Kipruto and Kipyogei[Photo:apnews.com]
The Women’s race that saw Diana Kipyogei led a podium sweep while Benson Kipruto won his first ever major marathon, both clinching gold in total Kenyan dominance at the Boston Marathon yesterday.
Kipyogei stopped the clock in a time of 2hrs, 24mins 45secs to lead a Kenyan podium sweep with 41-year old Edna Kiplagat, champion of the race in 2017 and silver medalist in 2019 coming in second while Mary Ngugi was third and Monicah Ngige fourth.
In the men’s race, Kipruto who finished 10th in the race in 2019 and was seventh at the London Marathon last year clinched his first ever major crown, crossing the finish line in 2hrs, 09mins, 51secs.
“I really feel delighted to have come here and won. It was a tough race but I had prepared well for it and I want to thank my coaches and the management for the help they gave me. I felt strong today and after about 29kms, I decided to open the gap,” Kipyogei said after the race.
The leading pack in which Kipyegei had been part of from the start went through 10km in 35:00 and they also crossed the 21km mark in 1:14:11, maintaining a steady pace all through, with the pack consisting of almost 15 ladies.
The Kenyan quartet maintained their hold in front of the group which also included Ethiopia’s Netsanet Gudeta and Workenesh Edesa.
But, Kipyogei made her move just as they were approaching the 35km mark, striding forward with Gudeta following her on her trail.
They ran side by side for almost 5km, but the Kenyan could not relent on the pace, pressing steady steps and ensuring the Ethiopian was kept at arm’s length. Eventually, she could not match the pace.
41-year old Kiplagat was now catching up with the two as so did Ngugi and Ngige who were slowly bagging the tempo behind.
Kipyogei had extended her lead from Kiplagat by 27 seconds before extending the tempo to the finishing line.
Kiplagat ensured she matched her finish from the 2019 race when she finished second in 2:25:09 while Ngugi came through for third place in 2:25:20.
Meanwhile in the men’s race, Kipruto clinched the crown after playing his cards close to his chest for most of the race.