One day after winning the wheelchair races at the Chicago Marathon, Americans Tatyana McFadden and Daniel Romanchuk both finished second at Monday’s Boston Marathon, racing World Marathon Majors on consecutive days for the first time in their careers.
Swiss Paralympians Manuela Schär and Marcel Hug bested their top competitors to win Boston’s first marathon in 910 days after the coronavirus pandemic canceled the 2020 edition and postponed this year’s from its traditional April date.
The pandemic has left marathon season feeling like much more of a sprint rather than, well, a marathon. The 2021 major marathons began Sept. 26 with Berlin, continued Oct. 3 in London, then moved quickly to the U.S. leg with Chicago on Oct. 10 and Boston Oct. 11. The busy schedule concludes with New York City on Nov. 7. The Olympic and Paralympic marathons were also held in August and September.
Hug was Boston’s first 2021 winner in 1:18:11, with Romanchuk crossing in 1:25:46 and Ernst Van Dyk, the 48-year-old veteran from South Africa who’s won Boston 10 times since 2001, in 1:28.43
Schär won bested the women 1:35:21, followed by McFadden in 1:50:20 and fellow American Yen Hoang at 1:51:25.
Schär and Hug extend their leads in the 2019-2021 World Marathon Majors series standings with their latest wins. The season includes the last two marathons from 2019, the two that were held in 2020 and five from 2021, plus the the Olympic/Paralympic marathons.
The 36-year-old Schär won the 2019 Chicago Marathon that kicked off the series, as well as New York that year. She was second in London in 2020. This year she won Berlin, London and now Boston; she took Paralympic silver in Tokyo and did not race Chicago this year.
McFadden, 32, maintains second place. The 20-time Paralympic medalist was the 2019 Chicago runner-up and 2019 NYC runner-up, second in Berlin this year, then third in London, first in Chicago and now second at Boston. Her Chicago win on Sunday marked the 23rd win of her career and the first since Boston in 2018.
Hug, 35, holds a narrow lead over Romanchuk, 23.
Hug’s results include four wins (2020 Paralympics, 2021 Berlin, 2021 London, 2021 Boston), three second-place finishes (2019 Chicago, 2019 NYC, 2021 Chicago) and a third place (2020 London). Romanchuk won 2019 Chicago, 2019 NYC and 2021 Chicago, was second at 2021 Berlin, 2021 London, 2021 Boston and third at the Paralympics.
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