Boston Marathon 2018: Americans dominate both races; Desiree Linden, Sarah Sellers finish 1-2

From WaPo https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/04/16/boston-marathon-2018-live-how-to-watch-viewers-guide-and-race-times/?utm_term=.1bece92a34a1

Desiree Linden celebrates her historic finish. (Charles Krupa / Associated Press)

Brutal conditions? A nasty head wind? A chilly rain? None of those things stopped Desiree Linden, who became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since 1985, streaking away from the field as American women nabbed seven of the top 10 spots at the finish line. On the men’s side, American runners took six of the top 10 spots.

Linden, a 34-year-old from Michigan, overcame the heartbreak of 2011, when she finished second in the marathon by two seconds, and won in an unofficial time of 2:39:54.

The veteran long-distance runner who competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, where she placed seventh, finished ahead of American Sarah Sellers, a virtually unknown runner who was second in 2:44:05. That marked the first 1-2 finish in Boston by American women since 1979, but American women weren’t finished. Rachel Hyland was fourth in 2:44:29; Nicole Demercurio was fifth in 2:45:52; Shalane Flanagan, helped along the way by Linden, was sixth in 2:46:31; Kimi Reed was seventh in 2:46:47; and Joanna Thompson was 10th in 2:48:31. Canada’s Krista Duchene was third in 2:44:20. (All times are, as yet, unofficial by the Boston Athletic Association.)

“I love this city, this race, this course,” Linden said in a TV interview. “It’s storybook.”

Linden paused along the way to help Flanagan, who had to make a bathroom stop along the way, and was feeling so rotten that she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t just drop out of the race. “To be honest, at miles 2-3-4, I didn’t think I’d make it to the finish line,” Linden said.

She told Boston.com  before the race that she likes to bide her time until around the 30K mark for the marathon, then make a move. That’s just what she did Monday. “It’s kind of like the blinders go up at that point,” she said.

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