American wins Boston Marathon for first time since 1983

USPA News - An Eritrea-born man on Monday became the first American citizen in more than two decades to win the Boston Marathon, which took place amid tight security following last year`s bombings near the finish line that killed three spectators and injured hundreds more. Meb Keflezighi, of San Diego, California, placed first in the men`s runner division with a course time of 2 hours 8 minutes and 37 seconds, followed by Kenyan runner Wilson Chebet about 11 seconds later.

Rita Jeptoo, of Kenya, placed first in the women`s division with a course time of 2 hours 18 minutes and 57 seconds, followed by Ethiopian runner Buzunesh Deba just over a minute later. Ernst Van Dyk of Russia placed first in the Push Rim Wheelchair men`s division with a time of 1 hour 20 minutes and 36 seconds while Tatyana McFadden of Illinois placed first in the Push Rim Wheelchair women`s division with a time of 1 hour 35 minutes and 6 seconds. Samuel Spencer of New Jersey placed first in the men`s Handcycle division and Jessica Kensky of Massachusetts placed first in the women`s Handcycle division. Four-time Boston Marathon champion Bill Rodgers, 66, served as the grand marshal for Monday`s event, which drew some 36,000 entrants this year. Several former champions also returned to participate in the events surrounding Monday`s marathon. Those champions included two-time Boston Marathon champion 56-year-old Joan Samuelson, whose 1983 course record was not broken for another 11 years, 67-year-old Amby Burfoot, who won the 1968 Boston Marathon, and 55-year-old Gelindo Bordin, who is the only man to have won both the Olympic Games Marathon and the Boston Marathon. Monday`s events took place amidst heavy security to avoid another tragic incident as was seen at the 2013 marathon. The Boston Police Department had an increased presence of uniformed and undercover officers along the marathon route, with more than 100 cameras installed along the Boston portion of the route and 50 observation points set up around the finish line area in the Back Bay to monitor the crowd. City officials released detailed public safety plans one week prior to Monday`s event, after months of planning by government and private sector leaders to ensure a safe and succesful series of events. The 2014 5K run was held on Saturday with a record number of 10,000 entrants, finishing at the historic Boston Common. Three spectators were killed and 264 others were injured at the 2013 Boston Marathon after Chechen brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly detonated two explosive devices near the finish line. Tamerlan was killed during a gunfight with police several days later while Dzhokhar was taken into custody and faces 30 federal counts. A Boston Marathon Tribute was held at the Hynes Convention Center on April 15th to honor those affected by last year`s bombing.