Kim Smith, right, of New Zealand, looks back as the pack
begins to overtake her in the Boston Marathon. Smith took
off at a record pace and led the women's race for more than
30km. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
New Zealander Kim Smith's hopes of winning the Boston
Marathon were dashed overnight when she apparently injured her
right leg, forcing her to give up the comfortable one-minute
lead she held for the first half of the race.
In the men's race Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai won in 2 hours, 3
minutes, 2 seconds - the fastest anyone has ever run the 26.2
mile (42km) distance.
The 29-year-old Aucklander, who lives and trains in
Providence, Rhode Island, had been running at a pace not seen
in the women's race for over a decade, gaining a lead of
between 30 to 50 seconds on the pack.
But her lead was jeopardised more than halfway through the
race when she appeared to stumble and struggle while running
downhill.
A video posted online by CBS Boston shows Smith stopping
briefly to grab her right leg, indicating a potential injury
to her calf or ankle, before continuing on.
However, the pack caught up as Smith failed to overcome her
injury and fell further behind. She dropped out of the race
at about 32km and was treated by medics.
Smith earlier said she did not want to feel boxed in by a
leisurely start and get out-kicked by the many fast African
runners, including 2010 winner Teyba Erkesso of Ethiopia.
Kenyan Caroline Kilel won the women's race in an unofficial
time of 2:22.36.
Smith placed fifth in last year's New York Marathon, with a
time of 2:29:28.
Mutai's time beat the previous best of of 2:03:59 by Haile
Gebrselassie in Berlin 2008. But because today's race had a
strong tailwind on a downhill course, Mutai's run is not
recognised by track's international governing body as a
record.
Four men, including Hall and third-place finisher Ethiopian
Gebregziabher Gebremariam, broke the 2:05 milestone that just
12 months ago had seemed insurmountable on the hilly Boston
course.
Mutai and Moses Mosop ran side-by-side for the final miles
before Mutai pulled ahead for good on Boylston Street and won
by four seconds. The 19th Kenyan winner in the past 21 years,
Mutai raised his arms in the air and grinned; Cheruiyot, who
injured his side in a car accident in Kenya, dropped out in
the first half of the race.
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