And we have a winner | Boston marathon

The American Meb Keflezighi has won the men's
race at the Boston Marathon, a year after the race
was hit by two fatal bombings.

In the women's race, Rita Jeptoo of Kenya successfully defended
the title she said she could not enjoy a year ago.

On 15 April 2013, blasts near the finishing line of
the race, in Copley Square, killed three and injured
260.

Keflezighi, 38, from San Diego and an Olympic silver
medallist in 2004, crossed the finish line in an
unofficial time of two hours, eight minutes and 37
seconds – a personal best if confirmed.

He is a
previous winner of the New York Marathon.

He ran from Hopkinton to the finish on Boylston
Street in Boston's Back Bay and held off Wilson
Chebet of Kenya, who finished 11 seconds behind.

Keflezighi looked over his shoulder several times
over the final mile. After realising he wouldn't be
caught, he raised his sunglasses, began pumping
his right fist and made the sign of the cross.

No US runner had won the race since Lisa Larsen-
Weidenbach took the women's title in 1985; the last
American man to win was Greg Meyer in 1983.

Jeptoo finished Monday's race in a course-record
2:18:57.

Having won in 2006, she becomes the
seventh three-time Boston Marathon champion.

Before the race, she said of 2013: "It was very
difficult to be happy.

People were injured and
children died. "If I'm going to win again, I hope I
can be happier and to show people, like I was
supposed to last year.

" Jeptoo broke away from a group of five runners at
the 23-mile mark.

Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia
finished second with an unofficial time of 2:19:59.

The American Shalane Flanagan finished fifth after
leading for more than half the race.

She took a
gamble by setting the early pace.

Nearly 36,000 runners set out to run the 26.2 miles,
with security tight along the course, in a show of resilience a year after the bombing that turned the
race into a scene of carnage.

Police were deployed in force along the route, with
helicopters circling above and bomb-sniffing dogs
checking through trash cans.

Officers were posted
on roofs.


Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray said
it had been a long and difficult year.

"We're taking back our race," he said. "We're taking
back the finish line."