Kenyans Dominate Sweltering Boston Marathon

Kenyans conquered an unusually-hot Boston Marathon, with Wesley Korir winning in 2 hours, 12 minutes, and 40 seconds. Sharon Cherop beat out another Kenyan, Jemima Jelagat Sumgong, in a last-minute sprint; Cherop clocked in at 2 hours, 31 minutes, and 50 seconds. It was the second-slowest race since 1985, just a year after Geoffrey Mutai turned in the fastest marathon ever. This year, cramps forced Mutai to quit after 18 miles in 80-plus degree heat, the AP reports.

Kenyans took the first, second, and third places in both the men's and women's contests, the Boston Herald notes. Some 4,290 of the 26,716 entrants in the race ended up deciding not to run. "This is people pushing themselves to the limit," said a Red Cross rep. Korir made it through by "singing and praying," he said. Meanwhile, Canada's Josh Cassidy won the wheelchair race in a world-record 1 hour, 18 minutes, and 24 seconds; the women's winner was American Shirley Reilly at 1 hour, 37 minutes, and 36 seconds. (More Kenya stories.)