Mutai, Hall Make 115th Boston Marathon Fastest in History
World Best Broken by Nearly a Minute; Ryan Hall Runs American Men’s Best by 40 Seconds; Desiree Davila Moves to #3 U.S. Woman All-Time
BOSTON, April 18, 2011—In perfect conditions, which included a strong tailwind, major records fell at the 115th Boston Marathon. Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya set a new course record of 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 2 seconds, outlasting his countryman, debut marathoner Moses Mosop, by 4 seconds. In the women’s race, Caroline Kilel, also of Kenya, took the victory in 2:22:36 by two seconds over American Desiree Davila.
Mutai and Mosop ran the two fastest men’s marathon times in history; however, because of its net elevation drop and due to the fact that the distance between the start and finish cannot be more than 50% of the distance of the race, and Boston separation is 91%, the Boston course does not qualify for world records. (The world record is 2:03:59, set in 2008 by Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie in Berlin.) ING New York City Marathon 2010 champion Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia finished third in 2:04:53. American Ryan Hall ran the fastest American time in history, 2:04:58, to finish fourth; his time was the fastest ever by an American on Boston’s course for the second year in a row, and 3 minutes and 43 seconds faster than his time in last year’s race, in which he also finished fourth.
In the women’s race, after leading for 18 miles, New Zealand’s Kim Smith pulled up with an injury. A group of four, which included Kilel, Davila, and Kenyans Alice Timbilili and Sharon Cherop, soon broke away from the main pack. After mile 20, Davila and Kilel traded the lead until the finish. Kilel had the final gear and outkicked Davila on Boylston Street to win by two seconds; Cherop finished third in 2:22:42.
Davila’s 2:22:38 is the fastest ever by an American woman on the Boston course and makes her the third-fastest female American of all time behind two Olympic podium finishers: 2004 silver medalist Deena Kastor and 1984 gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson.
In yesterday’s Virgin London Marathon, Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai (no relation to Boston Marathon champion Geoffrey Mutai) took home top honors, finishing in a course-record 2:04:40. Mary Keitany, also of Kenya, won the women’s race in 2:19:19, slashing nearly 10 minutes from her personal best, which she set when she finished third in the ING New York City Marathon last fall.
The top five men and women finishers at the Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, World Championships, and Olympic Marathons will earn points in a $1 million two-year series to crown the World Marathon Majors championship. The 2010–11 series will conclude at the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 6. The men’s and women’s champions will each win $500,000. The points breakdown is 1st – 25, 2nd – 15, 3rd – 10, 4th – 5, and 5th – 1.
The current 2010–2011 World Marathon Majors standings are:
Top 15 Men
Place Name Country Point Total
1 Emmanuel Mutai KEN 55
2 Tsegaye Kebede ETH 41
3 Geoffrey Mutai KEN 40
4 Patrick Makau KEN 35
4 Gebre Gebremariam ETH 35
6 Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot KEN 25
6 Samuel Wanjiru KEN 25
8 Tekeste Kebede ETH 15
8 Martin Lel KEN 15
8 Moses Mosop KEN 15
11 Feyisa Lilesa ETH 10
11 Bazu Worku ETH 10
11 Jaouad Gharib MAR 10
11 Deriba Merga ETH 10
11 Ryan Hall USA 10
11 Moses Kigen Kipkosgei KEN 10
Top 15 Women
Place Name Country Point Total
1 Liliya Shobukhova RUS 65
2 Edna Kiplagat KEN 35
2. Mary Keitany KEN 35
4 Aberu Kebede ETH 25
4 Teyba Erkesso ETH 25
4. Bezunesh Bekele ETH 25
4 Caroline Kilel KEN 25
7. Inga Abitova RUS 20
8 Desiree Davila USA 20
10 Atsede Baysa ETH 16
11 Tatyana Pushkareva RUS 15
11 Shalane Flanagan USA 15
13 Tomo Morimoto JPN 10
13 Mariya Konovalova RUS 10
13 Aselfech Mergia ETH 10
13 Salina Kosgei KEN 10
13 Sharon Cherop KEN 10