” he said. “But you can not look back, you look forward.”
Associated Press writers Jennifer McDermott and Collin Binkley and AP sports writer Kyle Hightower contributed to this story.