Boston Marathon: Cheruiyot, Jeptoo give Kenya sweep

Apr 18, 2006

By Jimmy Golen

The Associated Press

BOSTON — Robert Cheruiyot set a course record of 2 hours, 7 minutes, 14 seconds, and Rita Jeptoo took the women's race Monday to give Kenya its fourth Boston Marathon sweep since 2000.

But it was the Americans who were boasting of a breakthrough after five U.S. men finished in the top 10 in the 26.2-mile race. It was the best performance by the United States since the addition of prize money in 1986 helped bring back elite international fields.

"It's exciting to see a lot of American guys run well," said Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, a California resident who was third behind Cheruiyot and Kenya's Benjamin Maiyo. "The crowd was just phenomenal. When they were chanting, 'Go USA! Go Meb! Go USA!' I was like, 'I'm glad I'm here.' "

Brian Sell of Rochester, Mich., was fourth, and Alan Culpepper of Lafayette, Colo., placed fifth. Peter Gilmore of San Mateo, Calif., was seventh, three spots ahead of Clint Verran of Lake Orion, Mich.

"For those of us who are in it and make [it] our profession, we're probably not as surprised as other people," Culpepper said of the strong showing by U.S. men. "We've seen this coming for a while. We've seen this building. I think it is a new day, for sure."

Seattle's Jesse Williams, who was 26th in the men's field at 2:26:24, was the top runner from Washington.

Bothell's James O'Connor, who is the cross-country coach at Juanita High School in Kirkland, was 54th in the men's field.

Jeptoo triumphed in 2:23:38. Latvia's Jelena Prokopcuka was 10 seconds behind in the closest women's finish at the event.

Sara Donahue of Seattle led women from Washington with a 45th-place finish; her time was 2:59:34. Christine Rehwald of Seattle was 51st in the women's field.

Cheruiyot and Jeptoo each earned an olive wreath, a bowl of beef stew and a $100,000 first prize.

Kenyan men have won 14 of the last 16 Boston titles; the country's women have won three in a row and six of seven.

Four of Kenya's women's titles belong to Catherine Ndereba, who was not in the field this year.

Defending men's champion Hailu Negussie of Ethiopia dropped out shortly after the halfway point with stomach problems that usually indicate dehydration.

Cheruiyot, who also won in 2003, sprinted the last 50 yards as race volunteers waved for him to hurry. He was a second faster than Kenyan Cosmas N'Deti was in a 1994 course-record performance.

Jeptoo, a marathon winner in Sweden and Italy in 2004, was competing in the U.S. for the first time — and almost didn't make the race because of a passport problem.

For the sixth straight year, Ernst van Dyk of South Africa won the men's wheelchair division. His time was 1:25:29.

Boston Marathon final numbers

At Boston

MEN

1-25

1. Robert Cheruiyot, Kenya, 2:07:14; 2. Benjamin Maiyo, Kenya, 2:08:21; 3. Meb Keflezighi, San Diego, 2:09:56; 4. Brian Sell, Rochester, Mich., 2:10:55; 5. Alan Culpepper, Lafayette, Colo., 2:11:02; 6. Kenjiro Jitsui, Japan, 2:11:32; 7. Peter Gilmore, San Mateo, Calif., 2:12:45; 8. William Kiplagat, Kenya, 2:13:26; 9. Wilson Onsare, Kenya, 2:13:47; 10. Clint Verran, Lake Orion, Mich., 2:14:12; 11. Luke Humphrey, Rochester, Mich., 2:15:32; 12. Timothy Cherigat, Kenya, 2:16:09; 13. Julius Ruto, Kenya, 2:17:02; 14. Wilson Komen, Washington, 2:18:26; 15. Chad Johnson, Rochester Hills, Mich., 2:19:29; 16. Chris Lundstrom, Minneapolis, 2:19:37; 17. Kazuo Ietani, Japan, 2:19:40; 18. Kyle O'Brien, Rochester, Mich., 2:19:57; 19. Brent Briney, Rochester, Mich., 2:20:10; 20. Marzuki Stevens, San Francisco, 2:20:11; 21. Miguel Nuci, Turlock, Calif., 2:20:45; 22. Martin Rosendahl, Rochester, Mich., 2:21:12; 23. Jonathan Little, Kansas City, Mo., 2:23:17; 24. Peter Vail, Boulder, Colo., 2:25:06; 25. Shinobu Minami, Japan, 2:25:16

