Desisa’s name might be familiar to some as he won the 2013 Boston Marathon, the year of the bombings. He later donated his medal to the city.
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This year, he finished with an unofficial time of 2:09:17 and won by 31 seconds, and told reporters “this one’s for me.”
Rotich was in a much close race. Her time of 2:24:55 finished four seconds ahead of Ethiopian runner Mare Dibaba. The two runners swapped the lead multiple times down the stretch.
“I got to the last corner and I saw the finish line tape and I thought this is it, I’m not going to let it go,” said Rotich, according to ESPN. “I was like, ‘No, not today.’ And I kept going.”
The weather in Monday’s marathon wasn’t perfect — it was a cold and damp day for the race.
Also, Patrick Makau, considered the fastest runner in the field, had to drop out early due to a right quadriceps injury.
