Cheruiyot, Tune Win Boston

Kenyan racks up 4th victory; Ethiopian triumphs in closest women's finish
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 21, 2008 1:38 PM CDT
Cheruiyot, Tune Win Boston
Dire Tune of Ethiopia kisses the ground after winning the women's division of the 112th Boston Marathon, as Alevtina Biktimirova of Russia passes by her to finish second in the closest women's finish in the history of the race in Boston Monday, April 21, 2008.    (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya became the fourth man to win the Boston Marathon four times today, crossing the finish line on 2:07:46, 32 seconds slower than his own course record, the AP reports. Dire Tune of Ethiopia won the women’s race in 2:22:25, squeaking past Russian Alevtina Biktimirova by just 2 seconds in the tightest women's finish ever.

Cheruiyot and Tune will both receive $150,000, the largest-ever prize for a major marathon. Cheruiyot’s victory was the 15th time by a Kenyan in the last 17 years. Tune and Biktimirova dueled through Kenmore Square and down Boylston Street, swapping leads twice before Tune became the first Ethiopian woman to claim victory since Fatuma Roba in 1997-99. (More Boston Marathon stories.)

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