26-50

26. Jesse Wiiliams, Seattle, 2:26:24; 27. Sammy Nyangincha, Kenya, 2:26:37; 28. Paul Rades, Silver Spring, Md., 2:26:56; 29. Tobias Van Ghemen, Germany, 2:27:00; 30. Keith Pierce, Denton, Texas, 2:27:17; 31. Jeremy Adler, Philadelphia, 2:27:20; 32. Michael Slinskey, Wappingers Falls, N.Y., 2:27:52; 33. Hussein Ahmed, Egypt, 2:28:29; 34. Ronnie Holassie, Miramar, Fla., 2:28:38; 35. Scott Loomis, Malden, Mass., 2:28:48; 36. Scott Rowe, Dover, N.H., 2:29:42; 37. Michael Wardian, Arlington, Va., 2:29:51; 38. Shad Miller, Newton, Mass., 2:30:01; 39. Bill McMorran, Boston, 2:30:13; 40. Evan Graves, Bar Harbor, Maine, 2:30:15; 41. David Allison, Phoenix, 2:30:49; 42. Nik Southwell, Canada, 2:31:09; 43. David Hinga, Methuen, Mass., 2:31:24; 44. Joel Anderson, Brunswick, Maine, 2:31:35; 45. Mark Cucuzzella, Shepherdstown, W.Va., 2:31:42; 46. Andy Ruffalo, Milwaukee, 2:31:42; 47. Richard Cartier, Canada, 2:32:06; 48. Nathan Harkins, Pine Grove Mills, Pa., 2:32:19; 49. Daniel Gidumbanda, Tanzania, 2:32:31; 50. Christopher Jensen, Iowa City, 2:32:46

51-75

51. Pepe Peterson, Marlborough, Mass., 2:32:57; 52. Gyula Szabo, Hungary, 2:33:14; 53. Louis-Philippe Garnier, Canada, 2:33:19; 54. James O'Connor, Bothell, Wash., 2:33:24; 55. Jorge Eliecer Real, Elmhurst, N.Y., 2:33:37; 56. Max Lockwood, Washington, 2:33:38; 57. Andrew Boone, Cambridge, Mass., 2:33:44; 58. Grant McLean, New Zealand, 2:33:48; 59. Jason Swigart, Moreno Valley, Calif., 2:33:57; 60. Benjamin Ndaya, Lowell, Mass., 2:34:03; 61. Dejene Bermanu, Germany, 2:34:07; 62. Corey Fehnel, Rochester, N.Y., 2:34:17; 63. Timothy Tapply, Gilford, N.H., 2:34:27; 64. David Herr, Canaan, Vt., 2:34:54; 65. Michael Aldrink, Durham, N.C., 2:34:56; 66. Martin Tighe, Providence, R.I., 2:35:09; 67. Casper Dahl, Honolulu, 2:35:25; 68. Matthew Cook, Los Angeles, 2:35:27; 69. Russell Boore, Hampton, Ill., 2:35:45; 70. Lucas Woodard, Boston, 2:35:57; 71. Luke Kimmel, Conshohocken, Pa., 2:35:59; 72. Ben Hovis, Charlotte, N.C., 2:36:00; 73. Nicholas Iauco, Washington, 2:36:08; 74. Klaus Eckstein, Germany, 2:36:18; 75. Kevin Pline, Plymouth, Mich., 2:36:22

WOMEN

1-25

1. Rita Jeptoo, Kenya, 2:23:38; 2. Jelena Prokopcuka, Latvia, 2:23:48; 3. Reiko Tosa, Japan, 2:24:11; 4. Bruna Genovese, Italy, 2:25:28; 5. Kiyoko Shimahara, Japan, 2:26:52; 6. Alevtina Biktimirova, Russia, 2:26:58; 7. Olivera Jevtic, Serbia and Montenegro, 2:29:38; 8. Madina Biktagirova, Russia, 2:30:06; 9. Olesya Nurgalieva, Russia, 2:30:16; 10. Zivile Balciunaite, Lithuania, 2:32:16; 11. Chika Horie, Japan, 2:34:40; 12. Tatiana Titova, Gainesville, Fla., 2:36:57; 13. Emily Levan, Wiscasset, Maine, 2:37:01; 14. Kutre Dulecha, Ethiopia, 2:37:08; 15. Svetlana Demidenko, Portugal, 2:39:53; 16. Michelle Lilienthal, Philadelphia, 2:40:23; 17. Michelle Rorke, Bronxville, N.Y., 2:43:08; 18. Carly Graytock, Cambridge, Mass., 2:43:19; 19. Melisa Christian, Dallas, 2:46:30; 20. Tere Stouffer, Knoxville, Tenn., 2:48:15; 21. Jenny DeWeese, Asheville, N.C., 2:49:07; 22. Phebe Ko, Durham, N.C., 2:51:39; 23. Simonetta Piergentili, Wilmington, Mass., 2:52:28; 24. Helena Crossan, Ireland, 2:52:48; 25. Veronika Ulrich, Germany, 2:53:45.

