On a cold, wet and windy Marathon Monday, a 33-year drought came to an end as Desiree Linden became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since Lisa Larsen Weidenbach in 1985.
Linden, a 34-year-old California native, cruised down Boylston Street all by herself after pulling away from the field and crossed the finish line with an unofficial time of 2:39:54 in the slowest race since 1978, a distinction that can obviously be chalked up to the miserable weather condidtions. Linden finished fourth in the Marathon last year and finished second back in 2011.
It was also a historic day on the men's side, as Yuki Kawauchi became the first Japanese man to win the Boston Marathon since Toshihiko Seko in 1987, finishing in 2:15:54. Switzerland's Marcel Hug (1:46:26) won his fourth straight men's wheelchair race and American Tatyana McFadden (2:04:39) won her fifth women's wheelchair race.