Top Washington finishers

in the Boston Marathon

At Boston

Men and women

2:26:24-3:04:38

26, Jesse J. Williams, Seattle, 2:26:24; 54, James O'Connor, Bothell, 2:33:24; 116, Kevin M. Weil, Woodinville, 2:39:27; 143, Doug Wordell, Spokane, 2:41:39; 159, Ben Sauvage, Seattle, 2:42:11; 169, Robert Palmquist, Seattle, 2:42:40; 199, Jeff Hashimoto, Ellensburg, 2:43:56; 231, Shawn C. Dodge, Dupont, 2:45:12; 234, Ryan Berg, Tacoma, 2:45:17; 292, Craig Vanderoef, Seattle, 2:47:09; 413, Tony Hawkes, Lacey, 2:50:36; 712, Christopher W. Fuller, Seattle, 2:56:50; 749, Alan S. Presley, Seattle, 2:57:14; 977, Daniel Laster, Seattle, 2:59:17; 45, Sara M. Donahue, Seattle, 2:59:34; 51, Christine M. Rehwald, Seattle, 3:00:16; 1136, Benjamin J. Rhodea, Seattle, 3:00:55; 1182, Gregg A. Walchli, Seattle, 3:01:33; 1294, Scott Mcgeachy, Camas, 3:03:01; 1296, Robert G. Blankenship, Tacoma, 3:03:02; 1335, Matt J. Zuchetto, Nine Mile Falls, 3:03:32; 1337, Sean O. Sundwall, Snoqualmie, 3:03:33; 1374, Luis A. Garcia, Bothell, 3:03:59; 1375, Mickey E. Allen, Tacoma, 3:03:59; 1434, Tony Phillippi, Tacoma, 3:04:38.

3:04:49-3:14:03

1450, Bob J. Ultsch, Tacoma, 3:04:49; 1457, Alexander Levin, Tacoma, 3:04:52; 1567, Pavel Nazarov, Bellevue, 3:05:57; 1570, James W. Moore, Renton, 3:05:59; 1607, Fidel T. Rivera, Pasco, 3:06:14; 1613, George A. Velazquez, Wenatchee, 3:06:17; 1643, William C. Crimbring, Keyport, 3:06:34; 1671, Nate Kaiser, Pullman, 3:06:45; 1848, Joshua W. Fitchitt, Kirkland, 3:08:27; 1893, Emil A. King, Seattle, 3:08:47; 1901, Rafael E. Hernandez, Seattle, 3:08:52; 1954, Ruben A. Contreras, Stanwood, 3:09:15; 2008, Brian A. Buckner, Seattle, 3:09:37; 2016, Eugenio Vidales, Vancouver, 3:09:41; 2142, Richard S. Walker, Fox Island, 3:10:32; 123, Amy B. Cooper, Vancouver, 3:10:35; 2177, Juan P. Garcia, Seattle, 3:10:49; 2316, Brian J. Meenaghan, Seattle, 3:11:50; 2361, James S. Sullivan, Jr., Woodinville, 3:12:08; 2380, Yong K. Shin, M.D., Montesano, 3:12:15; 2387, Scott Lee, Mcchord Afb, 3:12:19; 2410, Adam G. Hewey, Seattle, 3:12:30; 162, Cara Dils, Seattle, 3:12:52; 2524, Daniel Alire, Seattle, 3:13:27; 2609, Donald Davies, Seattle, 3:14:03.

3:14:44-3:22:54

2706, Colin J. Hawkes, Bellevue, 3:14:44; 2710, William J. Geoghagan, Seattle, 3:14:45; 2841, Joe Silvernale, Yarrow Point, 3:15:46; 3051, Michael H. Thompson, Seattle, 3:17:07; 3055, Brock B. Gavery, Seattle, 3:17:09; 3081, Michael B. Van Deusen, Seattle, 3:17:21; 3132, Daniel R. Mendes, Mercer Island, 3:17:44; 3167, Dean M. Kayler, Renton, 3:18:01; 3181, Robert D. Croucher, Jr., Brush Prairie, 3:18:07; 3209, Robert S. Peregoy, Spokane, 3:18:17; 278, Sara A. Hammes, Seattle, 3:18:36; 3315, Timothy R. Pecha, Omak, 3:18:59; 3347, Eric L. Freeberg, Seattle, 3:19:08; 3380, Dave A. Latourette, North Bend, 3:19:20; 3384, Stephen L. Hamilton, Everett, 3:19:23; 309, Stevie L. Roark, Kenmore, 3:19:26; 3426, Tom J. Moore, Renton, 3:19:39; 3460, Todd Reinke, Edmonds, 3:19:54; 345, Alicia Britt, Seattle, 3:20:24; 3563, Brett J. Ballbach, Seattle, 3:20:36; 359, Shari J. Brennecke, Everett, 3:20:48; 3603, Jason M. Webb, Seattle, 3:20:51; 364, Megan M. Stewart, Seattle, 3:20:53; 3765, Randal T. Keith, Gig Harbor, 3:21:58; 3909, Patrick L. Mckilligan, Arlington, 3:22:54.

3:23:12-3:28:03

3947, Edward D. Haywood, Lynnwood, 3:23:12; 3966